Via Laredo Heat press release:
The Laredo Heat will be concluding its preparation for the 2009 Premier Development League season with a visit to the Bayou City.
The Houston Dynamo organization will be providing the Heat with its toughest challenge of the preseason by giving the Heat a game on Saturday.
Kick-off is slated for 10 a.m. at Robertson Stadium, located on the campus of the University of Houston.
Since the game will be treated as a scrimmage for both teams, admission to the stadium will be free of charge.
The match, taking place just a week before the Heat’s regular season opener versus the expansion Rio Grande Valley Bravos, should give the players a great opportunity to play in a Major League Soccer stadium and should give them a great incentive to play well.
Additionally, for the younger players that have never had the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the United States, the game should give them a real test of how hard they need to train in order to reach the highest level of soccer in our country.
“This is very unique opportunity for our club,” Heat owner and president Shashi Vaswani said. “An opportunity that I hope will give our players and coaching staff an idea of what we are trying to strive for here in Laredo.
“We were able to form a working relationship with the Dynamo when we were both dealing with Felix Garcia’s transfer and future allocation to their organization. Since then, we have had open lines of communications with several key members of the Dynamo administration.
“I am just happy that the Dynamo accepted our request to play in Houston on one of their free weekends and that the game was a good fit for us. I think the players are really looking forward to the challenge and are looking forward to seeing how they stack up against one of the successful soccer organization in the United States.”
The Houston Dynamo is a two time Major League Soccer Champion, winning consecutive MLS Cup Championships in 2006 and 2007.
The Dynamo play in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer are currently in sixth place behind Chivas USA, the Seattle Sounders, the Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake and the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Dynamo has only played five games this season and is under the direction of Coach Dominic Kinnear.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Bravos drop Heat on penalty kicks
The opening round of the LareDOS Cup Tournament went to the Nuevo Laredo Bravos as they defeated the Laredo Heat 5-2 in penalty kicks on Wednesday night.
The game finished in a 1-1 stalemate in regulation, and the Bravos capitalized on their penalty kicks to take home the cup.
The tournament drew a large number of fans from both clubs at the Texas A&M International Soccer Complex.
Bravos goalkeeper Roman Lozano figured big in his team's win, stopping a Daniel Galvan penalty kick.
Heat goalie Ryan Cooper missed his kick, hitting the left post and setting up the game-winner, knocked in by Carlos Garcia.
The penalty kick goals from the Bravos were from Joel Lopez, Mario Aceves and Raul Rodriguez.
The only Heat player to knock in his shot was Joel Perez.
The Bravos knocked in the opening score in the first half on a Benjamin Patiño goal.
They failed to hold onto the lead, as the Heat's Albert Escobar knocked in the equalizer in the 77th minute.
The goal was the final straw for Nuevo Laredo coach Ricardo Lopez Estrada, who got sent to the showers for arguing with the official.
"The important thing is that the fans were happy," Bravos president Cesar Valdez said.
"Soccer is something that unites us both.
Somebody had to win and obviously we are happy we won, but more importantly that the fans were satisfied,"
Things were heating up early as the referee was quite liberal with the colored cardboard.
Not helping the physical nature of the contest was the pre-arranged rule that both teams would stick with 11 players on the field no matter if they were shown a red card.
"What happened is that it's normal when a team that has been playing for a while and a team that is just beginning for the match to turn into a tough played contest," Valdez said.
"In the end, though, it helps everybody out."
Added Heat coach Israel Collazo, "It's better for me to be able to see all eleven players on the field.
The Bravos are a physical team, well coached and we just have to keep on working."
The Bravos had two red cards, and both teams were littered with yellow cards.
The game finished in a 1-1 stalemate in regulation, and the Bravos capitalized on their penalty kicks to take home the cup.
The tournament drew a large number of fans from both clubs at the Texas A&M International Soccer Complex.
