Two weeks after signing his first professional contract, Laredo Heat SC alumnus Gabriel Claudio made his professional debut on Tuesday, April 5 subbing in during the Union Omaha Soccer Club’s 2-1 victory over the Des Moines Menace in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

“I know it was only five minutes to hold the lead at the end, but I’ll take whatever I can get,” Claudio said. “I’m here to do whatever I can for the team. I’m honored to get any minutes on the pitch for Union Omaha. That was one of the first times I’ve ever started on the bench in my career. Obviously I want to be on the field as much as I can, but I have to trust in the gaffer's plans and go from there.”

The defender subbed in during the 91st minute with Union Omaha ahead 2-1. Union Omaha fell behind in the 14th minute, but it answered back five minutes later as John Scearce scored the team’s first goal of the season. An own goal in the 81st minute proved to be the difference.

“I really enjoy this group of guys,” Claudio said. “We seem to connect well. We all have trust and respect for each other.”

Union Omaha is based in Omaha, Nebraska and plays its home matches at the Werner Park baseball stadium with a capacity of 9,023. The Owls won both the regular season and overall championships in 2021. Union Omaha opens defense of its title on Saturday, April 9 on the road against the Forward Madison FC while it waits to find out its opponent for the third round of the Open Cup.

“The U.S. Open Cup is a cool thing to be a part of,” Claudio said. “We’re excited to move on to the next round and see what opponent we’re going to face. At the same time we’re ready for the regular season starting on Saturday.”

Claudio helped the Heat make a run to the Lone Star Conference championship game during the 2021 National Premier Soccer League season. Laredo featured the conference’s top defense in the regular season as it allowed only 10 goals while going 7-1-2. The Heat posted five clean sheets including a 3-0 win in the postseason opener.

Claudio also contributed to the conference’s No. 2 offense as he scored three goals. The balanced effort led to him being named a finalist for the NPSL Conference XI awards.

“I owe a lot to the Laredo staff, the players I played with, the coaching staff and the Vaswani family and everything they did for me down there,” Claudio said. “I hope they continue to have success and breed guys and get them out like they’ve done with me and guys like Memo Diaz and Younes Boudadi. They have had a lot of quality down there, and I hope they keep doing that. They provide a big platform for young soccer players.”

The Heat open the 2022 season May 13 in San Antonio and host their home opener May 18 at the TAMIU Soccer Complex. The home stretch continues with games on May 21 and May 24. Visit laredoheatsc.com and follow @laredoheatsc on social media to stay up to date on the latest news including upcoming player announcements. Any youth players interested in joining the academy can visit laredoheatscyouth.com for more information.