Fresh from the Heat offices

The Laredo Heat (5 – 3 – 0 / 15 points) are set to welcome the DFW Tornados (5 – 2 – 2 / 17 points) to the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex on Thursday, June 24^th. Kick-off for the Premier Development League (PDL) Mid-South Division showdown is set for 8:00 PM.

The DFW Tornados are currently sitting in first place in the Mid-South Division of the PDL’s Southern Conference just ahead of the West Texas United (Midland) Sockers and the third place Heat. This is the only visit to Laredo this season by the North Texas soccer team.

 Just last week, the DFW Tornados represented the Mid-South Division in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Tournament versus the United States Soccer Federation Division Second Division Austin Aztex, a game which the Tornados dropped 3 – 0 (on Wednesday evening June 23^rd, the Aztex advanced into the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup and will be facing Chivas USA of the MLS).

 “This is a very critical time of the season for all the teams in the PDL as most everyone has already completed fifty percent of their regular season schedule and for us; four of our next five games will be at home with the only exception being that we will be heading to Brownsville for a game on Saturday, July 3^rd to take on the RGV Bravos.” said Heat General Manager J.J. Vela.

 “After that, we finish on the road in Houston and El Paso so taking care of our games during the next four weeks will be very important if we want to continue our streak of playing in the post season.”

 Vela added, “DFW will be our first priority and earlier this season they handed us our second consecutive loss of the season so we know that Coach Robinson and his players will be bringing their A game to Laredo in the hopes of staying on top of the division.”

 “The game should be exciting for our fans to watch as DFW has a very contrasting style of play compared to us. They play a more European

Plenty of shade

The Tornados are coming to town and with them comes a natural advantage.
The Tornados bring a club that is taller and stronger than most of the Heat players and you'll get to see that play a key role in the contest tonight (Thursday).
The good thing is that the Heat is used to playing against taller opponents and they have a few imposing players of their own.
The bad thing is that if Greg Mulamba can't go, they'll need to find another physical player to wear the Tornados players down in the middle.
In the backfield, Angel Hernandez has his work cut out for him, but he should be well rested after sitting out the past game.
Up front the club is hoping to get Felix Garcia back, who's nursing a sore hamstring, his size adds an extra dimension to the attack.

The ebb and flow of a season

A couple of days removed from a great performance against the Houston Dynamos the Laredo Heat finds itself today very much aware that soccer is anything if unpredictable.
The Heat has forever become an important footnote for the Leones, as they became their first ever victory.
While the club was well aware that the Leones wasn't a club to be taken lightly, it seemed that Saturday in a matter of minutes lady luck was on the Houston side.
How much the emotional contest against the Dynamo and the nearly back-to-back road trip affected the club is up for debate.
To a man every Heat player was well aware that despite the opportunity to take on the Dynamo their real goal remained the PDL.
That topic was even touched upon by head coach Israel Collazo in the team's pre-game speech against the Dynamo.
It just goes to show that sometimes things just don't go your way.
It's back to the basics for the club and the near future looks bright, since they play five of their next six games at home where they have had quite a bit of luck.
The club currently trails West Texas and Dallas, but they have played one less game on the season.
Come this time next week a new and tentative picture is going to be on display in the PDL standings.
It all starts again on Friday when the Patriots come to town, in a game that has been termed a classic by several Heat players.
The Patriots look to avenge a 6-0 loss the last time they played the Heat at home this season.

Wasting little time

The Bravos didn't take long to unveil their new coaching staff

Things look to get back to normal, as another PDL weekend comes and goes.
The Heat are still welcoming new faces to the club and coach Israel Collazo is still make some tweaks here and there.

Shaking things up

The Rio Grande Valley Bravos made some drastic changes coming into their second season. The biggest being that there actually is a second season, after last year's owners weren't going to bring the club back.
The Bravos franchise was saved by new owner Kru Kayan Sitsanthaparn, but his first major change to the club was making the Bravos an amateur team.
Meaning that the players were no longer going to be paid for their services, which was reported to be around $600 a month for some.
That had a ripple effect in bringing back last year's team, especially their current star player Salvador Luna. It appears though that Luna signed a contract for $0 and is obligated to stay with the club, despite his attempts to leave and play for another team, which would be the Laredo Heat who would welcome a player of that caliber to Laredo.
The ripple effect didn't stop there as last week its entire coaching staff and general manager decided to leave the club.
Read about it here

Despite the sudden vacancies, club owner Kayan is adament that the season will continue.

Things are certainly interesting in the Valley, while in Laredo the biggest news is that the club has dropped two consecutive losses after not losing once all last season (regular).
The losses also forces the Heat to bow out from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
And if there is any surprise to this young season is that the Tornados appear to be a legit club, after a strong second half last year. The club has won twice and tied once.

The Race for the Cup and other things

While we all know that in a 16 game season, every game counts. Imagine the initial pressure to win your first two home and road games for a chance to qualify in the oldest running tournament in the nation in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Things looked good for the Heat in their home Opener with a 3-1 rout of the Bravos. Their second game didn't count, since they played the same team.
Their third contest against the West Texas Sockers didn't quite go as planned as the club lost and to add insult to injury are going to be without the services of Greg Mulamba who was red carded for a strong tackle.
That makes two starters that aren't going to be with the club early on with the season ending injury to Hector Vallejo and now a one-game mandatory sit down for Mulamba.
The Heat was without goalie Rodrigo Avila, who started the previous two games.
Leaving Raul Herrera to make his first start and first defeat of the PDL season. Things are sure to get better for the first-year keeper as the season progresses.

