Soccer Watch

With just over three weeks until opening day, Austin Aztex coach Paul Dalglish must be pretty close to deciding who's going to be on his roster for that historic May 5 game – and a select scrimmage squad that played at the last public Aztex tryout on April 7 provided some clues to his thinking. By Wednesday, the Aztex could confirm three more names for the roster to add to the four signings announced last week. Zack Pope, a local product, was a fan favorite with the original Aztex, and always impressed me as a dangerous attacking force on the wing; he's most recently been coaching at Southwestern. Ross Kelly, a defender out of Houston, played on the PDL Aztex in 2009 while starring at Coastal Carolina University. And Senegal native Mohamed Diallo is an attacking midfielder at Corcordia University.

The State High School Championship tourney is next weekend in Georgetown (see above). But first, the 5A Region 2 championships are this weekend at Round Rock's Kelly Reeves Complex, 10211 W. Parmer. Semifinals are Friday (the Georgetown girls play at 11am, Westlake boys at 6pm); finals are 11am & 1pm Saturday. Three local teams are still alive in 4A as well: the Pflugerville Henderson and Cedar Park girls, and Vandegrift boys are at regionals in Corpus Christi. Full info at www.uiltexas.org/soccer/state.

Both the North American Soccer League and USL-Pro started their seasons this past week. In the eight-team NASL, the expansion San Antonio Scorpions take the place of the Montreal Impact, who moved up to Major League Soccer. The 11-team USL-Pro features defending champion Orlando City (née Austin Aztex), in the next division up from the USL Premier Development League, where the new Aztex open play May 5.