Laredo Heat

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Laredo Heat
Full nameLaredo Heat Soccer Club
Nickname(s)The Heat, The Red Flames
Founded2004
StadiumTexas A&M International University Soccer Complex
Laredo, Texas
Capacity4,000
OwnerShashi Vaswani
Head CoachJohnny Clifford
LeagueNPSL
20181st, Lone Star
WebsiteClub website
Current season
Original Laredo Heat logo 2004–07

Laredo Heat is an American

Premier Development League
from 2004 to 2015. The club was on hiatus for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The team plays its home games at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex, where they have played since 2008. The team's colors are red, black and white.

History

2004

Laredo Heat initially joined the USL Premier Development League in 2004 as an expansion franchise, playing a limited 'exploratory' schedule of eight exhibition games against selected opponents, but only managed two wins, both over the

Lafayette Swamp Cats, 4–0 and 5–0, the latter of which featured a hat trick from striker Nelson Mata-Meza. Former Tampa Bay Mutiny, D.C. United and US national team striker Roy Lassiter played for Laredo in their 2–1 loss to DFW Tornados, but did not get on the score sheet.[1]
He also played in a 1–1 draw against UNAM.

2005

Laredo's first true competitive season was 2005, and the team proved to be a formidable opponent almost immediately. They won their opening game 3–0 over

New Orleans Shell Shockers, Laredo held off Austin Lightning to finish second in the Mid-South Division and claim a playoff spot at their first serious attempt. At the Southern Conference playoff tournament, Laredo dispatched Southeast Division champions Cocoa Expos
2–1 in the semifinals, but lost to El Paso in the final. Dionisio Infante was Laredo's top scorer for the season, with 8 goals, while both Hector Vallejo-Medina and Juan Ibarra contributed 5 assists.

2006

Laredo's emergence as a true PDL powerhouse began in 2006. They began their season with a 9-game winning streak, proving to be a dominant force both at home and on the road: they scored an 88th-minute winner to beat

Michigan Bucks
. Unfortunately for Laredo, and despite the support of 7,000 home fans, lightning couldn't strike three times, and Michigan held on to win 2–1 and take their first PDL title. Nevertheless, reaching the national final was a monumental feat for a second year franchise, and boded well for the future. Hector Vallejo-Medina was Laredo's top scorer, with 7 goals, and Steve Su contributed 6 assists.

2007

Laredo retained their Mid South Division title in style in 2007, losing just two regular season games all year long. Despite never really overwhelming any of their opponents in games, Laredo were dogged and determined, grinding our comfortable 1–0 and 2–0 wins over their opponents, doing just enough to remain consistent all year. They began the season strongly, with a 3–0 win over

Felix Garcia struck the winning kick past Bucks keeper Steve Clark
. The shootout was notable for the injury to Michigan striker Kenny Uziogwe who, after taking a penalty kick which was saved by Laredo keeper Ryan Cooper, immediately collapsed in agony with cramp; however, when the referee called the penalty back due to Cooper being off his line, Uziogwe was unable to continue, and despite receiving treatment for 10 minutes on the field, had to be substituted during the shoot-out.

2008

As 2-time PDL Championship finalists and reigning national champions, Laredo were expected to be competitive in 2008, and did not disappoint. They started strongly, with two ties and a win in their opening three games, but were unexpectedly beaten 1–0 by expansion team

Felix Garcia
was Laredo's top scorer, with 11 goals (and was also named PDL U19 Player of the Year), while Juan Ibarra contributed 8 assists.

2009

In the Mid South Division 2009 Season the Laredo Heat finished on top of the table with 7 wins, 1 loss and 8 ties. The Heat managed to score 29 goals and received 18 during the season. At the Division finals the Heat beat the

Cary Clarets
1:3 and were eliminated. The Laredo Heat did not participate in the
2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
.

2010

In the Mid South Division 2010 Season the Laredo Heat finished on top of the table with 9 wins, 5 losses and 2 ties. The Heat managed to score 36 goals and received 19 during the season. At the Division finals the Heat tied to the Baton Rouge Capitals 1:1 but lost in the penalty shootout 5:6 and were eliminated. The Laredo Heat did not participate in the

2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
.

2011

In the Mid South Division 2011 Season the Laredo Heat finished on top of the table with 11 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties. The Heat managed to score 35 goals and received 13 during the season. At the Conference Semifinals the Heat beat the

Mississippi Brilla in a penalty shootout 7:6 after tying 2:2. In the semifinals Laredo beat the Long Island Rough Riders 4:1. In the 2011 PDL Championship game the Laredo Heat lost 0:1 against the Kitsap Pumas
. The Laredo Heat did not participate in the
2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
.

