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.

Heat's season far from a failure

By NINO CARDENAS
LAREDO MORNING TIMES

The Heat isn’t accustomed to early exits in the Premier Development League playoffs.
So it was a bit surprised when it bowed out in the semifinals this time around.

“As I have said all along, you have to measure your success in the regular season and not necessarily the playoffs,” Heat owner Shashi Vaswani said. “The playoffs are one game, do-or-die and more often than not, especially in the game of soccer, the best team does not win.

“So the playoffs have a lot to do with one team being more fortunate than the other. The past three years, we have been fortunate enough to pass through to the finals.”

The Bradenton Academics gave the Heat an early exit last weekend, before losing to the Ventura County Fusion.

The Fusion takes on the Chicago Fire on Saturday for the PDL championship.

“Nature will always find a way to eventually balance things out, and I guess this was the year that the universe decided to balance the scales,” Vaswani said.

Odds are that the majority of the Heat players and personnel will be glued to the TV watching the contest live via the Fox Sports Soccer channel.

The Heat had an injury-plagued season, which continued to its last game, in which the club lost its two central defenders in Carlos Ordaz (torn ACL) and Pedro Ramos (groin pull).

In its playoff opener, the Heat lost midfielder Alex Hergert to an ACL tear.

“You will be hard-pressed to find similar events to those, but then again you will also be hard pressed to find a relatively new franchise that has reached the championship stage three times consecutively in a league with more than 60 teams,” Vaswani said.

This time around, things didn’t go quite the Heat’s way. Still, the club added another Mid-South divisional title and set foot in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

“The season, because we have made the finals three years in a row and are spoiled to a certain extent, is obviously a disappointment at first sight,” Vaswani said. “But when you sit back and really analyze the whole season closely, you realize that we have to be thankful for the season we had. Struggling with injuries all season and still managing to become Mid-South division champions is a feat to be proud of.”

Overall, the team finished 8-2-8 and heads into the offseason as one of the PDL favorites come next year.

As is the case every year, the Heat is sure to go through some changes in personnel.
While the club is likely to return the core group of players, nothing is certain.

The Heat is sure to welcome back many of its young players that have grown up in its youth camp system.

Several of the youth players played integral roles in the team’s success this season. The most recent example was its opening-round playoff win against the West Texas Sockers in which Alfredo Ramos scored the lone goal. The former St. Augustine student spent time with the youth team.

“That experience in a big game is exactly what we strive to accomplish, and that makes the season worthwhile no matter where we finish,” Vaswani said.

The one constant in the PDL is that the level of play in the Mid-South division has been improving year after year.

“Working harder than usual in order to keep up is no secret, and we will definitely have our work cut for us,” Vaswani said. “In the meantime, we will work diligently within our youth program to develop as many players as possible.”

The latest teams to join the division have made sure that each season is going to be exciting.

In turn, the Heat has learned that if it’s going to stay atop the division, it needs to keep up its level of play year in and year out.

“I think all of us involved have learned an important lesson: we cannot be lax and expect to coast through to the finals every year,” Vaswani said. “I think it will make us all work harder throughout the offseason and into next year’s campaign.

“In other words, after a storybook ride for three years, we are brought back down to earth, which is not necessarily a bad thing.”

Heat hosts playoffs, boost local economy

For the fifth consecutive season, the Laredo Heat Soccer Club is hosting portions of the Premier Development League playoffs, continuing this weekend with the PDL quarter- and semifinals at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex.

The Heat itself plays Bradenton Academics of Florida Friday at 8:30 p.m.

Teams are coming from California, Florida and Washington state, bringing players, staff members and various other supporters to Laredo, where they will do much more than put on a soccer show.

“Any sort of recreational sporting event that draws athletes, spectators and family has a strong economic and collateral impact on the hotel/motel and retail industries, as well as service providers,” said Timothy Franciscus-Timm, industrial development specialist for the Laredo Development Foundation. “It’s a huge positive. They aren’t coming to invest, but they are spending their disposable income that they otherwise would have spent elsewhere.”

Added Miguel Conchas, President and CEO of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, “It’s extremely positive. We welcome anything and any organization, whether it be a private group or a city organization, that brings in visitors. It has a tremendous impact on the economy. We have a number of sports events here throughout the year, and the Heat is certainly doing its share.”

