Soccer Watch

The Austin Aztex host the Miami FC Blues Saturday night with a lot on the line – including, possibly, their seasonlong league lead in the USSF Division 2. With two road wins in the last week, the Rochester Rhinos have pulled within two points of the Aztex, though they've also played three more games. Austin and Miami have formed something of a special rivalry, with a Willie Nelson-signed guitar serving as a trophy, passing to the winner with each game. The Aztex have already beaten Miami three times this season, with the last two games featuring three red cards. The theme of the night is Go Pink!, with activities to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Center of Texas. Saturday, July 31, 7:30pm. House Park, 13th & Lamar. www.austinaztex.com... The Aztex on Tuesday traded for the Montreal Impact's Tyler Hemming for future considerations. Hemming has previously played for Toronto FC, the Charleston Battery, Tempere in the Finnish first division, and the Canadian national team.

The Puerto Rico Islanders, currently in last place in the Aztex's conference, struck a blow for D-2 Tuesday night, thumping the MLS-leading Los Angeles Galaxy 4-1 in L.A. in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League series. With World Cup stars Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle playing the entire game, the Galaxy could manage only a late consolation own goal to avoid total humiliation. The return leg is in Puerto Rico next Wednesday.

Additionally, Donovan has made his second TV ad for the Mexican lottery, using the tagline: "Every time I play in Mexico, it gets easier to win."

World Cup fallout: Diego Maradona has been dropped as Argentina's national team coach... New France coach Laurent Blanc has suspended all 23 players on the rebellious France WC squad for the Bleus' next game, Aug. 11 at Norway.

The defending champion United States fell in the quarterfinals of the Under-20 Women's World Cup, losing to Nigeria in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw – the first time the U.S. has ever failed to reach the semifinals. They outshot Nigeria 15-4 in the first half, but Nigeria took over from there, outshooting the U.S. 27-9 the rest of the way. Thursday's semifinals are Germany vs. South Korea and Colombia vs. Nigeria, with the final on Sunday.