Soccer Watch

The Vandegrift High School girls are trying for their second straight state title at this week's UIL Soccer Championships in Georgetown; their 5A semifinal against unbeaten College Station is Thursday at noon, with the final at 11am Saturday. The Liberty Hill boys qualified as well, in the program's first year in existence; they're in a semifinal as we go to press Wednesday, trying to get to the 4A final Friday at 2:30pm. And the unbeaten George­town East View boys are in a 5A semifinal at 7:30pm Thursday; their final is 1:30pm Saturday. The games run all day, through Saturday's 5A and 6A finals, at George­town ISD's Birkelbach Field. $5-15; see www.uiltexas.org/soccer for the full schedule.

The Austin Aztex dropped their second home game of the season Saturday night – more than they lost in the previous two years combined – falling 1-0 to Arizona United. I still think this is a very good team, but clearly, the level of play in the USL is a step up from what the Aztex faced in the Premier Development League, where we got used to dominating performances most every game. Wins will not come easily now. At 2-2 in this long, 28-game season, the Aztex are in decent position and have played well; but they may have to play even better to excel at this level. They're out in Los Angeles this Sunday – facing an LA Galaxy II squad that's gotta be smarting from being winless in four games – before returning to House Park for the next three weekends, starting with Colorado Springs on Sat., April 25; OKC at 8pm, Fri., May 1; and Real Monarchs at 8pm, Sat., May 9... April 17 is the deadline to become a member of the Aztex Originals – buying season tickets gets you a team scarf, your name on a stadium banner, invitations to special events, and other benefits. Single-game tickets for games in May and June are now on sale as well.

U.S. Women's head coach Jill Ellis named her 23-player roster for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada, six weeks before the deadline, so the players could "continue to build on our team morale and chemistry." Fourteen of the 23 players are holdovers from the team that finished second in 2011; eight will be playing in their first WC. Shannon Boxx is in; the veteran midfielder had been a question mark because of injuries and inactivity... Shocker: Porto beat Bayern Munich, 3-1 in the first leg of the European Champions League quarterfinals Wednesday; Juventus and Barcelona were the other winners; return legs are Tue.-Wed., April 21-22, live on Fox Sports at 1:30pm.

Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan author of Soccer in Sun and Shadow, among many, many other works, died Monday at age 74. "I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead, 'A pretty move, for the love of God.' And when good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle, and I don't give a damn which team or country performs it."