But the benefits of the Heat’s hosting duties don’t end with economic impact.

“We’ve inherited this very negative image that is really unfair,” Conchas explained. “There was some violence in Nuevo Laredo years ago that has moved on, but the stigma remained. Any time visitors come to the city and see that it is not a city of crime, that it’s actually a very hospitable city… I think it’s a very good thing.”

Franciscus-Timm agreed.

“People who would not normally come to Laredo will take this opportunity to visit and hopefully leave with a positive image,” he said.

That positive image is something the Heat is happy to portray to the league and those who follow teams to Laredo.

“We call Laredo home, and we want to introduce people to the city,” said President Shashi Vaswani. “We had to supercede what other teams have to offer, and this was the toughest year to bring to bring it here. We had to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

“We tend to play better on the road, but bringing people to our city is a great thing. We want to put it on the map.”

More Heat info

It took the Laredo Heat 120 minutes, plus an additional five minutes of compensation time, to finally get past a determined West Texas United Sockers team on Saturday night at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex.

The 1-0 win gave the Gateway City club its third Mid-South Division title in the last five years.
Not only did the Heat faithful see a hard fought match played by two equally talented teams, they also witnessed seldom-used reserve, 18-year-old Alfredo Ramos, a recent graduate of St. Augustine High School, laser a shot from about 22 yards in the game’s 109th minute to seal the victory.

Ramos entered the game at the 103rd minute when he was substituted in for veteran player Greg Mulamba.

The win advanced the Heat into the Premier Development League quarterfinal/semifinal tournament – the Elite Eight – next weekend.

“We received word (on Friday) from our League Director Lee Cohen that we were the frontrunners to host one of the two Elite Eight tournaments; however, all we needed to do was beat West Texas,” Heat General Manager J.J. Vela said.

“I told him that is a lot easier said than done.”

The Heat, though, got the job done, and playoff soccer will return to Laredo next weekend.

“At this point, we are very excited to once again showcase Laredo to the rest of the United Soccer Leagues soccer members spread throughout the United States and Canada,” Vela said. “Sixty-eight teams started this PDL season back in May and now only eight remain.

“We are going to have a great soccer event this coming weekend with teams coming to Laredo from Florida, California and Washington. We are inviting all the soccer and sports fans to start making plans to come out, and not only support us but the visiting teams as well.”

The three teams coming to Laredo are:

 Southeast Division Champions: Bradenton (Florida) Academics.
 Southwest Division Champions: Ventura County (California) Fusion.
 Northwest Division Champions: Kitsap (Washington) Pumas.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

 Friday, game one: at 5:30 p.m., Kitsap Pumas vs. the Ventura County Fusion.
 Friday, game two: at 8:30 p.m., Bradenton Academics vs. the Laredo Heat.

On Saturday will be the PDL semifinal pitting the winner of game one versus the winner of game two.

The winner of Saturday’s match will play the winner of the other PDL quarterfinal/semifinal tournament between the following four teams: the Des Moines (Iowa) Menace, the Ocean City (New Jersey) Barons, the Chicago Fire and the Cary (North Carolina) Clarets.

The United Soccer Leagues Premier Development Championship game will be on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Heat capture division title

For the third time in five seasons, the Laredo Heat Soccer Club is the Premier Development League’s Mid South Division champion.

The Heat (8-1-8) defeated the West Texas United Sockers 1-0 in extra time on Saturday night at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex to continue its quest for a fourth straight PDL championship berth.

A goal by Alfredo Ramos in the game’s 119th minute undid all the hard work the expansion Sockers (8-6-3) had put into keeping the game scoreless through regulation and one period of extra time.

Ramos sent the ball from just inside midfield to the West Texas goal, where it bounced off the post before flying into the net and setting the crowd of 1,425 into a frenzy.

With the win, the Heat clinched the right to host the Southern/Western Conference portion of the PDL’s Elite Eight tournament next weekend.

Semifinal games will be played on Friday at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. with the final scheduled for Saturday at 8:15 p.m.

Laredo will face the Bradenton Academics in the later semifinal, while the Ventura County Fusion will face the winner of Saturday’s game between the Seattle Fusion and Kitsap Pumas in the early game.

