Bravos FC, Heat to face off in crucial match

HIDALGO - The playoff picture in the Mid-South Division is the tightest in the USL Premier Development League, and tonights fourth and final regular-season meeting between RGV Bravos FC and the Laredo Heat could make it even more uncomfortable in the five-team race for the division's three post-season spots.

Bravos FC will visit the Heat at 8:15 tonight at the Texas A&M-International University Soccer Complex in Laredo.

Bravos FC had a bye last weekend and should be well-rested in the rematch against Laredo, which defeated Bravos FC 4-2 in their last meeting on June 28 at Valley View High School Stadium in Hidalgo. The Heat lead the South Texas series with a 1-0-2 record and five points.

Despite the bye, Bravos FC (5-4-4, 19 pts.) slipped to the fifth-place spot after the Heat (6-1-7, 25 pts.) took over first place with a 4-0 shutout of the Austin Aztex on July 3 and a 2-2 draw with the DFW Tornados last Sunday.

The Aztex (6-3-4) and El Paso Patriots (7-5-1), both tied with 22 points, hold the second and third place slots, while the expansion West Texas United Sockers (6-3-3) took over the fourth position with 21 points. West Texas notched a pair of victories over Houston and El Paso last weekend.

With three games left to play in the 2009 PDL season and only six points separating Bravos FC from first place, the Valley squad is still in the hunt for a playoff berth.

Leading RGV's attack is striker Salvador Luna, who has scored 13 goals in 11 matches this season and was nominated to the USL PDL Team of the Week for the second time in a row last Wednesday for his four-goal and one-assist performance against Austin and Laredo.

RGV will not be able to count with forward Tomás Banda and midfielder Noé De los Santos for the match against the Heat. Both players have to sit out the game due to accumulation of yellow cards.

However, Bravos FC has plenty of depth on the bench and will look to midfielders Kendor Vásquez and Gabriel Escandón, as well as the return of striker Alex Ríos against Laredo tonight.

Assistant coach Javier Navarrete will lead Bravos FC for the third straight match due to coach Ismael Moreira Braga's three-game suspension. Moreira will return to the Bravos FC bench on July 17.