September « 2009 « Pasion Naranja!

Andres Cabrero leaves the Islanders

September 26, 2009

Puerto Rico Honduras Wcup Soccer

On Thursday, through just a single sentence that appeared at the bottom of an Islanders related article in the Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Dia, Islanders fans found out that Andres Cabrero had apparently left the team. In the article, it’s mentioned offhandedly that Cabrero unofficially had abandoned the team.

We spoke with Cabrero today and asked him about the recent news. The young Puerto Rican forward confirmed the rumors that he’s no longer with the team. “I was just going nowhere with the team” Andres said, while adding: “I have been working as Clarke asked me to but I wasn’t getting the time or respect I deserved. I felt that my work with the Islanders and the national team was disregarded”.

When asked if he had a potential team to move to, Cabrero said “I don’t have a specific team right now but I’m really eager to move on and find another opportunity. I was wasting my time with the team. Now that I’m no longer with the Islanders, there are a lot of people who are much more open to giving me chances and helping me find new alternatives”.

It’s clear that Cabrero has many opportunities before him, but it is still a bit unsavory to lose him at such a crucial point during the season. While Cabrero saw play in some games after he came back from France, it didn’t look as if though Clarke considered him as much a part of the lineup as the rest of the players. While it’s a tough departure for Islanders and Puerto Rican fans in general, it’s no secret that many people in the futbol world on the Island feel that the Islanders under Clarke is a dead end for Puerto Rican players.

With Cabrero gone, Marco Velez probably moving on to another team at the end of the season, and Alexis Rivera also considering leaving the team – 2010 could be the first time that the Islanders have no native born Puerto Rican players on the roster. Certainly food for thought.

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Posted by KVD

Brief update: Islanders fall 2-1 in Rochester

September 24, 2009

For the second year in a row, the Rhinos head to Puerto Rico with a lead during a playoffs series. On Thursday night, the Islanders could only manage 1 goal against 2 for the Rhinos after playing a man down for most of the match.

Cristian Arrieta was given a red card for a scuffle in front of the Rhinos’ goal before a Puerto Rico corner kick in the 7th minute of play. Clarke was forced to change his lineup and tactics after that.

While the Islanders held on for the entire first-half, the 1 man disadvantage eventually caught up with them as Rochester scored 2 goals during the second-half.

The Islanders will now host the Rhinos on Sunday for the second and final game of this quarterfinals series.

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Posted by KVD

Match-preview: Islanders vs Rochester Rhinos

September 24, 2009

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The USL-1 playoffs start tonight when the Rochester Rhinos host the Puerto Rico Islanders in a rematch of last season’s semi-final series between these two teams. Last year, Rochester won 2-0 at home and looked ready to advance to the USL-1 Final before the Islanders won 3-0 in Bayamon. So far this year, the Rhinos have been one of the toughest opponents for Puerto Rico – having drawn twice at 0-0. The Islanders hold this year’s regular season series against the Rhinos via a 2-0 win recently in Bayamon.

Rochester will not be able to count on Johnny Menyongar, their Liberian star scorer, while ex-Islanders player Tai Atieno is questionable for tonight. For the Islanders, the main obstacle will be fatigue after they played a grueling match in Bayamon on Tuesday against Saprissa. The Tropa Naranja then had to fly to Rochester yesterday (Wednesday) to play the Rhinos tonight. Needless to say, the Islanders’ squad has had little time to rest before this very important match.

When coming into the playoffs, one has to forget about regular season points and approach the competition with a clean slate. As such, the Islanders can’t rely on being the higher seeded team. The Rhinos are tough opponents and Colin Clarke sh0uld try to get as ample a lead as he can from Rochester tonight. This year, the Rhinos have played better on the road than at home – meaning that the Islanders can’t take for granted their superiority at home and need to come out with a win tonight.

With most starters playing the match against Saprissa, it’s tough to speculate with which players come out as starters tonight. Most of the decision will have to come from Clarke’s evaluation on each player’s conditions after traveling.

Prediction: Islanders win 2-1.

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Posted by KVD

Brief update: Islanders’ hopes in the CCL still alive

September 24, 2009

With last night’s Cruz Azul victory over the Crew in Columbus, the Islanders still have some hope to advance past the CONCACAF Champion League’s (CCL) group stage. The most points the Islanders could hope for would be 8, the same number that they earned last year. With Columbus currently at 6 points, a victory by the Crew would have made it impossible for the Islanders to catch up.

Probably the most important set of games will happen next week when Saprissa visits Columbus and the Islanders visit Cruz Azul. To continue with the aspirations to advance, Sapriss would have to either tie or defeat the Crew in Columbus and the Islanders need to win against Cruz Azul in Mexico City – no easy task.

So far, the Islanders are the only team to score against and also to get a point from playing Cruz Azul. The Columbus Crew allowed 7 goals in two matches (5 in Mexico and 2 last night) while scoring 0. Saprissa still has to host Cruz Azul during the last week of group play; these two teams met during the first week of play in Mexico City where Cruz Azul won 2-0.

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Posted by KVD

Match-report: Islanders vs Saprissa – Another heartbreak in Bayamon

September 23, 2009

VidaDeporte.com

For the second time in a row in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL), the Puerto Rico Islanders let a victory slip away in the final minutes of the game. The Islanders were up 1-0 against Saprissa when in the last play of the match, literally just seconds way from the end, Kendall Watson tied it at 1-1 for the Costa Rican club.