The Playoffs are set

The Laredo Heat now know who their potential opponent is going to be next Saturday for the divisional championship.
The West Texas Sockers beat Rio Grande 3-1 on Sunday and clinched the division's second seed.
In third are the Austin Aztex, who edged out the El Paso Patriots due to their head-to-head games.

The Sockers have the option to host the Aztex on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

Getting to know them

Well the initial idea was to make this part of the story, but apparently I couldn't use up a whole page.
So just in case you actually want to read a bit more here is a capsule look at each of the core players

Dionisio “Nicho Infante: While some of the players have been there for only a couple of season. Infante is the only player to have e been there since the team’s inception in 2004.
“Nicho” has been key to the team with his versatility on the field. He has played as a forward and a defender in all his season.
In 2005 he scored eight goals and had one assist. In the postseason he scored once.
In 2006 he added one goal and one assist. In the postseason he repeated the feat with one goal and one assist.
In 2007 he scored three times. In the post season he had one assist. In 2008 he only had one assist.
This season he has shouldered the offensive load, scoring four goals and adding one assist.
In his career he has 16 goals and three assists in the regular season. Combined with the postseason he has 18 goals and six assists. He averages 3.2 goals per season.


Juan de Dios Ibarra: Ibarra has been an integral piece in the middle for the Heat. The offensive minded midfielder has proven to be equally dangerous as a scorer and a passer. The ultimate team player Ibarra is the club career leader in goals and assists.
In 2005 Ibarra tallied seven goals and five assists. In 2006 he scored six times and had one assist. In 2007 he scored five times and had five assists. In 2008 he had five goals and eight assists.
This season he has two goals and four assists.
In total he has scored 25 goals and 23 assists. Including the postseason he has 28 goals 29 assists. He averages five goals per game and 4.6 assists per season.


Daniel Galvan: Galvan has worn the label of Captain for several seasons. He’s a force as a midfielder and has provided some help offensively and defensively for the team.
In 2006 he had 3 goals and two assists. In 2007 he had one goal. In 2008 he had added another goal.
This season he has one goal and one assist.
In total he has 6 goals and 3 assists. Including the postseason he has 8 goals.


Carlos Ordaz: The team’s ironman in the defense. He hasn’t missed a game since last season. Ordaz is the clubs most dependable back and has formed a formidable duo with Ramos.
Ordaz added his only career goal this season. That scored placed Ordaz in the All PDL team for this past week.


Raul Quiñones: Quiñones can be seen providing lateral help game-in and game-out. The speedster helps the Heat offense begin its counterattacks.
In 2006 he had one goal and three assists. In 2007 he had one goal in the postseason
In 2008 he had two goals and one assist.
This season he has one assist.
In total he has three goals and five assists. Including playoffs he has four goals, five assists.


Ryan Cooper: Cooper picked up where Ryan Shaughnessy left off and has provided some stellar goal keeping in his season’s with the club.
In 2007 he played in 15 games and allowed 11 goals, posting a .756 goals against average. His record was 9-2-3 with five shutouts.
In 2008 he played in 13 games and posted a .883 goals against average and allowed 11 goals. He had four shutouts and a 6-3-4 record.
This season he has a 6-1-7 record and has played in 14 games and a 1.071 GAA with three shutouts. He has allowed 15 goals
In total in the regular season he has a goals against average of .881 (37 goals allowed in 42 games). He has 12 shutouts. He has a record of 21-6-14.
He has been even dependable in the playoffs.
In the postseason in 2007 he had three shutouts and allowed one goals in four games. The Heat lost in penalty kicks. 3-1-0
In 2008 he allowed three goals in five games and had 2 shutouts. He went 5-0-0.
In total in the post season he has a 8-1-0 record. A goal against average of .444 and has five shutouts.


Greg Mulamba: Mulamba became a factor around the same time Felix Garcia did, in the 2008 playoff run. He has played himself into becoming a key member for the Heat.
In 2007 played in nine games, sparingly, picking up a few minutes here and there.
In 2008 he was in 14 games and had one goal in the regular season. In the postseason he had two goals and one assist.
This season he has four goals and two assists
In total he has five goals and two assists. Including the post season he has seven goals and three assists.

It's official: Heat is in the playoffs

The Laredo Heat can stop worrying about making the playoffs, as the stars aligned for the club on Sunday when the Austin Aztex lost to the Dallas Fort Worth Tornados and the El Paso Patriots were tripped up by the West Texas Sockers.