Bravos goalkeeper Roman Lozano figured big in his team's win, stopping a Daniel Galvan penalty kick.
Heat goalie Ryan Cooper missed his kick, hitting the left post and setting up the game-winner, knocked in by Carlos Garcia.
The penalty kick goals from the Bravos were from Joel Lopez, Mario Aceves and Raul Rodriguez.
The only Heat player to knock in his shot was Joel Perez.
The Bravos knocked in the opening score in the first half on a Benjamin Patiño goal.
They failed to hold onto the lead, as the Heat's Albert Escobar knocked in the equalizer in the 77th minute.
The goal was the final straw for Nuevo Laredo coach Ricardo Lopez Estrada, who got sent to the showers for arguing with the official.
"The important thing is that the fans were happy," Bravos president Cesar Valdez said.
"Soccer is something that unites us both.
Somebody had to win and obviously we are happy we won, but more importantly that the fans were satisfied,"
Things were heating up early as the referee was quite liberal with the colored cardboard.
Not helping the physical nature of the contest was the pre-arranged rule that both teams would stick with 11 players on the field no matter if they were shown a red card.
"What happened is that it's normal when a team that has been playing for a while and a team that is just beginning for the match to turn into a tough played contest," Valdez said.
"In the end, though, it helps everybody out."
Added Heat coach Israel Collazo, "It's better for me to be able to see all eleven players on the field.
The Bravos are a physical team, well coached and we just have to keep on working."
The Bravos had two red cards, and both teams were littered with yellow cards.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Heat ready for Bravos exhibition game
By NINO CARDENAS
LAREDO MORNING TIMES
Coach Israel Collazo is able to take a look at how his Laredo Heat players react in an in-game situation, ultimately, means little.
Coach Ricardo Lopez of the Nuevo Laredo Bravos, on the other hand, needs to leave something in the tank as his team prepares to wrap up its 2009 campaign.
More importantly, the Gateway City fans in attendance tonight (8 p.m.) for the showdown between the two clubs get to witness what they have to offer as they take part in their first LareDOS cup at the Texas A&M International soccer grounds.
“We are going to see two teams which feature a lot of youth; teams that are going to give it their all. Both teams have excellent coaches on their benches,” Bravos president Cesar Valdez said.
The ticket prices are $5 for adults and children 12-and-under get in free.
The fact that the Bravos are coming into the game with the majority of the season already played should give them the slight edge.
Leveling the playing field for the Heat is that the Bravos players are all 21 years old or younger.
Also, the core of the team, depending on how much it plays, shouldn’t need much time getting back into the flow of things.
The Heat has 11 players already signed. Those players are going to be joined by potential teammates who will try and make a case to earn their spot on the roster.
“This will be an entertaining game with a lot of goal opportunities,” Collazo said. “The pace should be up and down, with both teams being more aggressive than usual.
“We’ll put on a great show and hope to see the fans come out and support us.”
The Heat are hoping to get a scrimmage in Houston over the weekend before the Premier Development League season begins on May 2 on the road against the expansion Rio Grande Valley Dorados.
LAREDO MORNING TIMES
Coach Israel Collazo is able to take a look at how his Laredo Heat players react in an in-game situation, ultimately, means little.
Coach Ricardo Lopez of the Nuevo Laredo Bravos, on the other hand, needs to leave something in the tank as his team prepares to wrap up its 2009 campaign.
More importantly, the Gateway City fans in attendance tonight (8 p.m.) for the showdown between the two clubs get to witness what they have to offer as they take part in their first LareDOS cup at the Texas A&M International soccer grounds.
“We are going to see two teams which feature a lot of youth; teams that are going to give it their all. Both teams have excellent coaches on their benches,” Bravos president Cesar Valdez said.
The ticket prices are $5 for adults and children 12-and-under get in free.
The fact that the Bravos are coming into the game with the majority of the season already played should give them the slight edge.
Leveling the playing field for the Heat is that the Bravos players are all 21 years old or younger.
