Aztex hoping to advance
Winner in U.S. Open Cup’s second round plays NASL’s San Antonio Scorpions.
After a successful season opener, the Austin Aztex will host a match in the country’s oldest ongoing national soccer tournament when they play NTX Rayados in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday.
The tournament, in its 101st year, is open to all U.S. Soccer Federation-affiliated teams, from amateur adult clubs to those on top of the sport’s pyramid, the teams of Major League Soccer.
U.S. Soccer, unlike many countries’ soccer league systems, does not utilize any merit-based promotion or relegation to allow teams to move between divisions. That means the U.S. Open Cup is the lower-division teams’ only way to square off against the teams farther up the sport’s food chain.
The Aztex-Rayados winner will advance to the third round on May 28 to face the San Antonio Scorpions, who play in the North American Soccer League, U.S. Soccer’s second division. The Aztex, the 2013 United Soccer Leagues’ Premier Development League champions, automatically qualified for this year’s U.S. Open Cup by winning the PDL’s Mid South Division last season.
Austin and NTX Rayados are two of 68 teams left competing for the title in this year’s tournament, which was won in 2013 by MLS’ D.C. United.
Wednesday’s game will be a rematch of last season’s first-round game, which the Aztex won 3-0 before losing to the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Pro League.
The Cup allows even the lowest division teams to dream: Win seven matches in a row, and you can be America’s national soccer champion. That “do or die” mentality means nothing can be held back. The Aztex understand that they can’t afford to take NTX Rayados lightly.
“They are an amateur team but will have a few players on their roster that have played profession- ally, and everyone understands the importance of this match,” Aztex coach Manuel Buentello said. “We know we must play our game and continue to improve from how we opened the season. I assure you they will not sneak up on us.”
The Aztex opened their 2014 campaign Saturday with an easy 5-0 win over the Houston Dutch Lions of the PDL.
Austin will be without the services of its top goalkeeper, Devin Cook Perales, who is serving a one-game suspension from a red card he received in last year’s U.S. Open Cup match against Wilmington. That means John Kaschak will get the start in goal.
“It’s not every day you get this opportunity, and I’m ready to take full advantage of it,” Kaschak said. “Our training has been fantastic. There are so many quality players on the team, and everyone continues to keep working competitively and getting better.”
This year’s edition of the U.S. Open Cup features 80 teams, an increase from the then-record 68 that took the field last year. The expansion results in both the largest number of amateur teams (42) in the tournament proper — the previous record was 34 — as well as the largest contingent of pro clubs (38, surpassing last year’s 34), with all Division I, II and III professional sides participating for the third consecutive year.
The winner of the tournament will receive a $250,000 cash prize and a berth in the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League, the runner-up will get $60,000, and the top finisher from each lower division will receive $15,000.