Austin Aztex FC was an American professional soccer team based in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Founded in 2008, the team played in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

, and in the USL Division of the

USSF D2 Pro League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. In October 2010, the Aztex were relocated to Orlando, Florida and became Orlando City after Orlando USL's rights were purchased by Phil Rawlins. The team was resurrected in 2011 by minority owner

David Markley David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

as the Austin Aztex, which began play in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

in 2012 and moved to

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

in 2014. The team played its home games at Nelson Field, and

House Park House Park is a 6,000-6,500 seat American football stadium in Austin, Texas, owned and operated by the Austin Independent School District. Unlike many school districts in Texas, AISD uses multiple shared stadiums including House Park for use in at ...

in Austin. The team's colors were red and white. Their head coach was Englishman and former Everton midfielder

Adrian Heath Adrian Paul Heath (born 11 January 1961) is an English football manager and former player. He currently serves as head coach of Major League Soccer club Minnesota United FC. As a player, he is best known for his six seasons at Everton, where h ...

History

The club was owned by English-born Austin businessman Phil Rawlins. Originally from the UK, Rawlins serves on the board of English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club Stoke City. Austin and Stoke had a formal partnership which included sharing training information and players, with Austin acting as a potential player resource for Stoke. Immediately after announcing their intention to join USL1, the Aztex purchased the 2008

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

expansion side Austin Stampede and rebranded it as

Austin Aztex U23 Austin Aztex U23 was an American soccer team based in Round Rock, Texas, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the fra ...

Wolfgang Suhnholz Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

was named coach of the U23 team, which commenced play in 2008. On August 8, 2008, the Aztex announced 2008 PDL Goalkeeper of the Year and former

player, Miguel Gallardo, as their first professional signing for the 2009 season. Gallardo is signed with the team through 2011. The Aztex began their inaugural season as a professional team by playing 4 MLS teams in preseason exhibition matches. The first three games were held in Austin at Nelson Field while the fourth MLS match was in

Rio Tinto Stadium America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is an American soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, that serves as home stadium for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, ...

on the MLS opening weekend. A fifth exhibition match was scheduled against the CONCACAF semi-finalist

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

in between their home and away series against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

. On May 19, 2010, Austin played the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

in front of 6,051 fans, their largest home crowd in franchise history. On October 22, 2010, an article was published that indicated that the team was likely to move to Orlando, Florida, for the 2011 season.Austin Aztex Likely to Announce Move to Orlando, Florida This was confirmed on October 25, as the team became Orlando City SC.

Players

Final roster

Staff

– Head Coach * Bobby Murphy – Assistant Coach * David Winner – Goalkeeping Coach * Shermin Patel – Athletic Trainer

Year-by-year

Head coaches

(2009–2010)

Stadiums

* Nelson Field;

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

(2009) *

;

(2010)

References

{{USSoccer Austin Aztex Soccer clubs in Texas Association football clubs established in 2008 USL First Division teams 2008 establishments in Texas 2010 disestablishments in Texas