Aztex to Host Playoffs

The Austin Aztex announced this morning that they will host the first round of the PDL playoffs, the Southern Conference Final Four, to take place at House Park on Friday and Saturday, July 26-27. The four-team field will be the Panama City Beach Pirates, the Ocala Stampede, and almost certainly the Laredo Heat: Semifinals Friday, Final Saturday.

Matchups and kickoff times will be announced at a later date. (All the regular-season games have been at 7:30pm.) The Aztex announced that: "To thank fans for their support throughout the season, playoff tickets will remain at $10 per adult with children 10 and under admitted free. Fans that have unused tickets from the regular season may also redeem those tickets for admission, and one ticket is good for both matches on Friday."

The Southern Conference winner will go on to a PDL National Championship semifinal the following weekend. … The Aztex beat Ocala last year in the first round of the playoffs in Florida, before falling to Orlando in the Conference Championship game. … Like the Aztex, Laredo finishes their season with a two-game trip to West Texas and El Paso – the bottom two teams in the division standings. They need one win to clinch a playoff spot; otherwise Oklahoma City could sneak in with a win in their last game. … With his weekend hat trick, Kris Tyrpak moved into a tie with Andres Cuero for the team scoring lead in league play. Tyrpak has eight goals, Cuero seven goals and two assists (plus a goal in U.S. Open Cup play).