HOT MATCHUP: It’s Heat vs. Flames in PDL semifinals
By NINO CARDENAS, LAREDO MORNING TIMES
08/04/2006
The Premier Development League semifinal between the Laredo Heat and the Westchester Flames on Saturday at the SAC matches two teams filled with young soccer talent.The winner advances to the PDL championship game, which could be hosted by Laredo if the Heat wins.
The Laredo-Westchester winner plays the winner of the Orange County Blue Star vs. the Michigan Bucks. The Blue Star and Bucks play at Berkley, Mich. Saturday.
The Flames won the PDL championship in 2001, which catapulted them to the USL division 2 league, where they spent three years.
They returned to the PDL in 2005 and suffered through a miserable 3-13 season.
The Flames reinforced the squad with high caliber collegiate players, ensuring itself a successful 2006.
They loaded their roster with Division I college athletes, coming from the likes of Harvard, Boston College, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Princeton, Brown, Marist, Stanford, Lafayette, Michigan State, Connecticut, Cornell, Fordham, Richmond and Iona.
On the other hand, Laredo came into the season building on a successful inaugural campaign and tweaked its roster for a run at its first national title.
Laredo’s talent pool is composed of players from small colleges like TAMIU, Hardin-Simmons, Monterrey, Elon, Northwood and local high schools United, Alexander and Cigarroa.
Because of injuries, Westchester is due on the border with only a 16-man roster.
Westchester’s strikers are led by Charlie Davies, a member of the U-20 U.S. National team. Davis picked up the slack when leading scorer Frederick Schalchon went down with an injury the last game of the season.
Equally as dangerous is Stanford product Dan Shapiro. They helped the Flame claim the Eastern Conference title.
Shoring up the Westchester attack is Ubrahin Yusuf with three goals, Anthony Sepe, Josh Trott and Emilio Xikis have two goals each.
Trott led Holy Cross in scoring in 2004 and 2005. He finished the ‘05 Patriot League season tied for the lead in both goals and assists.
Defensively, they rely on the presence of Stanford and former Connecticut state player of the year Luke Sager.
The team features several former all-state players such as Cornell’s Brian Kuritzky, Fordham’s Ryan Brown, who also played for the U-18 Trinidad & Tobago national team, and Princeton’s Matt Kontos.
The Heat on the other hand has players with experience in Mexico’s Primera A.
Strikers Juan de Dios Ibarra and Hector “La Gota” Vallejo played with Tabasco. Carlos Ordaz spent some time with Atlante.
Vallejo is the Heat’s leading scorer with seven goals and Ibarra follows with six. Ordaz has been a staple for the Heat defensively.
Other Mexican products who have helped the team this season are starters Steve Su, Daniel Galvan and Jesus “Chuy” Sanchez. Su is from Nuevo Laredo. Galvan and Sanchez are from Monterrey.
Su and Sanchez are tied for the team lead in assists with six apiece. Sanchez also knocked in six goals, while Su has two.
Non local players include goalie Ryan Shaughnessy, out of Waco, currently attending Hardin-Simmons University; defensive starter Jake Downs, from Sachse (near Dallas) and midfielder Jacob Almack, from Alvin.
Almack attends Midwestern State University and Downs graduated form Elon University in North Carolina.
The only out-of-state player is defensive starter Ryan Harrison, from Orlando, who is playing for TAMIU.
The rest of the squad is made up of local talent that includes forward and Alexander product David Cantu, who is going to attend Incarnate Word University; plus Cigarroa alums Osvaldo Castillo and Jorge Zamora.
Current United Longhorn forward Arnoldo Presas has scored five goals for the Heat in his first season. Another United product is Javier Santana.
Rounding out the club are TAMIU players Ilmer Pinedo and Raul Quinones and former Dustdevils Jose Macias and Dionisio “Nicho” Infante. Pinedo, Quinones and Macias are all former Laredo schoolboy stars out of United, Nixon and Martin.
©Laredo Morning Times 2006
