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HEAT IN USL PDL FINALS VS MICHIGAN BUCKS

Coaches cannot tell you just how valuable the experience factor comes into play in playoff games. Every once in a while, though, there comes a player, or players, whose unique talents allow them to assimilate themselves with their teammates.

A couple of first year players were the catalyst Saturday, helping the Laredo Heat return to the Premier Development League finals courtesy of a 1-0 victory over the Fresno Fuego before a crowd of 2,713 at the Student Activity Center.

For the Laredo Heat, their youngest player in Felix Garcia and their loneliest player in goalie Ryan Cooper left their marks in the game.

The 17-year-old Garcia, a lanky kid with jets on his cleats, became the Heat’s latest hero, scoring his biggest goal of his life against the Fuego that proved to be the game winner.

"It’s all thanks to the players and the coaches that helped me gain experience throughout the season," said Garcia after the game.

Cooper helped blank the Fuego with seven saves in the game, most coming in the first half.

The winning goal came in the 83rd minute off a corner kick. Garcia knocked in his own rebound in traffic. He had managed to head the ball off the corner kick, which was deflected by Fuego net minder Ryan Kenny.

In the final 45 minutes of play, with the Fuego having out-shot the Heat seven to three, Heat head coach Israel Collazo dipped into his bench.

First, he inserted Garcia, and then moved Dionisio "Nicho" Infante from his defensive position to pair alongside Garcia.

The move did not hurt the Heat defensively as Collazo substituted Carlos Ordaz to take Infante’s spot.

"What can I say; there are no words for this. I would love to thank the players, the fans and our owner Shashi (Vaswani). This is all thanks to the players and their effort and the heart they displayed," Collazo said.

As expected, both teams came out tentatively trying to get a feel for the game in the first 15 minutes of play.

In an evenly matched first half that would make Homer Simpson proud with doughnuts on the scoreboard, it was the Fuego that had a bit more success.

The Fuego’s top threat Pablo Campos was mainly a non-factor as Leone Cruz did a fine job of keeping the 6-4 striker off balanced.

Fresno, however, found success on different fronts, through a series of passes and with crosses into the box.

Orlando Ramirez provided the games first scoring opportunity in the 15th minute with a blast that was corralled by Cooper.

Two minutes later, Amaury Nunes found himself sending a dangerous header that Cooper managed to deviate with his fists.

Cooper kept the Fuego off the scoreboard with another great reactionary save in the 29th minute.

If Cooper would have been a fraction of a second slower, Marcus Caballeros header would have bounced off the cross bar and into the back of the net.

Laredo had one lone clear shot on goal that took form in the 30th minute when Infante placed a lob pass to the feet of a streaking Raul Quinones inside the box.

Fuego keeper Ryan Kenny was caught out of position as he raced to cut off the pass. Quinones left footer sailed harmlessly wide towards the far right post.

The Heat kicked things off sporting a different lineup, versatility that Collazo has credited for the teams success.

Collazo moved Infante to the defense, a position he has played before, and placed tall and lanky Raul Quinones as the left midfielder.

Quinones and Hector "Gota" Vallejo anchored the midfield and added support to forwards Isaac Morales and Joshua Fender.

Up in Lake Orion, Michigan, in the other USL PDL Semi-Final, the Michigan Bucks defeated the Brooklyn Knights in penalty kicks 5-4, after a 1-1 tie in regulation.

It will mark the first time in the 19 years of the leagues existence that there will be a rematch in the PDL Championship Game.

"This year, the match is different, but the team always comes out with the same mentality”, said Heat General Manager J.J. Vela. "It’s always great to reach a championship game and what better opportunity for our coaching staff and players than to get another shot to play the Michigan Bucks at home again”.

The USL PDL Championship Game will be played on Saturday, August 11th at the Student Activity Complex. The start time will be determined later due to Fox Soccer Channel covering the game nationally.