Laredo Heat Hosting PDL Semi-Final, Take on East Coast Club
Monday, July 31, 2006 (Laredo, TX):
Fifty-Nine teams began the Premier Development League (PDL) season back in April and only 16 made the playoffs.
And after this past weekend, only four teams remain in the hunt for the PDL National Championship.
In Provo, Utah, the Orange County Blue Star won the Western Conference Title by defeating the Abbotsford (Washington) Rangers on Friday night and then beating the host BYU Cougars in penalty shots on Saturday evening.
The Michigan Bucks took the Central Conference Championship by winning their first match Friday evening against the Boulder Rapids Reserve and then trouncing the Great Lakes Division winner Chicago Fire Reserve by a score of 4 - 1. Over the weekend, the Bucks outscored two of the top teams in the PDL 8 - 1 in Des Moines, Iowa. In this same tournament, the defending PDL Champion Des Moines Menace was defeated by the Fire Reserve in penalty kicks on Friday.
In Virginia Beach, Virginia, the team that the Laredo Heat will be hosting in the Gateway City, the Westchester Flames won on Friday evening against the host team, the Virginia Beach Submariners, by a score of 3 - 1 and on Saturday night, the Flames took down the # 2 seeded team in the PDL playoffs, the Cape Cod Crusaders, by outscoring them 2 - 1.
The Westchester Flames (12 - 5 - 1 / 37 points) travel to Laredo to take on the Heat (16 - 2 - 0 / 48 points) on Saturday, August 5, 2006 at the Student Activity Complex located at Highway 359 and Loop 20. Game time is set for 8:00 PM.
Westchester won the Northeast Division Title before getting crowned the Eastern Conference Champions over the weekend in Virginia Beach. The Flames are based in New Rochelle, New York, about 20 miles from New York City. In 2001, the Flames won the PDL title and in 2003, they lost in the PDL Final.
The other Semi-Final Match will be played in Rochester, Michigan with the Michigan Bucks hosting the Orange County Blue Star from California.
The winners of both these Semi-Final matches will meet the following weekend on Saturday, August 12th for the PDL National Championship (game site TBD) and the game will be televised live on the FOX SOCCER CHANNEL.
For additional information on the Laredo Heat Soccer Club and future game updates, please visit their web site at www.laredoheatsc.com .