Also, the core of the team, depending on how much it plays, shouldn’t need much time getting back into the flow of things.
The Heat has 11 players already signed. Those players are going to be joined by potential teammates who will try and make a case to earn their spot on the roster.
“This will be an entertaining game with a lot of goal opportunities,” Collazo said. “The pace should be up and down, with both teams being more aggressive than usual.
“We’ll put on a great show and hope to see the fans come out and support us.”
The Heat are hoping to get a scrimmage in Houston over the weekend before the Premier Development League season begins on May 2 on the road against the expansion Rio Grande Valley Dorados.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Heat organize yearly matchup with Nuevo Laredo Bravos
It was in the works for quite some time and today it’s official: the Laredo Heat and the Nuevo Laredo Bravos are organizing a yearly contest.
“After several attempts over the past few years to have the Nuevo Laredo Bravos visit Laredo for a game against us, we were finally able to come to a mutually beneficial agreement with the Bravos administration,” Heat General Manager J.J. Vela said via press release.
The Bravos play in the second division of the Mexican Soccer Federation and are currently in the tail end of their season.
The Heat is on the opposite side of the spectrum, finalizing its roster as its Premier Development League season closes in.
“Our players, coaches and administration are truly looking forward to this event, and I say event, not game, because our cities are so intertwined in their day to day activities,” Vela said. “Citizens are one with each other, and we are excited to finally showcase both teams to soccer fans of the two Laredos.”
One of the obstacles for the team was getting the Bravos players’ visas to come into the United States.
All was cleared once the green light was given to give the players a one-day pass into the country in order to dispute the self-titled LareDos Cup.
The first match takes place on April 22 at the TAMIU soccer field.
Kick-off is set for 8 p.m.
Tickets are set at $5 for general admission and $30 for VIP seats. Children 12-and-under get in free.
The winner of the game takes home a trophy, which is to be provided by the home team on a yearly basis.
“When we initiated the discussions about the possibility of the match, one of the first things we talked about was making sure the game between the two teams would not be the only one ever scheduled, and that so long as the teams were competing in their respective leagues, there should be a home-and-away series established,” Vela said.
“With that being said, we agreed to establish a name for the annual game; something to give it a competitive feeling, something for the players to play for and we immediately agreed on giving the winner of the match a cup name La Copa LareDOS (LareDOS Cup).”
“After several attempts over the past few years to have the Nuevo Laredo Bravos visit Laredo for a game against us, we were finally able to come to a mutually beneficial agreement with the Bravos administration,” Heat General Manager J.J. Vela said via press release.
The Bravos play in the second division of the Mexican Soccer Federation and are currently in the tail end of their season.
The Heat is on the opposite side of the spectrum, finalizing its roster as its Premier Development League season closes in.
“Our players, coaches and administration are truly looking forward to this event, and I say event, not game, because our cities are so intertwined in their day to day activities,” Vela said. “Citizens are one with each other, and we are excited to finally showcase both teams to soccer fans of the two Laredos.”
One of the obstacles for the team was getting the Bravos players’ visas to come into the United States.
All was cleared once the green light was given to give the players a one-day pass into the country in order to dispute the self-titled LareDos Cup.
The first match takes place on April 22 at the TAMIU soccer field.
Kick-off is set for 8 p.m.
Tickets are set at $5 for general admission and $30 for VIP seats. Children 12-and-under get in free.
The winner of the game takes home a trophy, which is to be provided by the home team on a yearly basis.
“When we initiated the discussions about the possibility of the match, one of the first things we talked about was making sure the game between the two teams would not be the only one ever scheduled, and that so long as the teams were competing in their respective leagues, there should be a home-and-away series established,” Vela said.
“With that being said, we agreed to establish a name for the annual game; something to give it a competitive feeling, something for the players to play for and we immediately agreed on giving the winner of the match a cup name La Copa LareDOS (LareDOS Cup).”
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