All Image Credits: Laredo Heat When Head Coach Dana Taylor arrived in Laredo on April 28th, he immediately needed to hit the ground running to prepare National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) expansion team Laredo Heat for their first preseason match a week later against United Soccer League’s (USL) Rio Grande Valley FC.  The challenge was further compounded by the fact that only 60% of his college-based roster had arrived in town. Therefore, it would have been understandable if the team started slowly as players trickled in over the next few weeks.  Instead, ten undefeated weeks later the Heat enter the … Continue reading Laredo Heat’s Undefeated Regular Season Now in the Past as NPSL Playoffs Begin

Central Texas Lobos are certainly open to new ideas and do things differently than most other amateur soccer teams in Texas. One of the unique ways the Lobos differ will be demonstrated Saturday night when the Austin-suburban team plays its first home match against Motagua New Orleans, as the first Texas team in their new league…the Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL). The Gulf Coast Premier League The GCPL, founded in 2014 out of Louisiana, is a high-level regional men’s amateur soccer league with 15 teams spread throughout the five Gulf Coast states.  The Lobos, the first club in a planned … Continue reading Central Texas Lobos First Home GCPL Match Saturday Night

The first season of the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) Central Conference began play last week when three matches were played in Texas. Background The UPSL is a United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) sanctioned National Men’s Amateur league.  This emerging league was founded in Southern California in 2011 and, with over 175 clubs in multiple states, is the fastest growing adult amateur league in the country.  The UPSL is unique among other high-level National leagues like the NPSL and PDL, as it plays both a Spring and Fall season and is incorporating a system of promotion-relegation within its more … Continue reading UPSL Central Conference-Inaugural Season Profile

The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) Lone Star Conference Division began play last Saturday and kicks off a full schedule of matches this weekend. Each team in the Lonestar Conference/South Region of the NPSL will play a 10-game regular season schedule that extends from May 12 to July 4th.  Eight Texas teams and Shreveport Rafters FC will form the Conference for 2018. NPSL, commonly recognized as a part of the unofficial 4th Tier of the U.S. Soccer Pyramid, now consists of over 100 teams spread throughout the United States.  The league was founded in 2003 under a different name and has … Continue reading 2018 NPSL Lone Star Conference Preview

The Premier Development League (PDL), an unofficial US Soccer Pyramid 4th Division soccer league that is owned and managed by the 2nd Division USL, begins play this weekend.  The first Texas match will take place on Friday, May 11 when Houston FC hosts Corpus Christi FC.  A few key points about the league: The PDL, under a different name, was founded in 1995 and is now beginning its 24th season.  Only one Texas team, Austin Lone Stars, played in that first campaign.  Six Texas teams will compete as part of the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference in 2018. … Continue reading 2018 PDL Season Begins This Weekend-Mid South Divison Update

High-level soccer in the Texas Rio Grande Valley has experienced a renaissance over the last few years.  Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, of the second division United Soccer League (USL), kicked off this new growth period when they began play in 2016.  Last year the Toros moved into a new 9,700 soccer palace, H-E-B Park in Edinburg.  Late in 2017 the RGV Barracudas resumed indoor soccer operations in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL), one of only two teams currently playing professional indoor soccer in the state.  The 2015 merger of two University of Texas campuses into a new school … Continue reading FC Brownsville a New Club in the Rio Grande Valley joins the NPSL for 2018

One recent noticeable trend in domestic professional soccer is the number of MLS teams who now operate high-level amateur Premier Development League (PDL) teams as extensions of their Development Academy or United Soccer League (USL) strategies.  One-half (10) of the U.S. based MLS teams will have PDL teams in place for the 2018 season. The PDL, part of the United Soccer League (USL), is one of a handful of leagues that comprise the unofficial fourth-tier of the US Soccer League system.  Featuring mostly college and other youth players, who are able to retain their amateur status, the PDL season runs … Continue reading Brazos Valley Cavalry Begins its Second Year PDL Partnership with Houston Dynamo

One of the most respected and successful names in Texas Soccer history is the high-level amateur side, Laredo Heat.  Between 2004 and 2011 the Heat made four appearances in the Premier Development League (PDL) Championship Final, including three consecutive trips from 2006-2008-winning in 2007.  So it was a pleasant surprise, after a two-year hiatus, when the Heat announced they would return to the field for the 2018 season…this time in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). The Heat left the PDL after the 2015 season because there were few league teams anywhere near Laredo, and lengthy trips, combined with the … Continue reading Laredo Heat Return to Texas Soccer in 2018-This Time in the NPSL

United Women’s Soccer (UWS) announced yesterday the first of, what the league disclosed, will be four or five Texas clubs joining for the 2018 season.  The first addition, El Paso ASA, will participate in the newly formed UWS Southwest Conference which begins play next month. UNITED WOMEN'S SOCCER EXPANDS INTO TEXASEl Paso ASA will play at Socorro Athletic Complex – an 11,000 seat stadiumhttps://t.co/VwOgPH0odo#UWoSo pic.twitter.com/3CRMNixuxe — United Women's Soccer (UWS) (@UWSSoccer) April 30, 2018 The UWS is itself a relatively new league, beginning play in the 2016 season.  It was formed when a group of clubs, left without a league … Continue reading United Women’s Soccer Expands into Texas

After dwindling to one Texas team during the 2016 season, the Premier Development League (PDL) made a comeback for the 2017 season when four new Texas clubs began play in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference.  In 2018 a modicum of stability has been established as all these clubs return and two new teams have been added.  A very positive development for high-level amateur soccer in the state. Houston FC is one of these returning second year Texas clubs and, despite a challenging first season, has come back with a renewed focus and the kind of new initiatives … Continue reading Houston FC Begins Second Season in PDL With A Similar Focus and New Approaches