With its fifth consecutive playoff birth in the books, Laredo can now turn its attention into locking up a third divisional title when the club closes out the season against the Sockers on Friday.

“We have been in the league five years, and five years we have made the playoffs,” Heat general manager J.J. Vela said. “This is something that we are very proud of as an organization.
“However, this is just the first step for us in the bigger picture this year. We are excited about making the playoffs and the opportunity that brings to give our region of the United States continued soccer notoriety.”

If the Heat (6-1-8, 26 points) wins, the club will have 29 points and clinch the Mid South Division, as no other team can total more than 28 points. Additionally, Laredo owns the tiebreaker against all teams except West Texas, which was the only Mid South team to beat the Heat this season.

Making the three points all the more important is that home field advantage is on the line; the divisional winner gets to host the divisional playoffs the weekend of July 24-26.

“The Mid South Division regular season title is still there for us,” Vela said. “The importance it brings to us is hosting the divisional championship tournament next weekend in Laredo… that would be huge for us, plus it gives us more time to rest.”

With a Laredo victory, the club would welcome the two survivors among the Aztex (7-4-4, 25), Sockers (7-4-3, 24), Patriots (7-6-1, 22) and Rio Grande Bravos (5-4-5, 20).

The second and third seeded teams would face off first, with the winner playing the Heat for the right to move on to the Elite 8 the following weekend.

The two conference winners play in the championship on Saturday, Aug. 8.

If Laredo ties against West Texas, then the door is left wide open for the divisional title. But at 27 points, the Heat could still win the divisional title if things fell its way again.

The club is optimistic that the injured Greg Mulamba and Danny Galvan could be available for the contest. Their services would be welcomed, especially since the club is going to be without Dionisio “Nicho” Infante and Esteban Bayona.

Infnate is suspended due to yellow card accumulation and Bayona received a red card in the last match.

On Monday the Premier Development League mandated that all teams freeze their rosters at 26 players with no more signings allowed.

The Heat got a break with the the number of foreign players they can carry as Juan De Dios Ibarra received his Resident Card on Monday and is now classified as domestic.

That allowed the team to keep Luis Reyes, who was on the bubble due to a high-ankle sprain, on the roster.
One player whose injuries played a part in him not the final cut was Esteban Bayona,w ho despite leading the team in goals was the odd man out because of the over-23 limit.

Bayona had returned from his injury but was less then 100 percent and apparently more injured than suspected.

The postseason roster is made up of Erick Acevedo, Rodrio Avila, Soamy Bautista, Theo Browne, Ryan Cooper, Alejandro De La Fuente, Lucas Dyer, Albert Escovar, Danny Galvan, Eusebio Garcia, Wayo Gonzalez, Alex Hergert, Ibarra, Dionisio Infante, Adam Kelemet, Frank Lara, Juan Lara, Reyes, Josh Maley, Mulamba, Carlos Ordaz, Joel Perez, Raul Quiñones, Alfredo Ramos and Pedro Ramos.

Heat loses opportunity, ties Bravos

Defenseman Carlos Ordaz, normally a stout presence in the backfield, salvaged a point for the Laredo Heat Thursday night at the Texas A&M Soccer Complex.

Ordaz received a perfectly timed pass from Joel Perez off a free kick, as he entered the area and wrapped the ball in the netting in the 90th minute to tie the contest 2-2, the eventual score.

Ordaz spoiled a beautiful play for a goal by the Bravos’ Salvador Luna. Luna’s 13th goal of the season was a waltz that started off an inbound pass from the left side of the field.

He faked and dribbled past several Heat defenders before sliding in the area to best the Heat’s Ryan Cooper in the 69th minute.

The Heat’s Josh Maley had the game’s final opportunity to give his team the win in compensation time.

Much to his dismay, however, he whiffed on a pass facing an empty net.

The tie comes as a bittersweet pill to swallow for Laredo. The Heat (6-1-8, 26 points) had a chance to practically cement its postseason classification with a win.

The Heat is no longer the frontrunners for the Mid-South Division title and must now win its final contest against the West Texas Sockers on July 17.

The Bravos (5-4-5, 20) still have an outside shot of making the playoffs, if they win their final two gamse of the season.

The Heat and Bravos both had opportunities to add to the score.

The Heat sorely missed the presence of captain and midfielder Daniel Galvan, and midfielder Greg Mulamba.

