Aztex Roundup, UT Preview, and More

The Austin Aztex U-23s earned three top honors in the Premier Development League all-league selections recently announced: Wolfgang Suhnholz as Coach of the Year, Beto Papandrea as Defender of the Year, and Miguel Gallardo Goalkeeper of the Year...

To no one's surprise, the Aztex have announced Gallardo as their first pro signing for the USL First Division team's 2009 roster...

Stoke City's Academy team is in town, and has three exhibition friendlies scheduled for this weekend: Vs. Lonestars 91 Red: Thu., Aug. 14, 6:30pm. Vs. Rayados of Monterey, Mex­ico: Sat., Aug. 16, 10am. Vs. Lonestars 92 Red: Sun., Aug. 17, noon. Town & Country Sports Complex fields 26 & 27, 9100 Meadowheath Dr. (near Research & 620). www.austinaztex.com for more info…

The Aztex supporters group, Chantico's Army ASG, now has a motto: Cor Unum (One Heart).

Olympics report: The U.S. women opened with a dismal shutout loss, then rebounded to win their group, and face Canada in Friday's quarterfinal; U.S. men opened with a nice win over Japan, and deserved another over Holland, but then were ousted from the group stage by Nigeria, after playing a man down from the third minute on. A reminder: all games are being webcast live (3am & 5:45am) at www.nbcolympics.com.

The UT Longhorns will carry a No. 8 national ranking into their Aug. 22 season opener at home against Samford; they return eight starters from last year, including one of the strongest defenses in the country, with Kasey Moore, Stephanie Logterman, Jill Gilbeau, and goalkeeper Dianne Pfenninger all fourth-year starters. See http://texassports.com/sports/w-soccer for more details.