HOUSTON (July 16, 2012)--Two soccer players died and a third was injured when lightning struck a tree that they were standing beneath to get out of a storm Sunday in Houston.

Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Thomas Gilliland said the storm halted a men's league soccer club at around noon on Sunday and the players all ran for cover under some nearby trees.

Gilliland says lightning struck one of the trees, killing one of the men.

Two others were taken to a Houston hospital where one was pronounced dead.

The third man was in stable condition at Ben Taub General Hospital.

Authorities have not released the names of the men.

Heavy rain has drenched the Houston area in the past week, leaving dozens of homes flooded.