Laredo Welcomes Regional Rival FC Corinthians for Friendly
Written by admin, Apr 30, 2014, Comments Off
Courtesy Vanessa Guajardo,
Friday’s Free game offers first look at Heat in final preseason match
LAREDO, Texas – The Laredo Heat and FC Corinthians are primed to participate in a friendly at the Texas A&M International Soccer Complex on Friday with an 8 p.m. kickoff.
The game will be open to all fans for free, offering a first glimpse at their Heat team as it prepares for its campaigns in their third consecutive Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the Premier Development League’s Mid-South Division.
The South Texas teams – separated by just 150 miles of IH-35 – practice more similarities than the surface shows. Corinthians, a faith-based football club from San Antonio, compete in the National Premier Soccer League during the Heat’s league season. Both leagues are semi-professional – drawing mostly from student-athletes of the NCAA, NJCAA and NAIA.
Friday’s match will be the fourth friendly for Corinthians and just the third for Laredo, but Laredo holds a marginal edge between the pair’s preseasons. Corinthians has scored just one goal in a pair of draws and a loss while the Heat played a pair of regional rivals over the weekend en route to a 1-1 draw at NCAA Division II St. Edward’s last Friday and a 2-1 victory over NCAA Division I Incarnate Word on Sunday.
Heat returning midfielder Yair Hernandez has served as an attacking magician, scoring the 28th minute equalizer against the Hilltoppers and the go-ahead first goal against the Cardinals. The Heat hinge point, an American with experience playing in Mexico’s second division, has maintained his net-finding form from 2013. With the Heat last season, Hernandez appeared in 13 PDL games and two domestic cup matches with three goals and an assist. His goal total in league games stood as the Heat’s fourth highest total and only two Laredo players – former goalkeeper Emmanuel Frias and midfielding veteran Greg Mulamba – logged more than Hernandez’s 1,134 minutes.
Corinthians brings an attacking attribute of their own to town, provoking a possible advantage and insight to Laredo’s strategy. Forward Horacio “Lacho” Leal will undoubtedly relish his return to Laredo, this time as an opponent, after playing for the Heat in 2012.
Leal made 14 league appearances for the Heat, scoring three goals and delivering two assists. The Heat advanced to the Southern Conference semifinals with Leal under then-first year manager Fernando Hernandez.
Laredo will then play the winner of the U.S. Open Cup first-round match between the Colorado Rovers and Red Force on May 14 at the TAMIU Soccer Complex. Three days later, Laredo hosts the Houston Dutch Lions in the league opener at TAMIU.
Both matches kick off at 8 p.m.
