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Heat Blanks DFW 3-0, Regains First Place

Saturday, July 7, 2007 (Bedford, TX):

In what could be best described as the Laredo Heat Soccer Club’s (6 – 2 – 3, 11 GP / 21 Points) best game of the season so far, the Gateway City soccer team blanked the DFW Tornados (5 – 6 – 3, 14 GP / 18 Points) in Bedford, TX by a score of 3 – 0 on Saturday evening.

With the win, the Heat moved into a first place tie with the Mississippi Brilla (6 – 5 -3, 14 GP / 21 Points) after being tied for third place with the DFW Tornados at the start of the day. The Mississippi Brilla had their scheduled game versus the Baton Rouge Capitals postponed due to weather related field conditions to Tuesday, July 17th.

“It was great to see the offensive output today” said Heat General Manager J.J. Vela. Vela added, “The intensity shown today by our forwards and tenacity of our mid-fielder matched that of what our defensive players have shown all season”. Vela concluded, “If there is a time to start clicking on all cylinders, this is it, in time to get ready for the playoffs.”

The Heat got the scoring started early in the first half when Heat mid-fielder Juan de Dios Ibarra hammered a direct kick into the back of the net in the 20th minute from about 10 yards out. The direct kick from that distance came about due to a defensive error by the Tornados when a defenseman passed the ball, partly in error, to the Tornados 7 foot goalkeeper Stuart Robinson.

Before the initial score, the Heat had two golden opportunities to get on the board in the 5th and 13th minutes.

The Ibarra score held for the rest of the 1st half and the Heat went into the half with the 1 – 0 lead. The time of possession was even during the 1st half.

At the start of the second half, the Heat’s Felix Garcia again almost got the Heat on the board in the 47th minute but his shot went just right of the goal. Garcia had some really nifty moves in trying to set up the score.

Just a few minutes later, in the 58th, forward Josh Fender took a loose ball from about 40 yards out and raced against the DFW defenders and placed a laser to the right of the Tornado net minder to give the Laredo club a 2 – 0 lead. And if that was not enough for Fender, in the 71st minute, he took an excellent cross from the left side from Isaac Morales and got a well placed header into the goal.

Both goals by Fender, not to mention the initial goal by Ibarra, left the crowd at Pennington Field in awe due to the precision and execution demonstrated by the Laredo Heat.

Heat mid-fielder Jacob Almack almost made the score 4 – 0 when he took a hard shot at the DFW goal in the 84th minute. The shot was a rebound off the Tornado goalkeeper.

Game Notes:

- The Heat out-shot the Tornados 16 to 13

- Tornado Goalkeeper Stuart Robinson has 7 saves to the Heat’s net minder, Ryan Cooper, who had one save

- Heat Head Coach Israel Collazo used all six of his substitutes during the game: Leone Cruz for Josh Fender and newcomer Yaikel Perez for Felix Garcia in the 72nd. Lexton Moy for Juan de Dios Ibarra in the 79th. Abdiel Amador for Isaac Morales in the 83rd. Jimmy Flores for Hector Vallejo and Jorge Zamora for Ryan Cooper in the 85th.

- Fouls Committed: Laredo 16 and DFW 16

- Red Cards: DFW’s Jon Uriarte in the 21st and Laredo’s Nicho Infante in the 90th.

For additional information on the Laredo Heat Soccer Club, please visit our website at www.laredoheatsc.com or call the Heat office at 723 – 4700.