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Match Preview: Heat Visiting Central and North Texas

Thursday, May 24, 2007 (Laredo, TX):

The Laredo Heat Soccer Club (2 – 1 – 1 / 7 Points) are back in action this weekend and looking at getting back to their winning ways against IH-35 rivals, the Austin Lightning (2 – 2 – 0 / 6 Points) and the DFW Tornados (2 – 1 – 0 / 6 Points). The Heat will be visiting the Lightning on Friday, May 25, 2007 and game time is set for 7:30 PM at House Park in downtown Austin. On Saturday morning, the team will head north to Dallas for a Sunday tilt with the Tornados that is scheduled for 7:30 PM at Pennington Field in Bedford, Texas.

Currently in the Mid-South Division, the El Paso Patriots sit atop of the pack with 10 Points and the Heat is currently in second place. The Patriots have already played six games during May and have a record of 3 – 2 – 1.

Though it is still early in the season, this holiday weekend will be a very pivotal weekend for the Heat. With Austin and DFW nipping at their heels and both New Orleans and the expansion Mississippi Brilla at five points, the room for error, or losses for that matter, is very slim for the Laredo club.

And to make things more interesting for the Heat, two of the teams’ defensive anchors, veterans Mark Vega and Carlos Ordaz will not be playing or will have limited playing time due to injuries suffered over the past week. This news will make it very interesting for Coach Collazo and the team but it will also allow for some of the younger players to step up and make a case for more playing time.

Heat General Manager, J.J. Vela, said, “We knew coming into the season that it would be tougher than last year and after four games, that has proven to be a right assumption”. Vela continued, “At this point last season, we had already won our first four games and we were sitting on top of the division and looking at the last weekend in May to win one last game in order to qualify for the U.S. Open Cup. My, how things have changed and now injuries to key players are playing a huge factor in the scheme of planning for Coach Collazo”. Vela concluded, “Coach Collazo is very aware of the situation and understands the expectations the organization has as he also has very high expectations for the players on and off the field. He knows this weekend will not only give him answers that he is looking for but the rest of the division will also be looking at this weekend as a barometer of things to come for everyone in the Mid-South”.

In other news from the Mid-South Division, the division’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup representative will be decided on Friday, May 25th when the El Paso Patriots visit the DFW Tornados. If El Paso wins or ties the Tornados, they qualify by virtue of winning all four qualifying matches or winning three matches and having one tie; however, if the Tornados beat the Patriots, things will get interesting for both clubs because both teams will have nine points in qualifying action. U.S. Soccer will then have to implement the pre-determined factors of head to head competition and point differential to determine the Mid-South representative.

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.