The Heat trailed early, after a well-placed shot from the Bravos’ Kendor Vasquez in the sixth minute lifted his team to a 1-0 lead.

The momentum then swung in the Heat’s favor when the Bravos’ Enrique Quintero was awarded his second yellow card of the game in the 25th minute.

The man advantage allowed the Heat to equalize the game in the 36th minute when Dionisio “Nicho” Infante knocked in his fourth goal of the contest from point-blank range.

The goal came about after a corner by Juan de Dios Ibarra to the far post was redirected to Infante.

The Heat’s Esteban Bayona, its leading goal scorer, was forced into action in the 20th minute after Luis Reyes was injured.

Bayona wasn’t 100 percent, coming off an injured ankle, and it showed as the striker couldn’t knock in a relative easy opportunity in the 38th minute on a Raul Quiñones set-up.

Four minutes later, Bayona found himself on a one-on-one against the Bravos’ goalie Juan Garcia, but Bayona put too much force on his last touch that forced him to take an off-angled shot that bounced off the side netting.

Big games looming for Heat

The Premier Development League season is nearly over and the Laredo Heat is in control of its own destiny.

Not only is a playoff berth a very real possibility, but the club can also win its third Mid-South divisional title.

The Heat (6-1-7, 25 points) can practically assure itself a spot in the postseason with a win over the Rio Grande Valley Bravos (5-4-4, 19) tonight at the Texas A&M International soccer complex.

“In all honesty, what better way to finish out the regular season than playing two teams (Bravos and Sockers) that are in playoff contention, at home, and the results of those games will have implications as to the future of all the teams involved,” Heat General Manager J.J. Vela said. “Talk about controlling your destiny.”

If the Heat beats the Bravos, then the Valley team becomes the club’s third swept team for the season.

Laredo already holds the tiebreakers against the Austin Aztex (6-3-4, 22) and the El Paso Patriots (7-5-1, 22).

Both the Aztex and Patriots would have to win two and tie once, or win out, and hope the Heat loses one of its next two games, to get ahead of the Heat in the standings.

The Aztex take on the Patriots in their season finale, so only one can actually win out.

If the Heat beats the Bravos, the Valley team’s slim playoff hopes practically evaporate and they’re left on the outside looking in.

The other team in contention is the West Texas Sockers (6-3-3, 21). The Sockers have the inside track on the division, as they can amass 33 points if they win their final four games.

The Heat and the Bravos have played three times on the season, with Laredo winning once and tying twice.

Two of the three matches have had suspensions on both sides, with the latest game a 4-2 win by Laredo.

The Heat is without an important midfield presence in Greg Mulamba, who is day-to-day with a knee injury.

Danny Galvan is also a game-time decision for tonight.

The team had played with all their players for the first time since the opening game last weekend against Dallas before Mulamba went down later in that contest.

Returning to add some offensive spark was Esteban Bayona, who knocked in his sixth goal of the season against the Tornados.

“While we are glad that we finish off the regular season at home, we are aware that we will need to defend our turf versus two quality expansion teams,” Vela said.

The Heat finishes the season against West Texas on July 17.

“First thing’s first, we need to get three points versus the Bravos (tonight) in order to create some distance in the standings and then prepare for our final game of the season next week versus the West Texas United Sockers,” Vela said.

Austin plays twice this weekend, with the first contest against the winless Houston Leones (0-10-3, 3) at home on Friday; and the second at Dallas Fort Worth (2-6-4, 10) on Sunday.

The Aztex wrap up the season hosting the El Paso Patriots on July 17.

The Aztex can finish with a maximum of 31 points.

The Patriots can also total 31 points if they win out in their final three games.

They have a tougher schedule than Austin, since, besides playing the Aztex, they take on the Sockers on Sunday.

It won’t be easy; all their games are on the road against Dallas and El Paso over the weekend.

They close out the season against Laredo and Rio Grande Valley.

The Bravos (5-4-4, 19) can collect 28 points if they win their final three games.

Two games remain as Heat stay atop Mid-South

The Dallas Fort Worth Tornados might not prove daunting for the majority of the Mid-South Division, but to the Laredo Heat, they have been anything but pushovers.

Once again the Heat rallied from an early deficit and managed to tie Sunday's game, 2-2, for the all-important one point.

