Announcing the Winners of the PasionNaranja Fan Awards

September 30, 2009

littlebigplanet-trophy

With a higher than expected turnout, the 1st ever PasionNaranja Islanders Fan Awards accomplished what was originally intended – to involve a large number of ‘Tropa Naranja’ fans in selecting the players to receive honors for their accomplishments throughout the season. While some categories were very close calls, others were won by landslide votes. It is important to note that the fans are appreciative of the efforts of all our players and that these awards are simply a way to recognize outstanding performances and to encourage even more such performances in the future. Our hope is that these fan awards will become a yearly tradition in the Islanders fan community.

Now, to announce the winners:

Rookie of the Year – Nicholas Addlery

041809-VAN-PR62% of participants had little trouble in choosing the Jamaican international as rookie of the year. Coming from the Vancouver Whitecaps, Addlery immediately made a positive impact in both the USL and the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL).

…Continue reading

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Posted by KVD

Brief update: Islanders downed 2-0 by Cruz Azul

September 30, 2009

With a final score of 2-0 last night in Mexico City, Cruz Azul went undefeated at home in group play and eliminated the Puerto Rico Islanders from any possible progression in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Colin Clarke clearly had his mind set on Thursday’s semifinal match in Montreal and went with a bench-heavy lineup against Cruz Azul. The Islanders still have a game remaining, when they receive Columbus in Bayamon later in October – but they now have no chance of advancing past the group stage.

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Posted by KVD

Match-preview: Islanders at Cruz Azul

September 29, 2009
(From Vidadeportes.com)

(From Vidadeportes.com)

Tonight, the Puerto Rico Islanders face against their Mexican rivals, Cruz Azul, in Mexico City. Puerto Rico needs a win if they hope to continue with any hopes of advancing into the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. With 10 points, Cruz Azul has already secured a spot in the quarterfinals – while the Islanders at the bottom of the group with only 2 points, now depend on winning and also some luck.

In the other group C match, Saprissa visits the Columbus Crew. If the Crew win against Saprissa, then the Islanders are eliminated from the competition as there would be no mathematical way for them to advance. But, if Saprissa wins or ties – then the Islanders need a win to take their hopes all the way to the last match day of CCL group action.

As the Islanders already know, winning in Mexico City is easier said than done. On a positive note, Cruz Azul has already qualified for the next round so the team will not approach this match with any sort of urgency. It’s expected that they actually field several bench players in tonight’s match. Unfortunately, the Islanders are also competing in the USL-1 playoffs. Having just secured a spot in the league’s semifinals – Puerto Rico must find a way to win tonight while at the same time considering tomorrow they have to fly all the way to Montreal in Canada for Thursday’s match, to then fly to Puerto Rico on Friday to close the series with the Impact on Sunday.

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Posted by KVD

Brief update: 3 Islanders named to the USL-1 All-League Second Team

September 29, 2009

The USL announced earlier today the picks for the ‘USL-1 All-League Second Team’ – a recognition to some of the league’s most outstanding players – yet those who came right below the First All-League.

The Puerto Rico Islanders had the most players named to this second all-league team with 3: Bill Gaudette, John Krause, and last year’s USL-1 MVP Jonathan Steele.

Goalkeeper – Bill Gaudette (Puerto Rico Islanders)
The Goalkeeper of the Year last year, Gaudette had another fantastic season for the Islanders. He finished fifth in the league in goals against average at 0.74, but was tied for first in wins (15) with Steve Cronin, tied for first in shutouts (12) with Dusty Hudock while playing in the CONCACAF Champions League and as well as logging the fourth most minutes at the position in the league.

Defender – John Krause (Puerto Rico Islanders)
Krause was one of two players on the club (Cristian Arrieta) to play in 28 games on the season, and was part of the Islanders defensive unit that was particularly difficult to penetrate at home, allowing just 11 goals in 15 games. He also proved to be a contributor offensively with five goals on the season, eclipsing the three total he had in his previous two campaigns with the Islanders.

Midfielder – Jonathan Steele (Puerto Rico Islanders)
The league MVP a year ago, Steele helped lead the Islanders back to the postseason with a third place finish in the table and the league’s best home record. In his second year with Puerto Rico, he finished the season with four goals and three assists for the third most points on the team over the course of 23 games played.

Source: USL

By revealing their names as all-league second team players, we know that they’re not candidates for some of the top league awards such as MVP and goalkeeper of the year. Cristian Arrieta is notably absent from this list which probably means he will get a first team honor and could even possibly repeat in an all league honor such as MVP.

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Posted by KVD

USL-1 semifinals set

September 29, 2009

USL1-Semifinalists

This year’s USL-1 semifinals should be among the most interesting in recent memory. The final four were decided this weekend when both Montreal and Vancouver managed to pull off upsets against Charleston and Carolian respectively, and Puerto Rico easily managed to dispatch the Rochester Rhinos for the second year in a row. Joining these 3 teams will be Portland, the regular season champions – who struggled in their last few games but posted a league record unbeaten streak of 24 matches.