Right from the start of the match, it looked like the game would be a challenging one. Not only was Saprissa a tough opponent, but the turf of the Juan Ramon Loubriel was in terrible conditions after the torrential rains of the last couple of days. The field was soaked and muddied – something that made the match even more difficult for both sides. But if one team was more affected by the state of the field, it was the Islanders. While Puerto Rico has played in similar conditions in the past, the state of the field slowed down the tempo of the game. With an Islanders side that often wins due to physicality and speed, the wetness of the field made it difficult for the home side on several occasions.

Both sides required some time to get used to the playing conditions and how the ball would often get stuck in several pools of water across the field. Yet even with the turf in those conditions, the Islanders didn’t take long in establishing their dominance of the match. While Saprissa had some good attempts on goal – the Islanders were the most dangerous team on the field from start to finish. Unfortunately, the condition of the field often disrupted Islanders counter-attacks and plays – ultimately taking its toll on the team. Puerto Rico had many impressive plays and shot on goal, but Saprissa’s goalkeeper, Navas, consistently found a way to control the ball at the last second.

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Posted by KVD

Extreme optimism: How the Islanders could still advance in the CCL

September 22, 2009

With tonight’s the tie against Saprissa, the Puerto Rico Islanders are virtually eliminated from this year’s CONCACAF Champions League (CCL). Still, for the extremely optimist – there is still a slim chance the Islanders can advance. Just like last year, the Islanders could still advance with 8 points at the end of the group stage.

The competition this year has been one of very slim margins for the Islanders, something that might give some hope to the optimists out there. Puerto Rico first had to go to over time with Haitian club Tempete FC in the semi finals of the Caribbean Union’s Champions Cup in order to qualify for the CCL. While the Islanders won in the end, a late minute loss could have been disastrous. The Islanders then went on to face Toronto FC in the preliminary round, where Puerto Rico edged Toronto by global score of 1-0 – yet another close call. With their 2 losses and 2 ties in the group stage of the CCL – the Islanders find themselves yet again on the edge of the chopping block.

But as we said before, there is a tiny sliver of hope. With just 5 games left in the group (including the Wednesday one between Cruz Azul and the Columbus Crew), the Islanders need for pretty much everything to go their way.

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Posted by KVD

Brief update: Islanders tie again at home

September 22, 2009

With a heart breaking last minute goal by Saprissa (quite literally during the last minute of play), the Islanders let their almost 1-0 victory turn into another tie at home. Now, with only 2 points in their 4 CCL matches, the Islanders are virtually eliminated from advancing past the group stage.

Puerto Rico played the better game against Saprissa, but the heavy rains hurt the team as they missed several close chances on goal.

There is still a mathematical opportunity for the team to win, but it is highly unlikely.

Match-preview: A must win for both teams, Islanders vs Saprissa

September 22, 2009

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Tonight, the Puerto Rico Islanders host Costa Rican club Saprissa in what is surely a must win game for both teams. The Islanders and Saprissa currently have 1 point and 3 points respectively – making them the bottom 2 teams in their group. With only the top 2 teams advancing to the quarterfinals, both the Islanders and Saprissa are currently on the outside looking in.

The last time these teams met, the Islanders opened the scoring on a goal by Domenic Mediate but then were unable to respond to Saprissa’s 3 successive goals that gave a 3-1 victory to the Costa Rican hosts. For that match, the Islanders’ star goalkeeper Bill ‘The Wall’ Gaudette was unavailable due to accumulation of yellow cards. This time around, the Islanders will have team captain Noah Delgado unavailable due to yellow card accumulation, as well as still missing Jagdeosingh, Mediate, Behonick, and Gbandi due to injuries. On the visiting side, Saprissa will miss players Walter Centeno (yellow card accumulation), Alonso Solís, and the injured César Elizondo and Fausto González.

While Saprissa comes in with a must-win attitude, Colin Clarke’s objectives for tonight were the center of some speculation throughout the week. Essentially it all comes down to intentions and possibilities. With only 3 more games left in the group and 1 point accumulated, Puerto Rico at this point must win all remaining matches and also have some luck in regards to the results of other teams if the Islanders are to advance. On the other hand, the Islanders also begin the USL-1 playoffs with a trip to Rochester this Thursday.

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Posted by KVD

The 1st Annual PasionNaranja Fan Awards

September 21, 2009

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As the USL season draws to a close, there are hopeful comments in the air that the Islanders could repeat this year with some player honors for 2009. Last year, the Islanders were honored to have Cristian Arrieta named Defender of the Year, Jonny Steele named Most Valuable Player, and Bill Gaudette as Goalkeeper of the Year.

Regardless of whether or not the USL recognizes the passion and achievements of our players this year – the Islanders fans have much to appreciate. Because of this, we have decided to begin a yearly tradition: the PasionNaranja Fan Awards.

The awards will consist of personalized certificates to be handed to the players during the USL-1 playoffs – as both recognition of achievements throughout the season for our club and also the appreciation of the team’s fans. The winners will be entirely chosen by fans via voting in our polls.

You can find the polls below. The polls will be open for one week, and the winners declared next Wednesday (September 30th). After this, we will make sure to order the certificates and hand them to the players.

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Posted by KVD