The El Paso Patriots 18th season of soccer has yet to see its first goal, as the Patriots and the Austin Aztex battled to a scoreless draw in front of 789 fans at Patriot Stadium.
(See the replay here and check out the best goals from 2007.)
El Paso played the final nine-plus minutes a man down, as new forward Trevor Eastman was shown a straight red card by referee Andrew Gage for a reckless challenge on
Austin
’s Westley Allen in the 81st minute.
Nonetheless, the Patriots had the better of the possession, even playing down a man. El Paso drew a number of fouls for direct kicks near the
Austin
18-yard box, but even though Mario Garcia and Antonio Barrera took turns ripping on-goal shots at the Aztex net, goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo kept the visitors out of trouble.
When Patriots forwards Eastman, Omar Mora and Ben Everson got their touches up front, they proved effective; slicing, dicing and high-stepping their way deep into
Austin
territory.
Each team’s defense took their turns denying the other’s offense, though, as Patriots keeper Sebastian Narvaez was equally effective for the home team.
Mora had the best opportunity of the night after a nifty run of possession set up by excellent defense by Eastman. Eastman got the ball to Everson, whose sharp-angled runs left three defenders in knots before passing to Mora. The former Mexican professional made a short run to the left of the area before knocking a nice shot that beat Gallardo but not the crossbar, whistling just over the iron.
Both El Paso head coach Miguel Murillo and
Austin
’s Wolfgang Sunholz took their first turns at the helm of their respective clubs and each will be looking to sharpen their offenses. The Patriots had little finish while the Aztex proved ineffective at stringing passes together in the attacking half of the field.
In the end, though, each team gets a point to start – important in qualifying for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Patriots first four matches against their divisional opponents will count in qualifying for the Open Cup’s first round. The top teams in each conference by record will advance.
El Paso loses Eastman for next Saturday’s game against the Baton Rouge Capitals in Louisiana, but will be available Sunday as the Patriots are in
New Orleans
to take on the Shell Shockers. Both games are also Open Cup qualifiers.
El Paso
returns home May 16th and 17th against the Houston Leones. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. MDT for both matches.
