The Laredo Heat, El Paso Patriots and Mississippi Brilla are the frontrunners for the second, and final, playoff spot in the Mid-South Division with only three games to play.
The Heat (5-4-4, 19 points) hosts the last-place Houston Leones (3-8-3, 11) today, and the Patriots (6-4-3, 21) travel to take on the Brilla (5-5-3, 18).
The Heat closes the season next week at home with a key contest against El Paso on Wednesday, and finally against the New Orleans Shell Shockers on Saturday in New Orleans.
The Leones managed to tie the Heat 1-1 in their last encounter two weeks ago in a game that featured what has been hounding the team all season.
“It’s not as if we’re panicking,” Heat Coach Israel Collazo said. “The only thing that we have been lacking is finishing off our opportunities, and sooner or later we will.”
On the other hand, the Heat feels that the few opportunities it gives its opponents are maximized.
“We controlled the flow of that game, but we failed to capitalize and on the one time we broke down, they scored,” Collazo said.
The screws are indeed tightening as the Premier Development League season is nearing the end.
“We are going to keep playing our style of game,” Collazo said. “There is no need for any radical changes. We just need to believe in ourselves. I have no doubt that we’ll qualify for the postseason.”
With Under-23 teams like the Heat, opportunity knocks for some of their players, and at times it can come at the wrong time.
“I have to think about the team, but I can’t be egotistical when it comes to some of the players having incredible opportunities elsewhere,” Collazo said.
Those golden opportunities came for starters Felix Garcia, Ryan Cooper and reserve Frank Lara.
Garcia and Lara both participated within the Heat’s friendly against Mexican U-20 team on Wednesday, and played as members of the U.S. U-20 team on Friday.
The good news is that both will be available on Saturday, and they’re at the peak of their conditioning, which is surely to be tested.
As for Cooper, he has been trying out with the Honduras national team all week and is not going to play in today’s game.
Making his second start of the season is goalie Jorge Muniz, whose first start was a 2-1 loss to the El Paso Patriots.
Playing a team like the Leones presents a unique set of problems.
Is Houston going to be playing for pride, and therefore go all out and attack the Heat, or is it going through the motions as the season’s grinding comes to a close.
Collazo is hoping the Leones come looking for a victory at all costs.
The Heat has rarely seen an opponent play them with an offensive mindset. During the season, Laredo has been bogged down by teams relying on counterattacks against them.
It’s the little things that the club is looking to correct, and as for the playoffs, the team knows that all it has to do is win out in order to claim a berth.
“We’re going to surprise the people that have stopped believing in us,” Collazo said.
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