Heat visits Tornados tonight for third meeting
By NINO CARDENAS, LAREDO MORNING TIMES
06/23/2006
The Premier Development League soccer playoffs are looming in the horizon, the teams are headed to the third and final month of regular season play.Laredo plays its last June game tonight at the home of the Dallas Tornados. Six matches remain in July.
The Heat sprinted out of the gates accumulating a 9-0 record for a comfortable lead in the Mid-South division with 27 points. Dallas is second at 5-4 and 15 points.
Laredo defeated the Tornados 3-0 at the Student Activity Complex and edged them at tonight’s venue, Pennington Field 1-0.
The local club looks to make it three-for-three against the Metroplex team.
Laredo is fresh off its toughest week, having played four games.
“The team is doing fine. We’ve been working hard and have recuperated in order to give it our all,” head coach Israel Collazo said in Spanish on Friday.
In order to keep his team fresh, the coach formed a team full of players who can play at multiple positions.
In last week’s doubleheaders Collazo started two different strikers in the games.
He paired Ernesto Contreras (4 goals this season) with Jesus Sanchez (4 goals) on Friday. Saturday he opted for Hector “La Gota” (Vallejo (5 goals) and Arnoldo Presas (3 goals).
They won 3-0 Friday and 4-1 Saturday.
Juan de Dios Ibarra, selected to the PDL team of the week for scoring two goals against Austin, Raul Quinones, Steve Su, Jake Downs all play different positions and roles, depending on the opposition.
“The idea when we built this team was to get players with those qualities. It’s been a strong suit for the club and it lets us rest players,” Collazo said.
A back injury suffered in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game has kept defensive captain Dionisio “Nicho” Infante on the sidelines.
Infante and midfielder Adam Kelemet, who got hurt in Friday’s game against Austin, aren’t available today.
Offensively, Laredo is the second highest scoring team in the 59-team PDL League. The Heat’s 27 goals in nine games trail only the Carolina Dynamo with 31 in 11 games.
Carolina is the other undefeated team in the league at 10-0-1.
Defensively, the Heat has been stout allowing 10 goals helping goalkeeper Ryan Shaughnessy collect three shutouts.
Shuaghnessy leads the league with his nine wins and is tied for first with 64 saves.
It isn’t the team’s goal, but the possibility of shooting for a perfect record has been contemplated.
“Of course, we’ve thought about it. It’s inevitable, but our focus is game by game and giving it our best effort. If it happens because of our efforts then good,” Collazo finished.
©Laredo Morning Times 2006
