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Laredo Chosen to Host Southern Conference Championship
Thursday, July 19, 2007 (Laredo, TX):
The Laredo Heat Soccer Club received word from the United Soccer Leagues (USL) on Thursday morning, July 19th that it had been chosen to host the 2007 Premier Development League (PDL) Southern Conference Championship.
The PDL Southern Conference Championship will be held at the UISD Student Activity Complex (SAC), located at the corner of Highway 359 and Loop 20, on Friday, July 27th and Saturday, July 28th, 2007.
On Friday, July 27th, the SAC will host Game # 1 at 5:30 PM between the # 1 team from the Southeastern Division and the # 2 team from the Mid-South Division. At 8:30 PM that same evening, the # 2 club from the Southeastern will play the Laredo Heat, the first place team from the Mid-South.
On Saturday, July 28th, the Southern Conference Championship Game will be played at 8:00 PM between the winners of the two matches on Friday.
“All Conference Championship Bids were due at our league office on Tuesday, July 17th and we honestly did not expect to be notified so soon that our bid had won. The fact that we hosted the PDL Semi-Final versus the Westchester (New York) Flames and the USL PDL Championship Final versus the Michigan (Detroit) Bucks last season in a successful manner was probably an influential factor in the decision by the USL” said an excited Heat General Manager, J.J. Vela.
“PDL Commissioner, Lee Cohen, called me on Thursday morning from the USL’s Headquarters in Tampa, Florida with the news and told me that our bid had beaten out two other very good bids from potential participating teams”.
“And when I say potential participating teams, there are several clubs in the Southern Conference that are still playing for their playoff lives. In our very own Mid-South Division, the El Paso Patriots control their destiny. A win at home versus the New Orleans Shell Shockers and they are in; however, a win by New Orleans coupled with a loss by DFW in Austin and a loss by Mississippi against our club on Saturday night in Jackson, MS, then New Orleans might get in due to the tie breaker system in place in the PDL”.
Vela added, “And if that isn’t confusing enough, if DFW wins in Austin and New Orleans beats El Paso and we beat Mississippi, then DFW goes in and if Mississippi beats us in their home and all those other scenarios come to fruition, mostly El Paso losing to New Orleans, then Mississippi gets the last playoff birth”.
Vela concluded, “At this point, I am just happy that Coach Collazo, his staff and the team took care of business last week and we are not involved in looking for a playoff spot during the last weekend of the regular season. Everyone in the organization is excited that we are the Mid-South Division Champion for the second year in a row and that we have made the playoffs in all three of our seasons playing in the PDL”.
“And from the Southeastern Division, two of these three clubs, the Central Florida Kraze from Orlando, Florida, the Carolina Dynamo from Greensboro, North Carolina and the Atlanta Silverbacks from Atlanta, Georgia will have to start making plans after Sunday to come to Laredo next weekend”.
Admission for all three games will remain the same as they have been during the Heat regular season. Adult admission will be $6.00 and all children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.
The Laredo Heat organization would like to invite all soccer and sports fans to all three games next weekend so we may show the visiting teams and the USL how much support there is in the Gateway City for sports and a good time. The Southern Conference Tournament will promise to be an exciting and fun event for our city and for anyone wanting great family entertainment plus it will once again give us the opportunity to showcase what is good in Laredo and South Texas.
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.