Laredo Defeats RGV Grandes, Sweep Season Series
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Jul 18, 2011, 0 Comments
Courtesy Vanessa Guajardo,
Heat within One Point of Division Leader El Paso
Edinburgh, Texas – The Laredo Heat SC (10 – 3 – 1, 31 points) took care of business versus the Rio Grande Valley Grandes FC (3 – 11 – 2, 11 points) at the Edinburgh Baseball Field, home to the Grandes. The 4 – 1 victory on Sunday evening gave Laredo a 4 – 0 season series sweep over the Rio Grande Valley franchise.
The Heat’s Juan de Dios Ibarra opened the scoring for the Gateway City club in the 11th minute when he blasted a free kick from about 24 yards out that hit just below the crossbar and then found the back of the net. Grande GK Juan Gamboa stretched as far as he could but really had no chance against the Ibarra shot.
After the initial goal, Laredo continued to dominate the possession and kept pressing the Grande defense and at the 34th minute, the persistence paid off when the frontline combination of Esteban Bayona and Felix Garcia scored to put Laredo up 2 – 0. Garcia was credited with the score from the Bayona offering.
The Grandes would not go away easy in the first half as they kept battling and the Heat fell into a comfort zone with the lead. In compensation time for the first half, the Grandes Ramon Rodriguez was able to sneak the sphere by Heat GK Emmanuel Frias to make the score 2 – 1 right before the whistle sounded to end the half. At the 63rd minute, the home team was dealt a blow when # 22 Mario Zamora was issued his second yellow of the game for dissent and he was automatically sent off the pitch. For the remainder of the 27 minutes of the match, the Grandes played with a man down and the Heat took full advantage of the situation. Armando Begines, with a precise pass in the 18 yard box from Juan de Dios Ibarra put Laredo up 3 – 1 in the 75th minute to seal the game. Though Rio Grande had some opportunities they were few and far between and of no real danger during the final 15 minutes. At the 89th minute, the Heat substituted Mid-Fielder Greg Mulamba with Forward Wayo Gonzalez and Gonzalez made the most of his few minutes of playing time.
In compensation time, Gonzalez found a streaking Esteban Bayona that one timed the pass that rolled below Gamboa to make the final score 4 – 1 in favor of Laredo.
Currently, Laredo sits in second place in the Mid-South Division, just one point behind division leader Chivas El Paso Patriots (10 – 3 – 2, 32 points) and a game in hand. Laredo can take over the divisional lead with a victory on Thursday when they face the West Texas United Sockers (5 – 10 – 0, 15 points) in Midland. Regardless of the outcome in Midland, Laredo and El Paso will face each other on Saturday evening to end the 2011 PDL Regular Season at Patriot Stadium in El Paso in old fashion showdown for the division title. Both teams are already a lock to play in the postseason; however, seeding in the playoffs is still up in the air.
For game updates, fans can follow the Heat on both Twitter (@LaredoHeatSC) and Facebook (Laredo Heat SC).
Premier Development League (PDL) Southern Conference Championship
The participants in the PDL’s Southern Conference Championship, scheduled for Friday, July 29th and Saturday, July 30th, have already been determined.
Representing the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference will be the Mississippi Brilla (11 – 2 – 2, 35 points) and the Central Florida Kraze (9 – 3 – 2, 29 points).
The Brilla have already secured the Southeast Division Championship.
The Brilla, based in Jackson, MS, still have one game left to play versus the Nashville Metros this Saturday and the Kraze, based in Orlando, FL, still have two games remaining in their regular season, one versus FC Jax (Jacksonville, FL) on Thursday and their final game on Saturday will be versus Ft. Lauderdale.
In the Mid-South Division of the Southern Conference, the Chivas El Paso Patriots and the Laredo Heat SC will represent the division. The only thing pending for El Paso and Laredo is who will represent the division as the division champion.
The playing site for the PDL’s Southern Conference Championship will be determined within a week by the United Soccer Leagues.
Additional Home Game
The Laredo Heat has announced another International Friendly Match, this time versus our Sister City’s Bravos de Nuevo Laredo. “La Copa LareDOS” is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26th at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex. Kick-off will be at 8:00 P.M. Tickets for this game remain at $5.00 for adults and $1.00 for children 12 and under in the General Admission side and $20.00 on the VIP side for both adults and kids over two years old.
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.
