Match Preview: Heat Open 2010 Campaign versus Rio Grande Valley
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Apr 30, 2010, 1 Comment
Courtesy Vanessa Guajardo,
The run at another Premier Development League (PDL) championship for the Laredo Heat Soccer Club starts this Friday, April 30th at the Texas A&M International Soccer Complex. Kick-off is set for 8:00 PM.
The Heat open the 2010 PDL Regular Season versus the Rio Grande Valley Bravos, a team that last season missed the playoffs but was in the thick of things up until the last game of the season. A break here and there and the Bravos could have easily been involved in a playoff run for the PDL’s Mid-South Division title.
The RGV Bravos open up the 2010 PDL Season under a new ownership group but still have their core group of players returning, including one of the PDL’s leading goal scorers from 2009 in Salvador “Chava” Luna. Also returning to the sideline for the Bravos is Brazilian Head Coach Ismael Moreira Braga who brings a wealth of international experience to the club.
For the Laredo Heat, Head Coach Israel Collazo, returning for his 5th season as the head man, and his staff, Assistant Coach Fernando Hernandez, Team Manager Max Cruz, Strength and Conditioning Coach Albert Escovar and Team Trainer Ernst Feisner are also set to get the season going after a grueling pre-season that lacked a significant number of exhibition games that the Gateway City is club is used to playing before getting going on the regular season.
“We have a number of returning players that I am very comfortable with and most importantly, we have a group of players, both from our youth system and veterans, that will joining us for the start of this new year that I believe will make an immediate impact to our roster”, said Israel Collazo.
“The addition of Felix (Garcia) was a welcomed surprise this past week but because I was not contemplating the possibility of him playing at all this season and because of that, I was able to see very good things from other players working out with us during the pre-season”
Collazo concluded, “I am excited that the season opener is here and in a way, I am looking forward to playing one of the many solid clubs in the Mid-South Division such as the Bravos in our opening game. What better way to gauge where we stand immediately out of the gate since last season, our games versus the Bravos were played very evenly”.
go heat!