Heat coach suspended; Two games this weekend
The Laredo Heat Soccer Club and Vaswani Soccer Ventures, LLC have recently been informed by the United Soccer Leagues and Premier Development League Director Steve Clamp, that Head Coach Eleazar "E.J." Jepsen has been suspended by the league for actions that occurred during the Friday, May 27, 2005 match between the Heat and the El Paso Patriots.
Coach Jepsen will begin to serve his suspension this weekend and will not be on the bench with the team in the games versus the Nashville Metros on Friday, June 3rd and Saturday, June 4th versus the Memphis Express.
A hearing to discuss the suspension has been scheduled for Tuesday morning, June 7, 2005 and a final decision by the league will be handed down after all parties involved have discussed the matter.
This coming weekend, the Laredo Heat will be in the capable hands of Assistant Coaches Israel Collazo, Jorge Canales and Manager/Trainer Max Cruz.
As mentioned above, the Heat is back home to take on Tennessee rivals, the Nashville Metros on Friday, June 3rd and the Memphis Express on Saturday, June 4th. Both games have a scheduled start of 8:00PM and will be played at the Student Activity Complex located on Hwy. 359 and Loop 20.
The Heat (4-3-0 / 12 points) is currently in 2nd place in the Mid-South Division of the Southern Conference behind points leader El Paso (6-0-0 / 18 points). Under the PDL Playoff System, the 1st and 2nd place teams in each division advance into post season play.
Heat General Manager and Chief Operating Officer J.J. Vela, said, "If the season ended today, the team would be in the playoffs and it has put itself in that position because of hard work, determination and the leadership of the coaching staff." Vela added, "Regarding Coach Jepsen's suspension, we, as an organization, will plead our case during the hearing on Tuesday morning to the USL's Disciplinary Committee and we will live with the decision that is handed down and continue to be focused on what we started this year, to make the playoffs."
For all questions regarding Coach Jepsen's suspension and game day and opponent issues, please feel free to contact Coach Jepsen directly or J.J. Vela in the Heat Administration.
For additional information on the Laredo Heat Soccer Club and complete game schedule and updates, please visit their web site at www.laredoheatsc.com .