Puerto Rico, last year’s finalists and 2008-2009 CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) semi-finalist, has hit some bumps along the way but they are clearly favorites to return to the USL-1 Finals. The Islanders reached the USL-1 Final for the first time last year when they fell 2-1 against the Whitecaps in a one match final in Vancouver. This year, the USL-1 Final has been reformatted into a home-and-away series to mirror the current quarterfinals and semifinals format.

The Canadian clubs are perennial elite USL-1 teams but struggled throughout the season and only made the playoffs at the last minute. While the Whitecaps entered the playoffs as the lowest seed, one can’t forget they are the current champions and their experience shouldn’t be taken lightly. Montreal also had an impressive season last year when they made it to the CCL quarterfinals as one of the best 8 clubs in the region. The Impact have struggled with coaching changes and internal turmoil, but they proved in this year’s quarterfinals against Charleston that they can get the job done when it counts.

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Posted by KVD

Video: ESPN Deportes preview of Islanders vs Cruz Azul

September 29, 2009

Thanks to Megadicto from the Hiapr.org forum for uploading this video. ESPN Deportes had a brief preview (in Spanish) of tonight’s match between the Islanders and Cruz Azul. From the Puerto Rico camp: coach Clarke, Peter Villegas, and Martin Nuñez were interviewed.

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Posted by KVD

Last day to vote for your favorite Islanders

September 29, 2009

TGO407

Today is the last day to vote in the 1st Annual PasionNaranja Fan Awards! The fan awards are chosen by the Puerto Rico Islanders fans as a way to recognize the players for their season achievements.

See the original post and the polls to vote: here

After tonight, we will count the votes and declare the winners for 2009.

Make sure to get your vote in!

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Posted by KVD

The Islanders return to the USL-1 semifinals

September 28, 2009
(Vidadeportes.com)

(Vidadeportes.com)

With a final score of 4-1, the Puerto Rico Islanders were no match for the visiting Rochester Rhinos in the second leg of this USL-1 quarterfinal series. After going down 2-1 in Rochester on Thursday, the Islanders ultimately advances via a 5-3 aggregate score.

While the Islanders found it difficult to come back from an early Cristian Arrieta red card in Rochester, the Rhinos never seemed to be contenders in last night’s match. As fate would have it, the Rhinos would also face a red card in Bayamon – something that made it even more difficult for the Rochester team to put up much of a fight.

Clarke’s men presented an ideal mix of relentless attack with a strong defensive line in the back and active possession in the midfield. Noel and Addlery proved to be a deadly combination with 2 goals a piece during last night’s match.

With this win, Clarke and the Islanders return to the USL-1 semifinals for the 3rd straight year and will face the Montreal Impact.

See below for the Islanders’ goals from last night: (thanks to OneLink and Megadicto from Hiapr.org)

…Continue reading

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Posted by KVD

Brief update: Islanders rout Rhinos 4-1

September 27, 2009

With a final score of 4-1, the Puerto Rico Islanders routed the visiting Rochester Rhinos and in doing so, earned a ticket for the USL-1 semifinals for the 3rd straight year. With 2 goals from Fabrice Noel and 2 goals from Nicholas Addlery, the Islanders eliminated Rochester from the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row.

The Islanders won the quarterfinal series with an aggregate score of 5-3 and will now face the Montreal Impact for the semifinals.

More on this later…

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Posted by KVD

Brief preview: A must win watch in the USL, Islanders vs Rhinos

September 27, 2009

Just as we saw last year, the Puerto Rico Islanders need a comeback win in Bayamon to advance past the Rochester Rhinos in the USL-1 playoffs. Last year, the Islanders lost 2-0 in Rochester and later on won 3-0 in Puerto Rico to go onto their first ever USL-1 Final. This year, the task is a bit easier – the Islanders went down 2-1 in Rochester so they only need 1 goal to tie the global score and then 2 goals to win it outright in this quarterfinal showdown.

There’s not much else to say about the match. We’ve seen the team perform all year and know that the Tropa Naranja has what it takes to book a return ticket to the USL-1 Final. Before they can even think about going into the semi-finals – the Islanders will need to take care of the Rhinos tonight. A 1 goal disadvantage shouldn’t be hard for the Islanders to deal with, particularly at home. Unfortunately for Clarke’s men, Rochester had a better record this year on the road than at home. The Rhinos are also the only team in the USL to hold the Islanders scoreless in Bayamon. If Rochester managed to get another 0-0 tonight, the Islanders would be out of the playoffs.

With a visiting side that tends to play excessively physical and defensive, the key for the Islanders will be to attack hard from the opening whistle and rely on controlling posession and making smart offensive plays.

Prediction: It’s a hard one to call. One could very well go for a 2-0 win for the Islanders, but seeing how the team has made everything difficult for themselves this season – a 2-1 regular time score for the host, sending it to overtime and then a final 3-1 win seems very likely.

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Posted by KVD

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