Laredo, TX (Friday, June 14, 2024) – The Laredo Heat SC survived a late shorthanded rally Thursday night opening a road trip with a 3-2 victory over the Fort Worth Vaqueros to remain unbeaten and strengthen its standing atop the NPSL’s Lone Star Conference. Now the Heat quickly shift gears for a battle of the unbeatens with first place on the line Saturday against the Denton Diablos FC.
“The boys did enough on the day to get the three points,” Heat head coach John Powell said. “I’m proud of them for their effort and their work rate. Obviously there is a lot to clean up, but it’s a tough place to play and Fort Worth was very good. I’m just proud of them.”
Laredo (4-0-1, 13 points) is alone in first place in the Lone Star Conference, but the Diablos (3-0-2, 11 points) lurk just behind them followed by FC Brownsville (2-1-2, 8 points) and West Texas FC (2-2-1, 7 points) in the other two playoff positions. The Lubbock Matadors and CF10 Houston FC are both just outside the postseason picture with each averaging a point per game.
Heat forward Manuel Ponce Casas recorded his third brace of the season as he extended his league-leading total to seven goals through five games. Ponce Casas also picked up his third assist of the season as midfielder Lex Bernier scored his first goal of the season. Laredo has scored multiple times in every game with 13 total goals, and Ponce Casas has been directly involved in 10 of them.
The Heat were unable to post a second straight clean sheet and gave up multiple goals for the third time this season. However, goalkeeper Adrian Gallardo was instrumental in keeping the match level throughout the first half. He made a pair of point-blank saves in the first half and kept Fort Worth scoreless headed into the break despite facing seven corner kicks and 14 shots.
While the Vaqueros generated the bulk of the scoring chances early, Laredo was the one that broke through first. Oscar Govea broke out with a goal and an assist in last week’s 2-0 win over West Texas FC, and he kept it going Thursday setting up the opening goal. Govea gathered the ball about 30 yards out from the right post and one-touched a through ball straight ahead. Ponce Casas beat his defender and also beat the keeper to the short side as his shot from the top right corner of the box hugged the inside of the right post.
“Adrian was special tonight. And when we have players like Manu and his class, he just needs a look,” Powell said. “He did what he does best and scored goals.”
Coming out of the break, the Heat became the aggressors, and it paid off almost immediately. In the 48th minute, Jordan Mase gathered a one-touch pass from Govea up the left sideline and burned by his defender. With two Fort Worth players racing up between them, Mase and Ponce Casas stayed ahead. Ponce Casas took a centering pass and again beat the keeper to the short side shooting just inside the left post for a 2-0 lead.
“The response from the break was really good,” Powell said. “It was obviously sustainable and we didn’t, so that part was frustrating, but you could see the quality. So now we need to work on our ability to maintain that intensity and quality over longer spells.”
Another response proved crucial soon after. In the 58th minute, Fort Worth’s Felipe Medina Jr. raced toward Heat captain and center back Lewis Wilson just as a pass arrived. As Wilson attempted to quickly get a pass off, Medina deflected it and ran around him for a free path to the net. Wilson hustled back to pressure Medina, but a spin move gave him time to get a shot off to cut the deficit in half.
The Heat’s response came swiftly answering with a goal exactly 60 seconds later. A through ball set Casas up one-on-one with the keeper from the top right side of the box while a defender quickly closed in up the middle. Rather than getting off a quick shot to go for the hat trick, Casas crossed to a wide-open Bernier who calmy shot into the open net.
“We always talk about the next five minutes after a goal no matter who scores it, and our response to that was excellent,” Powell said. “It was really good team play to create the ball and to finish it. I was really happy. That was the reason we were able to keep all three points was our response to their goal.”
The celebration was short-lived, and the response to this goal became all about keeping their composure and not succumbing to emotions. As Govea jogged back toward midfield, Medina laid him out like a linebacker. Just 66 seconds after he scored to get his team within a goal, Medina was tossed with a red card as his team trailed 3-1.
“We always talk about our ability to control our emotions,” Powell said. “We did it well enough to make sure we got three points. There’s still a lot to do.”
Despite being down two goals and one player, the Vaqueros refused to go away. In the 73rd minute, they connected on a deep feed from 52 yards out to just outside the top left corner of the box. A centering cross was then buried to make it a one-goal game.
“It was very frustrating, but credit to Fort Worth,” Powell said. “They were good on the ball and they had nothing to lose, and they caught us. It was a mistake we won’t repeat.”
The Heat buckled down from there surviving the remaining 17 minutes of regulation and eight minutes of added time to secure the three points.
With Thursday’s result locked up, Laredo can shift its focus to a crucial battle for first place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Denton. The Diablos can take back sole possession of first place with a win, while a win or a draw for the Heat will keep them atop the table.
“It’s a quick turnaround, but I know the level of team we have here and I trust the boys,” Powell said. “They will take care of their bodies the right way and they’ll respond and put a good shift in on Saturday for sure.”
Denton enters with an extra week of rest as it last played Thursday, June 6 in Houston. That match was a 3-3 draw where the Diablos led 3-1 before giving up two goals in added time. That was the only match this season in which Denton allowed multiple goals, so something will have to give in Saturday’s matchup as the Heat have not been held below two goals. The Diablos have scored three goals in three of their matches while being held to one in the other two games.
“They are really good. They have a special center forward that we’re aware of,” Powell said. “It’s going to take everything we have to get the three points on Saturday. We’re treating them with respect.”
Visit youtube.com/@LaredoHeatSC for live streams of the Heat’s matches. The team will next be home at PEG Energy Stadium on Wednesday, June 19 in a rematch against Austin.
For ticket information and to stay up to date on all things Laredo Heat, visit laredheatsc.com, follow @laredoheatsc on all major social media platforms or email Vaswanifamily@about-time.com.
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