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Heat looking for Redemption this second time

Making history in the Premier Development League is becoming a habit for the Laredo Heat and the Michigan Bucks.A habit that both teams wouldnt mind continuing, last season the Bucks made PDL history at the expense of the Heat by becoming the lowest seed (13) ever to win the championship.

This year, the clubs are the first to meet again in the title game in the 19 years of the PDLs existence.

Its an extraordinary achievement by both clubs to fight their way back, but this time the end result is something Laredo would love to change.

The Heat takes on the Bucks for the second straight year for the right to host the PDL championship game at the Student Activity Complex. The gate opens at 8:05 p.m.

The game airs on the Fox Soccer Channel in tape-delay at 10 p.m.

The last time around, the Bucks were dazzled by the Laredo hospitality, but once the whistle blew it was back to business for Michigan as it won its first PDL title over Laredo.

"Me and my team have never been more prepared for a match. We are going to give Laredo the championship that they deserve. We have the best team in the league and, God willing, we will provide that championship," Israel Collazo said.

On Friday, the clubs held the United Soccer Leagues banquet at the Pelicans Wharf.

At the podium, Bucks owner Dan Duggan, Heat owner Shashi Vaswani, and General Manager J.J. Vela took turns lauding the achievements of both squads. Mayor Raul Salinas joined in welcoming back the Bucks to Laredo and again extending an invitation to an all-expenses paid party Friday, jokingly of course. The only time both parties didnt see eye-to-eye was in regard to the end result of tonights match.

After a week of preparations, both sides are eager to let the game finish the talking.

"We are going to let out a sigh of relief when the whistle blows and hopefully everything comes to fruition," Vaswani said.

"We got here because of three things determination, hard work and faith. We are going to see a great match tomorrow (tonight) and I welcome everybody to come and enjoy."

PDL commissioner Lee Cohen wrapped up the festivity, congratulating the teams for their feats and giving out some league awards.

Cohen announced the Fresno Fuegos Pablo Campos as the league MVP and handed the All-Conference and All-League plaques to the selected players in the room.

The Heats Juan de Dios Ibarra made all-conference in the south, and the Bucks Kenny Uzoigwe and Nate Jafta were all-conference and all-league.

"Wow," were the first words out of Cohens mouth. "Its absolutely amazing what you guys have done this year. For years its been the Bucks, but what Laredo has done in the last four years is unmatched."

A look at the Bucks track record in the USL and youll see a team loaded with rich soccer history. They lead the PDL in league victories, playoff wins, and division titles and were the only PDL club to defeat an MLS foe back in 2000.

The club is making its 11th postseason appearance in 12 years of existence. Team owners Dan and Jim Duggan were named to the United Soccer Leagues Hall of Fame back in 2005. The Bucks went full circle with the championship last year, and now the Laredo Heat is making their own track marks.

The young Heat organization took the fast track towards making its own identity in the PDL and is looking to capture what eluded the Bucks for 11 years in just their fourth year of existence. The Heats first year was under the provisional label of the PDL.

Collazo and Vaswani feel they have added the missing pieces to last years championship puzzle.

Pieces such as 17-year-old forward Felix Garcia and Joshua Fender. They replaced their goalie with Ryan Cooper, who has done a tremendous job on the year, and they feel that from top to bottom all the players are bonafide starters.

"My whole defense understands one another and it makes my job a lot easier. It feels good," Cooper said about playing in the championship. "I was on a championship team back in junior college. This one, though, I will never forget."

The new players complement the nucleus of returning starters for Laredo. The Heat returns eight players from last year.

However, that same sentiment is shared by the Bucks and coach Dan Fitzgerald. The Bucks return nine players, seven of which are starters.

"Some of the guys that arent back were replaced by some young guys, but at the same time the guys coming back have a another year of experience," Fitzgerald said.

Laredo made its way to the Finals by outscoring opponents 7-1, including two shutouts.

The Bucks disposed of their competition by a margin of 8-2, but needed penalty kicks to beat the Brooklyn Knights last weekend.

Last weekend, the Heat played against a team that was similar in nature, with ball control and short passes as means to an end.

This Saturday they know to expect a Bucks team that is fast and are constantly on the attack.

With two forces crashing against each other, the Heat can ill afford to repeat last years opening disaster when the Bucks had a 2-0 lead eight minutes into the game.

Not looking to be gun-shy, the game looks to be played out in the midfield for most of the contest.

Not too many defensive breakdowns are expected.

The Heat was the second best team in the regular season defensively, allowing 12 goals. In the postseason they have allowed only one goal in three games.

"We were one of the best defenses in the league and offensively we were good. Right now, we feel as we are hitting our stride and looking to close out the season strong," Heat midfielder Ibarra said.

The Bucks arent too shabby either.

They allowed only 15 goals all season and sport a goalie in Steven Clark that hasnt lost since last July.

Clark has an unbeaten streak of 21-0-4, including a record this year of 14-0-3, and has a goals against average of .70 per game.

The one obvious advantage the Heat has is the home crowd, although the Bucks proved to somewhat oblivious to the chants.

"Its a difficult thing, but I think the players like to play in a big crowd. Sure we prefer our own crowd, but just having the crowd is exciting. We had a positive experience last year and we are hoping for a similar experience this time," Fitzgerald said.

"We know the atmosphere, the windy conditions, the turf and the field size. All those are helpful things to already know," he added.

The SAC has been good to Laredo as the club has gone 8-1-1 at home this season, outscoring the competition 25-8.