TAKING A TEMPORARY BREAK?
While the Aztex U-23 were successful from the start, the organization decided not to field a team this season in order to concentrate on their Division one club. This is what they have on their webiste.
Just in case you were wondering what happened to the Aztex.

"The Austin Aztex thank you for your past support of our U23 team. Rather than sponsoring a U23 team in Austin during the 2010 season, we will be forming affiliations with other PDL clubs across the US and Canada. We believe this will allow us to focus the use of our resources, and will provide a broader scouting network for our USL1 team."

I'm sure the Heat isn't shedding many tears, although they will be missed since they provided an excellent and quality opponent.

And for even more from the Aztex you can read what a loyal fan had to say here

OPEN CUP STANDINGS
The best team in each PDL division gets an invitation to the Open Cup tournament and so far this are the standings.

1. DFW, four points, two games to go and a 4-1 goal aggregate
2. El Paso, four points with a 1-2 aggregate score and two games to go.
3. Heat, three points with a 3-1 aggregate and two games to go against Dallas and El Paso.
4. Sockers, three points and a 2-5 aggregate score with one game to go.
5. Bravos 0 points, with two games to go.
6. Houston has yet to play a game this season.

Speedy recovery and good luck

I ran into the Heat's Hector "Gota" Vallejo earlier today and for a man just coming of an unfortunate injury, he was in pretty good spirits.
I have covered the Heat since it's inception and Vallejo has always been a professional off and on the field. ON Tuesday, he took the time to talk to me despite both off us not officially being on the job and he was holding his weight on his crutches, not exactly comfortable.
His playmaking abilities and leadership skills are going to be sorely missed by the club, as they look to fill the void.
Replacing what Vallejo brought to the table isn't likely, but the club has a number of players that can step up and do an admirable job.
Vallejo was getting ready to go back home to Monterrey, to join his wife and family, and prepare for surgery on Wednesday.
Gone with Vallejo are years of soccer experience and great leadership ability. His return was felt immediately and things looked extremely bright.
That experience with the game is the one that makes him take his recent injury with stride (at least as much as you can), "I know he didn't mean to do this ... it can be part of the game," Vallejo said in Spanish about the tackle.
He's hoping that with the proper training and rehabilitation, he can be ready to train with his indoor team in Monterrey come the season opener November.
Here's wishing the best and hope to see you with the Heat come next season.

And so it begins....

The Laredo Heat looked a lot more polished than the Rio Grande Valley Bravos on Friday and the end result showed it as they won their first game of the season in front of 950 fans.
FAMILIAR SCENE
Felix Garcia wasted no time finding the back of the net with his first score of the season. Overall the striker looks to only get better as he shakes off the rust, which could've been part of the reason why he failed to beat the goalie on a one-on-one attempt in the second half, in which he failed to put any lift to the ball as the keeper closed out the angle. Or he could have been tired as he gets his legs back.
He did demonstrate a great feel for his surroundings as he made several perfect set-up passes to his teammates. It won't be surprising if he becomes a bit more assertive down the line and adds a handful of assists.
With the game finishing past 10:20 there was no time to get the team's reaction to the victory, but keep an eye out for quotes in the Laredo Morning Times this upcoming week.
LOOKING GOOD
While it's way too early to get a feel for the club, there is no doubt that this club promises to be a strong contender this sesson, barring injuries.
While the Heat has always been middle and back heavy, the addition of Garcia and Hector "Gota" Vallejo has helped the team's creative offensive flow get going. While I can be making this up, I believe the reason Valeljo has the nickname Gota (drop) is because of his smooth and slick dribbling abilities. As for why new player Jose Angel "Bambi" Hernandez (who also scored) is called Bambi is yet to be determined.

PAIRING UP
While Garcia manned the point solo for alot of the game, he did have company at times in newcomer Michael Abalos who has PDL experience, having played with the West Texas Sockers last season.
Abalos, though, spent most of his time opposite Vallejo. For those fans that have followed the Heat since it's inception might have felt some nostalgia seeing Vallejo and Ibarra work well together for another season.
Raul Quinones continued his usual role of running up and down the wing in an effort to jump start the counter attack or shutdown a speedy midfielder.
Greg Mulamba continues to be a physical force down the middle for the club and Daniel Galvan and Carlos Ordaz were steady contribitors.
GRASS ROOTS BEGININGS
The Heat for the first time began the season with a former local high school player and Heat youth player in Rodrigo "Roro" Avila.
Also playing in the game and from Laredo and the Heat youth teams were Daniel Garza and Jose "Wayo" Gonzalez. Garza is set to graduate from United and has signed to play with TAMIU and Wayo is an Alexander graduate.

WAITING QUITE A LONG TIME
Nobody is as eager to get back on the field after the season opener as defender Joel Perez who had to sit out the opener because of a red card handed out in the postseason last year.