And now they wait.

The Athenians kept alive their postseason aspirations, tallying goals in the early moments of each half en route to defeating Luxoria FC 2-0 Friday in a United Women’s Soccer Southwest Division contest on a baking-hot evening at Soccer Central.

With the win, the Athenians (7-1-2, 23 points) pulled into a tie for first place in the Southwest Division with FC Austin Elite (7-0-2), which concludes its regular season vs. last-place Central Texas Hornets (1-8) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Round Rock.

FC Austin Elite needs a win or a tie to secure the division title and a playoff berth. A loss by FC Austin Elite and the Athenians would be playoff-bound on a goal-differential tiebreaker.

“We did what we needed to do tonight,” Athenians defender Ashley Newland said. “If we don’t happen to go through, we played our game tonight and we ended on a good note. I think we should still be very proud of the season we had. If it’s not the one we wanted, then next year.”

The local squad made such a scenario possible by avenging its lone loss on the year and enduring 100-degree temperatures that led to at least one player from each team having to leave the game because of heat-related issues.

Luxoria edged the Athenians 3-2 on May 20. The Athenians rebounded, going unbeaten in their final nine contests (7-0-2).

“I think we really wanted kind of revenge for the first time playing them,” Athenians midfielder Emma Ruiz said. “We’ve been waiting the whole season to play them. The first game wasn’t the best showing of us — and we knew that. We knew we were the better team going into that and we still had to prove them. It was really exciting to show that today. That was our mindset.”

The Athenians needed little time in grabbing control of a match that started 30 minutes later than scheduled because Luxoria (5-4) had travel issues coming from Dallas. Newland tallied the game-winner only three minutes into the competition when she beat an opponent to a loose ball and ripped a shot from 25 yards out that hit the left post and redirected into the net.

“I was more concerned about a counter, but at the same time, too, I saw an opportunity,” Newland said. “It went exactly where I was putting it.”

The Athenians added to their 1-0 halftime advantage in a carbon copy of the opening stanza. They needed only four minutes to double their lead as midfielder Emma Ruiz drilled a penalty kick into the upper right corner in the 49th minute after teammate Jade Piper was ruled to have been taken down inside the penalty area by Luxoria defender Lexie Anderson.

“I stepped up there with a calm mind, but knowing if I put this away, it’s going to shut the other team down,” Ruiz said. “Thankfully, it went my way.”

From there, the Athenians staved off a few anxious moments from Luxoria, which was playing without forward Kennedy Kessler, the division’s leading scorer with seven goals, behind the play of goalkeepers Mia Wildeman and Kylie Bowman and defenders Eve Clarkson, Amanda Chimbima, Sarah Bayhi and Newland. The group combined to help the Athenians record their seventh shutout.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1