The Laredo Heat are too much for the Dutch Lions in game 2

CONROE, Texas -- The Houston Dutch Lions lost to the Laredo Heat 2­-1 on Saturday in the second of the two ­game series between the teams, but showcased improvements from the previous game. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy aspects of the game on Saturday compared to the previous was that the Dutch Lions kept the goal differential to just one goal compared to Thursday’s two­goal goal differential, and proved domination of the game with less luck than their opponents. The Houstonians had more opportunities at the face of the goal than the Heat, and had the majority of possession, yet unfortunately did not manage to pull away with the win.

“All the guys today put in a lot more energy, and they really wanted to win for the home crowd. I think tactically we did a bit better of a job,” Houston Dutch Lions head coach Marco Pruis said of his team’s performance. “The majority of the game we dominated, it was very unlucky to lose this game. I think on Thursday we lost against ourselves. We had the good mentality today, but sometimes you also need luck to win a game.”

The first half ended in favor of the Laredo Heat, who scored the sole goal of the half in the 9th ­minute. The shot was initially blocked via a diving save by Dutch Lions keeper Robert Mueller in a 1v1 setup, however upon deflection the ball was switched by the Heat to the back side of the goal, where a player was waiting to finish the opportunity with a goal.

Contradictory to the score at the end of the first half, the Houston Dutch Lions had multiple dangerous opportunities at the face of the goal. In the 44th­ minute of the first half, Houstonian George Kelley had a 1v1 opportunity against the Laredo keeper. Kelley beat the keeper on the ground, and had an open goal opportunity on the right post, but unfortunately mis­touched the ball, resulting in a goal kick for the Heat and loss of possession for the Dutch Lions. Dutch Lion Jorge Contreras also had a promising opportunity at the end of the first half, with a penalty kick just seconds before the final whistle. However, with a quick eye and agile hands, the Laredo keeper saved the ball from going into the back of the net, much to the dismay of the Dutch Lions.

The goal for the Dutch Lions came in the 72nd ­minute of the game, when Kelley had yet another 1v1 opportunity at the face of the goal. Kelley capitalized on a breakaway and a rebound to put the Lions on the scoreboard and tied the game. This goal contributed to an air of hope in the atmosphere, as with only 20 minutes left of play, the Lions were facing favorable circumstances.

Laredo, however, was not to be outdone. The Heat came back in the 86th ­minute with a goal off of a triple­rebound. Dutch Lion Keeper Robert Mueller made the original diving save, which a Heat forward rebounded, only for that shot to be deflected by a Dutch Lion defender; however, the Houston team did not prove to be as lucky the third time around, and could not get behind the third shot to save it from going into the goal. This broughtthe final score to 2­-1, with the Heat prevailing over the Dutch Lions.

In addition to two goal being scored, the second half also brought two red cards. Both a player from the Laredo Heat SC and the Houston Dutch Lions FC (#5, Adam Butler) received a red card, leaving both teams with just 10 players. This circumstance mirrors the last match between the two teams on Thursday, where both teams lost a player to a red card, as well.

“I think we were extremely unlucky with the red card that brought us to 10, but still I think those 10 guys on the field did an amazing job with the energy they gave. We were still dangerous, which I think is a good thing,” Coach Pruis said.

The Houston Dutch Lions will play their next home game on July 9th against the Mississippi Brilla FC.