The Laredo Heat Soccer Club is hitting the road on Thursday, May 5th and traveling to the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex to take on 2004 Mid-South Division Runner-Up DFW Tornados on Friday, May 6th at 7:30 PM at Pennington Field. This will be the DFW Tornados first league game for the 2005 season and the Heat's second league game after their first win in league play last week against the Austin Lightning 3 - 0 at the Student Activity Complex.

This match is the first U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Match for the Heat. The U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world. Open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States, the annual U.S. Open Cup is a 91 year old single elimination tournament. In a nutshell, the U.S. Open Cup is very similar to domestic cup competitions popular throughout Europe, South America and the rest of the world. Cup competitions, which usually run concurrent with the country's league season, are open in the early stages to any club that can qualify, giving local amateur teams a chance to compete against the best teams a country has to offer.

The next home game for the Laredo Heat will be a Friendly Match next Wednesday, May 11, 2005 at 8:00PM versus the United States U-17 Men's National Team. This will mark the first time that a U.S. National Team will be visiting the Gateway City for a soccer match. Tickets for this game can be obtained by calling the Heat office at 723 - 4700 or at the gate on game day.

For additional information on the Laredo Heat Soccer Club and complete game schedule and updates, please visit their web site at www.laredoheatsc.com .