2012

In the Mid South Division 2010 Season the Laredo Heat finished on top of the table with 10 wins, 3 losses and 3 ties. The Heat managed to score 31 goals and received 15 during the season. At the Conference Semifinals the Heat lost to the Orlando City U-23 1:2 and were eliminated.
At the

USASA in the first round 4:2. In the second round Laredo faced the San Antonio Scorpions from the North American Soccer League and lost the match 0:2, the match was played at San Antonio
and the Heat were eliminated.

2013

In the Mid South Division 2013 Season the Laredo Heat finished second in their division with 8 wins, 2 losses and 4 ties. The Heat managed to score 30 goals and received 13 during the season. At the Conference Semifinals the Heat beat the Ocala Stampede 2:0. In the Conference Final Laredo faced their division rivals the Austin Aztex and lost 0:2 and were eliminated. The Austin Aztex went on to win the 2013 PDL Championship game.
At the

Fort Lauderdale
and the Heat were eliminated.

2014

In the Mid South Division 2014 Season the Laredo Heat finished second in their division with 7 wins, 4 losses and 3 ties. The Heat managed to score 23 goals and received 16 during the season. At the Conference Semifinals the Heat faced the

AET
. In the penalty shootout Laredo missed their first kick and the Stampede made all the penalties, Laredo lost 5:4.
At the
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
.

2016

The Heat decided to opt out of the PDL's 2016 season, citing the slow growth of the Mid-South Division as the reason.[2]

2017

The Heat announced they will be part of an expansion team of the National Premier Soccer League in 2018.[3][4]

2018

The Heat's first season in the NPSL went very well. Winning all matches in the Lone Star Conference during the 2018 season. Laredo finished as top seed in the league guaranteeing them home matches until the final if they make it that far. The team became the Lone Star Conference Champions beating Houston Dutch Lions 4:3 in overtime. The team finished the regular season 10–0–0 before losing in the Sweet 16 of the NPSL Championships 2–1 in overtime.

Team

Current technical staff

As at April 2018.[5]

Position
Head coach Dana Taylor
Manager JJ Vela
Assistant coach Vicente Ruiz
Assistant coach John Powell
Assistant coach Keith Ramirez
Athletic Trainer Ernst Feisner, MA, LAT

Current roster

Notable former players

Year-by-year

Year League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup
2004 USL PDL 8th, Mid South did not qualify did not qualify
2005 USL PDL 2nd, Mid South Conference Finals did not qualify
2006 USL PDL 1st, Mid South National Final 1st Round
2007 USL PDL 1st, Mid South Champions did not qualify
2008 USL PDL 2nd, Mid South National Final did not qualify
2009 USL PDL 1st, Mid South Conference Finals did not qualify
2010 USL PDL 1st, Mid South Conference Semifinal did not qualify
2011 USL PDL 1st, Mid South National Final did not qualify
2012 USL PDL 1st, Mid South Conference Semifinal 2nd Round
2013 USL PDL 2nd, Mid South Conference Finals 2nd Round
2014 USL PDL 2nd, Mid South Conference Semifinal 4th Round
2015 USL PDL 3rd, Mid South did not qualify 2nd Round
2016 On Hiatus
2017
2018 NPSL 1st, Lone Star Regional semifinals did not qualify
2019 NPSL 5th, Lone Star did not qualify 2nd Round

Events hosted by the Laredo Heat

Javier "Chicharito" Hernández
playing against the Laredo Heat Soccer Club on May 24, 2006
  • April 20, 2006: Laredo Heat vs Tigres UANL[6]
  • May 24, 2006: Laredo Heat vs
    Chivas de Guadalajara
  • July 9, 2008: Laredo Heat vs Mexico U-20[7]

Honors

  • NPSL Lone Star Conference Champions 2018
  • USL PDL Southern Conference Champions 2011
  • USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2011
  • USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2010
  • USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2009
  • USL PDL Southern Conference Champions 2008
  • USL PDL Champions 2007
  • USL PDL Southern Conference Champions 2007
  • USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2007
  • USL PDL Southern Conference Champions 2006
  • USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2006

Head coaches

Stadia

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.

  • 2004: 1,300
  • 2005: 542
  • 2006: 705 (9th in PDL)
  • 2007: 737 (10th in PDL)
  • 2008: 974
  • 2009: 1,228 (7th in PDL)
  • 2010: 989 (10th in PDL)

References

  1. ^ United Soccer Leagues (USL) Archived 2009-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Scavuzzo, Diane (December 1, 2015). "SABBATICAL FOR PDL'S LAREDO HEAT". goalnation.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "LAREDO HEAT SOCCER CLUB JOINS THE NPSL". npsl.com. November 28, 2017. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  4. ^ Davis, Zach (November 28, 2017). "Heat SC returning to Laredo in 2018". lmtonline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  5. ^ Laredo Heat Staff
  6. ^ Heat to play Tigres, Chivas reserves in exhibitions Archived 2014-06-05 at archive.today
  7. ^ U.S. Prepares for Mexico U-20 match by studying Mexican match vs Laredo Heat

External links


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