Laredo, TX (Wednesday, April 10, 2019) – The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) has announced the pairings for the Opening Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, recognized as the U.S. Soccer’s National Club Championship. The annual competition is open to all amateur and professional soccer teams that are affiliated with U.S. Soccer.

The annual tournament has crowned a champion dating back to 1914 and in 1999, the competition was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt. This year’s tournament will be the 106th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The Laredo Heat Soccer Club, representing the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) will be hosting the Brazos Valley Cavalry FC from Bryan, TX on Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex, kick-off is scheduled for 8:00 P.M. The Cavalry FC will be representing the USL’s League 2.

This match-up between the clubs will be the first and will bring an interesting storyline as the Brazos Valley Cavalry FC are an affiliated team with the Houston Dynamo of the MLS and the Heat’s youth program is a partner with the Dynamo Youth Academy.

Of interesting note, the Houston Dynamo are defending U.S. Open Cup champion, having won the title with a 3 – 0 victory over the Philadelphia Union on September 26, 2018 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, TX.

“This is an exciting draw and definitely a great way to start the 2019 season, hosting a high caliber team like Brazos Valley this early in the season, actually our first competitive game of 2019 will give Coach Aiden Davison, his staff and the players a real opportunity to see where they stand as a team for the upcoming NPSL regular season”, said Heat Owner Shashi Vaswani.

Vaswani concluded, “We are very excited to get the season going and I can promise, like prior years of competition, that both teams will come out hard in order to advance into the second round, neither team will want to have any regrets at the end of the match”.

Heat Ticket Pricing for U.S. Open Cup Match & Regular Season

The Laredo Heat Soccer Club will continue with its mission of keeping our games family friendly and affordable as they will once again offer General Admission Pricing of $5 for adults and kids 12 and Under will be admitted free. VIP Seating will also be available for $25 for both adults and children.

Regular Season News

Laredo will open up the NPSL Regular Season on Saturday, May 18, 2019 versus the Tyler FC Kings at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex. Kick-off will be at 8:00 P.M. for all regular season games.

About the NPSL

The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is the successor to the Men's Premier Soccer League (MPSL), which was formed in 2002. The league started in the West Region with teams from the Northern California area. In 2005, the league expanded to a national format with the introduction of a Midwest region. The NPSL expanded further in 2007 by adding a Northeast region. In 2011, with the addition of a Southeast region, the National Premier Soccer League has truly become a nationwide league. In 2014, NPSL became the largest national soccer league in the US Soccer development pyramid with over 80 teams all over the country. Over 30 expansion teams joined the NPSL for the 2014 season, and the league is nearing the entrance of its 100th team.
 

The NPSL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the governing body of soccer in the United States. The NPSL operates and is managed as a team-run league. The structure of the league allows each team to have one vote. Each team is individually owned and operated, and is responsible for maintaining league minimum standards. New teams seeking membership into the NPSL are subject to approval by existing team owners.

NPSL Philosophy: We compete for 90 minutes on the field, we are business partners...always. We all work together to grow the game, build the NPSL, and develop our respective clubs.

NPSL Mission: To grow the sport of soccer in the United States of America -- by providing our members with a sustainable business model and professionally managed soccer platform, and by serving as an inspiration to players and soccer fans in our members' communities.

NPSL Vision: To be the foundation of the U.S. Soccer development pyramid with over 100 profitable teams in 100 communities; in turn, doing our part to help the United States become a soccer nation and win a World Cup.

For additional information on sponsorship opportunities, tickets and the Laredo Heat Soccer Club, please contact the Heat Front Office at (956) 723 – 4700 or visit our website at www.laredoheatsc.com , LIKE us on Facebook www.facebook.com/laredoheatsoccer or Follow Us on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @LaredoHeatSC.