By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com
Austin Aztex sit at the summit of a very strong USL Conference following an interesting weekend of action in the USSF D-2 Pro League.
The latest round of league matches produced some surprising results, with three of the six weekend contests ending in stalemate.
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The weekend action started Thursday night, and in stunning fashion, as Crystal Palace Baltimore recorded their first-ever victory as a North American second division club with an impressive
1-0 away victory
over Portland Timbers. Cuban striker Yaikel Perez's first-half header silenced a PGE Park crowd of 8,817, as the Maryland outfit finally got into the win column in the league this season.
The lone game on Friday saw FC Tampa Bay Rowdies come from a goal down to win
2-1
at Carolina RailHawks. Gregory Richardson gave the home side a halftime lead from the penalty spot at WakeMed Soccer Park, but second-half strikes from Joe Donoho and former Whitecaps striker Aaron Wheeler gave the Florida outfit all three points in Cary, North Carolina.
There were three matches on Saturday, with Miami FC making it draw number five to start the new season following a
1-1 result
at NSC Minnesota Stars. Johnny Menyongar gave the Stars the lead with his first goal of the season before the Blues claimed a fourth 1-1 scoreline of 2010 when Paulo Araujo Jr. equalized in the late stages at the National Sports Center (NSC) Stadium. In Oregon, meanwhile, the Timbers' wrapped up a disappointing week of home results after being held to a surprising
1-1 draw
with Athletic Club of St. Louis at PGE Park. Mike Ambersley's last-minute strike cancelled out Mandjou Keita's first goal of the season for Portland. Up the road in Burnaby, BC, NASL Conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps played out an entertaining goalless draw with Canadian arch-rivals Montreal Impact at Swangard Stadium.
Finally, on Sunday, Austin moved to the top of the USL Conference after a
2-1 home victory
over Crystal Palace Baltimore. Lance Watson gave the Texas outfit the lead before Mathew Mbuta equalized in the second half for Baltimore. The Aztex made sure they ended the weekend with the best record in the league, as Jamie Watson scored Austin's winner at House Park.