Game Recap: The Laredo Heat’s 2025 USL2 Season Comes to an End in Sarasota, FL

Laredo Drops Playoff Opener to Ft. Lauderdale United

Sunday, July 20, 2025 (Laredo, TX): A two-man disadvantage proved to be too much to overcome Friday as the Laredo Heat SC was eliminated in its playoff opener losing 2-1 in overtime against Fort Lauderdale United in Sarasota, Florida.

It was only the second loss of the season for the Heat after going 11-1-0 in 2025 for the second-best record in the 143-team USL League 2. Despite the superior record, Laredo traveled to Florida for the playoff opener to face Fort Lauderdale, the runner-up in the South Florida Division which went 8-2-2 in the regular season.

The disadvantage arrived early for the Heat. Fort Lauderdale’s Johan Arevalo stole the ball in the 10th minute and was tackled by Edwin Orduy, and the challenge earned him a red card.

Laredo fended off Fort Lauderdale’s attack for the remainder of the first 45 minutes, but three minutes into added time, Syracuse midfielder Carlos Zambrano was tackled inside the box to earn a penalty kick. He shot into the lower left corner to take a 1-0 lead.

Despite being a man down, the Heat quickly battled back. In 8th minute of added time, a deep pass from beyond midfield was sent to the top center of the box and headed away by Fort Lauderdale. Ivan Zamora quickly redirected it back to Sergio Meza at the top of the box.

Meza’s first touch popped the ball into the air, and with his back to the net, he delivered an acrobatic bicycle kick into the right side of the net past an unsuspecting keeper to level the match heading into halftime.

The match took another turn in the 88th minute. As Vincent Montoya was down on the opposite end of the field, officials allowed the game to play on, and Cesar Flores stepped up to challenge a player advancing toward the box. His slide tackle earned the Heat’s second red card and a two-man disadvantage.

Laredo buckled down for the remainder of regulation and added time, but five minutes into the first overtime period, Fort Lauderdale capitalized on the two-man advantage. Ronaldo Belgrove broke through the defense into the center of the box and shot into the lower right side of the net to pull ahead.

The Heat generated several chances with aggressive play the rest of the way. Laredo earned multiple corner kicks and free kicks but came up just short on finding the equalizer.

Fort Lauderdale advances to rematch with the Sarasota Paradise, the South Florida Division champion, in the Round of 16. Sarasota advanced Friday with a 2-0 win over Sporting Club Jacksonville. Sarasota had the edge in both regular season meetings winning 2-1 and 3-0.

For tickets, visit laredoheatsc.thundertix.com/events, and for additional information, visit team.laredoheatsc.com.