The Tornados are 1-2-3 on the season at home and 2-6-4 overall.

The Heat (6-1-7, 25) fell into a 2-0 hole quickly before a red card to the Tornados’ Taylor Brice in the 44th minute swung the momentum tin its favor.

The second half, with the man advantage, belonged to the Heat as Esteban Bayona and Greg Mulamba scored to give the club its seventh tie of the season.

The Heat welcomed back Bayona, who quickly added to his team-leading goal total, which now stands at six. Bayona was in his second game back with the team, after recovering from an ankle injury. He cut the deficit in half in the 58th minute with an unassisted goal.

Mulamba,, on the other hand continued with his offensive surge and now has four goals on the year. His equalizing goal came in the 75th minute off a pass from Juan De Dios Ibarra.

Mulamba has proven to be the Heat’s ace in the hole late in the contests. All his goals have been of the game-tying variety.

The Heat snapped a two game winning streak, but still sit atop the division with 25 points.

Right behind the club is the Austin Aztex Austin (6-3-4, 22), El Paso Patriots (7-5-1, 22), West Texas Sockers (6-3-3, 21) and Rio Grande Valley Bravos (5-4-4, 19). The Sockers beat El Paso 2-1 on Saturday to stay in contention.

Laredo finishes its road portion of the season schedule with a 3-1-4 record. It closes out the regular season at home against the Bravos (July 9) and West Texas (July 17).

Pivotal games remain for Heat

The final month of Premier Development League play is here for many teams.

With the playoffs looming on the horizon, the Laredo Heat is hoping that it gets another chance to extend its season into August.

The Heat’s no stranger to the pressures that go hand-in-hand with the final month of action. It just hopes that its experience and knowledge can guide it back into the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

The Heat finds itself in the same five-way Mid-South Division battle that began two months ago.
The Heat (5-1-6, 21 points) trails co-division leaders Austin Aztex (6-2-4, 22) and El Paso Patriots (7-4-1, 22) by one point.

Behind Laredo is Rio Grande Valley Bravos (5-4-4-, 19) and the West Texas Sockers (4-3-3, 15).
The Heat takes on the Aztex in Austin tonight and then plays the Dallas-Fort Worth Tornados on Sunday.

Heat coach Israel Collazo is suspended for tonight’s game after being ejected in the team’s last contest against the Bravos.

“Austin’s a well-coached and organized team,” Collazo said. “They have players that are not only quick, but strong. They can turn it on at any moment offensively, but like always we are planning to play our game.”

The Heat is coming of its first victory in nearly three weeks with a 4-2 win over the Bravos.
It was a game in which defender Soamy Bautista knocked in two goals to become the team’s first player to be named to the PDL Team of the Week.

“I had no idea,” Bautista said about the honors. “Well that’s new, I’ve never made it to anything like that before, but, hey, if it happens, it happens. What I want to do is take care of business and do what I can.”

Another thing that Bautista had never done in his two years as a starter for Texas A&M International was score a goal.

He is currently tied with Greg Mulamba in second place for the team lead in goals scored.
“It’s a surprise,” Bautista said about the goals. “I mean, I haven’t scored in two years with TAMIU, but yeah, it goes to show the nature of the game.”

The club’s leader in goals Esteban Bayona (five goals) is going to suit up, but his chances of playing depend on the situation on the field.

He is coming off an ankle sprain suffered against the Tornados back on June 18.

The club is hoping its recent offensive outburst against the Bravos continues. Before that game, it had scored seven goals in six games, five of those games ending in ties.

Bautista, who is going to be a junior for the Dustdevils next season, made a quick impact with the Heat by scoring his first goal in its season opener against the Aztex.

The defender then settled into his role for the next six games, before an injury sidelined him for the next four, in which the team went 1-0-3.

He’s still not at 100 percent, but he concedes that he probably won’t be at top form anytime soon.

This season would be Bautista’s second with the Heat if it wasn’t for a reality show that he appeared in last summer.

“It was an opportunity (the TV show) that I couldn’t pass up, you know,” he said. “So I was approached again this year, and I had nothing else going on so I couldn’t pass up a great opportunity (playing for the Heat) like this.”

Meanwhile, Bayona’s return to the team came at a perfect time, with the team battling for a playoff spot and with the roster freeze coming up on July 16.


