Pasion Naranja!

The Islanders return to USL-1 action tonight when they host the Minnesota Thunder.

Puerto Rico is clearly the favorite team here as they’re facing a team that is averaging less than a point a game and have only managed 5 wins all season. Minnesota is still technically in the playoff race, 8 points behind the 7th place Vancouver Whitecaps. While it’s highly unlikely the Thunder will make the playoffs, they certainly can’t afford to lose tonight if they expect to keep their hopes alive.

The Islanders on the other hand, are pretty much assured a playoff spot at this point. The team will be looking to continue getting 3 points per game in order to place as high as possible on the table and earn a higher seed going into the playoffs. Colin Clarke’s men sit in 4th place with 1 game in hand vs 1st place Portland and 2nd place Caroline, and 2 games in hand vs 3rd place Charleston. If Puerto Rico continue to win, they still have a very good shot at 2nd place in the table. While 1st place is still mathematically possible, seeing how well Portland has been playing – it is highly unlikely the Timbers will give up that spot with just a few games remaining in the season.

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After the exciting CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) preliminary series against Toronto FC – the Puerto Rico Islanders return tonight to USL-1 league action when they host Miami FC Blues at 8:00pm in Bayamon.

For the Islanders, this is their first USL-1 match at home since June 20th – 8 league matches ago. During that long road-stretch, the Islanders went for 2 wins, 2 losses, and 4 ties (10 points out of 24 possible). Puerto Rico now sits in 4th place with 35 points, 6 points behind 1st place Charleston. To make things even harder for the Islanders, Portland and Carolina are both ahead by 4 points with a total of 39 but they have 2 games in hand – meaning they could conceivably move up by 10 points.

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Last year’s USL-1 Final teams go at it again tonight when the Puerto Rico Islanders visit the current champions, Vancouver Whitecaps.

Puerto Rico plays the last USL match in a series of 8 straight road games. The Islanders had an important tie against Portland on Thursday and sit at the top of the USL table in a 3-way tie with Portland and Charleston. Vancouver comes into the match sitting in 8th place , on the outside of the playoffs spots but certainly looking to secure one. The Whitecaps have had a disappointing season, but can still salvage it by making the playoffs; and they certainly have a chance, while teams like Puerto Rico and Charleston have played 21 and 20 matches respectively – Vancouver has only played 15 (just half the 30 season games).

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Time to cut down some trees

The Puerto Rico Islanders take on the Portland Timbers in what will probably be their most difficult test this season.

The Islanders play in Portland for their seventh consecutive game on the road against a Timbers side that is riding a 16 games undefeated steak and that hasn’t lost at home so far this season. Let’s be very clear about this – the match tonight will be very tough and a positive result is crucial if the Islanders are to make a run for first place when the season ends. While it’s pretty much assured Puerto Rico will be in the playoffs – first place at the end of the regular season is more than just the Commissioners Cup trophy, it also represents getting a ‘bye’ to the next round of the post-season. Considering that the Islanders have a decent chance of passing to the group stages of the CONCACAF Champions League – going straight to the USL-1 semi-finals and bypassing the quarter-finals will be very welcome to ease fixture congestion.

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The Puerto Rico Islanders visit Montreal today at 3:45pm for a match that is hard to predict. Both these teams have gone scoreless in their last 3 games. Fortunately, the Islanders have managed to get draws but Montreal has lost 2 of these last 3.

Another important factor to consider is that Montreal is really struggling this season. They look like a team fraught with insecurity and little chemistry. Just this week they had an in-game fight between two players and then their coach Dos Santos being ejected from their last game for attacking a Rochester player.

The Puerto Rico players have had a few days to rest and work on team cohesion. The coaching staff took them this week to the Niagara Falls and gave them some down time before heading to Montreal. Hopefully this will have some effect on the scoring drought the team is going through. With 2 tough games next weekend in Portland and Vancouver, coach Clarke needs to steer the ship in the right direction soon – particularly as they fly from coast to coast and back in just 2 weeks and with the CONCACAF Champions League match-up against Toronto FC on July 29th.

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