The physical tone of the match was set early, when Sockers defender Michael Stewart was whistled for a foul on Austin midfielder Tony Rocha; since the foul occurred in the goal box, Rocha was awarded a penalty kick.  He converted the attempt, giving the Aztex the lead just four minutes into the game.

During stoppage time in the first half, Aztex forward William Morse sent a corssing pass from midfielder Kristopher Tyrpak to the right of diving Sockers goalkeeper Alonso Jimenez for a 2-0 halftime lead.

Jimenez did make 10 saves on the night, giving him 19 through the season’s first two games.  That mark establishes a new Sockers record for total saves in consecutive games; the previous record was 15, held by Leif Craddock (who accomplished the feat twice in 2011).

Seven players (four Sockers and three Aztex) earned yellow cards during the match. 

Sockers rookie midfielder Andrew Power scored on a penalty kick in stoppage time during the second half to earn a very important point for the club in the season’s first match.  Patriots midfielder Sergio Villasenor added the only other goal of the match in the 65th minute. 

With Power, goalkeeper Alonso Jimenez made his PDL and club debut, making nine saves, a club-record for Opening Day.  The single-game club record for saves is 12, set by Leif Craddock on May 13, 2011, at the Laredo Heat. 

For the fourth time in as many seasons, the Sockers opened against El Paso, and the club is now 4-1-2 all-time against the Patriots in Midland. 

As has been typical with the teams over the last four years, this match was very physical; four yellow cards were issued in the second half: Enrique Cervantes (ELP), David Kamali (WTX), Tyler Tarango (WTX), and Adrian Moreno (ELP).

The Sockers appeared to take a 1-0 lead following a corner kick in the 25th minute, but the goal was disallowed when forward Wally Valdivia was declared offside.  Although video replay appeared to indicate that the goal was legal, the game remained scoreless until Patriots midfielder Sergio Villasenor drove a low line drive to the left of a diving Jimenez. 

Much of the game was played in West Texas’ defensive end of the pitch, as the Patriots held a 9-2 shot advantage, including 7-1 in the second half.  Unable to muster a sustained rally, the Sockers seemed headed to defeat until El Paso defender Benjamin Vasquez fouled Powers in the goal box with less than one minute of stoppage time remaining.  With a crowd of more than 1,600 urging him on, Power sent the ensuing penalty kick inside the left upright and past Patriots goalkeeper Victor Rodriguez. 

After the match, Rodriguez was given a red card for "foul and abusive language" directed at the officiating crew, drawing an automatic suspension from El Paso’s next PDL match.

This was the first time in club history that West Texas opened the season with a tie, and it was also the first Sockers PDL match to end in a tie since July 18, 2010 (at the now-defunct DFW Tornados).  The last PDL tie at home was also against the Tornados (July 10, 2010).

THE SOCKERS NEXT HOME MATCH IS MAY 11 VS. THE AUSTIN AZTEX (1-0-0, 3 pts.) | BUY TICKETS HERE 

Team Introduces Six Players As PDL Opener Approaches

Download the registration form here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9ORBp3qISXncFVnbU83Nk9UQUs1WXpiRjk2eUV6QQ/edit