If the Heat’s going to make it to its fifth consecutive playoffs in a row, now is the time where the players that plan to lead the team have to stand out.

“We know what we gotta do to win,” Bautista said. “We have tied plenty of games, but we haven’t lost and that’s big. We know we have gotten by with ties, but we have to grow as a team.”

The Aztex and Heat have met twice before, both in Laredo. The Heat won their first meeting, 3-1, and tied the second, 1-1.

Still, the Aztex have yet to lose at home, going 4-0-1 and outscoring teams 16-5.

“If the players execute our game plan and everything works out for us as we hope, our playoff destiny will rest solely in our hands, and, from experience, that is a good thing to have on our side,” Vela said.

Tonight, the Heat welcomes the return of Mulamba, Erick Acevedo and Alejandro de la Fuente. All three were suspended for the Bravos game.

USL hands out fines, suspensions for Heat, Bravos

The United Soccer League has laid down the law, regarding the extracurricular activities between the Laredo Heat and the Rio Grande Valley Bravos that took place last week.

As far as the league is concerned, it has washed its hands of the mess and strongly urged for both teams to do the same.

Especially since the two clubs meet again tonight in Hidalgo, and once more in Laredo on July 9.

The activities came about after the Heat and Bravos’ last game in which Bravos coach Ismael “Moreira” Braga went over to the Heat bench and issued some words to the Heat’s Greg Mulamba.

A shoving match ensued and the league handed out suspension and fines after reviewing the video.

The coach was mad because he felt the tackle Mulamba had on Jesus Mireles, which broke his fibula was dirty. Mulamba was cleared of any wrongdoing by the league.

The Heat’s (4-1-6, 18 points) Mulamba, Eric Acevedo and Alejandro de La Fuente were suspended for tonight’s game and fined $25 each.

For the Bravos (4-3-4, 16), Braga is suspended three games and fined $150.

Back-up goalie Eric Chapa is suspended two games and fined $50.

The league also fined each team $250.

“Honestly, while I might not agree with all their decisions, it’s time to move on. I have to focus on preparing the team and look for solutions in how we can win tonight with the players we do have,” Heat coach Israel Collazo said.

“It will be a highly contested game, but I don’t think it will or should go beyond that. We are going to go out and play and be respectful.”

Fines were also handed out to Laredo’s Juan de Dios Ibarra ($50) and Esteban Bayona ($50).
Ibarra was fined for throwing a water bottle, while Bayona, who was on crutches, shouldn’t have been on the field at all, but still was.

In the Bravos corner, Alfonso Cavaso was fined $50, along with Edgar Cona, both for throwing water bottles.

Of note, is that the Bravos are a pay-for-play club, as they elected to pay their players for their services.

They’re the only team in the Mid-South Division to sign their players in exchange for money.

In their previous two games, the Heat has finished the contests with at least a man down. It has also rallied to tie the game in both matches.

Its first encounter was a 3-3 stalemate back in May, followed by the 1-1 tie two weeks ago.
While the Heat welcomes back defender Pedro Ramos and midfielder Luis Reyes, it loses a key figure in the midfield in Mulamba, who had emerged as the team’s go-to guy on offense, having scored three goals in the last three games.

Also missing the match is defender Acevedo.

The club is already without its top scorer in Bayona, leaving the offense a work in progress.

Helping alleviate the scoring woes is the return of Albert “Chiti” Escovar. Escovar logged some minutes in Friday’s contest, so his availability for a full game is still in question.

“It’s important to keep all your players on the field for continuity and familiarity’s sake, but you can’t predict this sort of thing. We have to adjust, adapt and look for what works for us,” Collazo said.

In its last game, the Heat moved Dionisio “Nicho” Infante back on top alongside Frank Lara.
Infante has some experience atop, so Escovar would be a welcome addition, being that he has played at the university level.

The more likely option is Luis Reyes as an offensive-minded midfielder, with Nicho alone at top.

Lara and Eusebio Garcia have seen some time at the forward position and should see some playing time.

Making an impact lately is midfielder Alex Hergert, who is likely going to called on again with Mulamba out.

The return of Ramos and Soamy Bautista allows for Danny Galvan to return to his natural position in the midfield.

“It’s going to be a difficult match and I expect a hostile welcome. It’s an extremely important match because we both need those three points that are up for grabs,” Collazo said.