CHICAGO (www.ussoccer.com) – U.S. Soccer announced today that Austin Aztex forward Max Griffin was voted the USSF Division-2 Professional League June Player of the Month. Griffin scored four goals and assisted on another in five games for the Aztex during the month of June.

The Palmdale, Calif., native opened the month with a goal at home in Austin’s 2-1 win on June 3 against the Puerto Rico Islanders. He then recorded the first hat trick in franchise history in the 3-1 home win against Miami FC on June. With the help of his 13 shots from the point of attack, the Aztex jumped out to a 3-1-1 record for the month in league play.

Griffin now finds himself in the top five of every major offensive category in the league in just his first year with the club, including points (13), goals (5), assists (3) and shots (30).

Austin, who now have a 9-2-4 record, stand six points clear of their next closest rivals, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Rochester Rhinos. The Aztex visit Rochester in a matchup of the top two teams in the USL Conference on Friday, July 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The USSF D-2 Pro League Player of the Month is selected by a panel of journalists comprised of members of print, television, radio and online media hailing from each of the 12 USSF D-2 Pro League clubs’ local markets.

About the USSF D-2 Pro League

The United States Soccer Federation Division-2 Professional League is the second division professional soccer league in the United States. In 2010, the United States Soccer Federation formed an agreement between United Soccer Leagues (USL) and the North American Soccer League (NASL), under which the USSF would operate the league in the 2010 season and work alongside the USL and NASL on day-to-day activities.

The league consists of two conferences of six teams named the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. The USL Conference includes the Austin Aztex, Minnesota Thunder, Portland Timbers, Puerto Rico Islanders, Rochester Rhinos and Tampa Bay Rowdies. The NASL Conference is made up of Crystal Palace Baltimore, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Montreal Impact, AC St. Louis and Vancouver Whitecaps.

Each of the 12 teams will play 30 regular season games for a total of 180 games. The season will run from the second week of April until early October, with the playoffs to be contested during the following weeks.