Pasion Naranja!

The Islanders ended the USL-1 regular season on a positive note with a 3-1 win over hosts Miami FC. Colin Clarke’s men showed an organized and aggressive style throughout the match and it earned them an easy win. The lone goal for Miami was actually an own-goal scored by the Islanders’ Dan Gargan on a corner kick by the Blues.

With a goal by Addlery in the 1st minute of play, the Blues found it hard to come back and really threaten the Islanders. Even though the Islanders went ahead early in the match, Colin Clarke kept pushing the team to attack and increase the lead.

This victory secures the 3rd spot in the USL-1 regular season for the Islanders and the team will now face the Rochester Rhinos in the first round of the USL-1 playoffs.

From PrimeraHora

A match that started in dream-like fashion ended up in utter disappointment for Puerto Rico last Tuesday. Fans witnessed as the team allowed Cruz Azul to tie the game at 3-3 after the Islanders had been up 3-1 at the end of the first half. It was must win game for the Tropa Naranja, who now find themselves with little chance of advancing past the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL).

Going into Tuesday’s match, it was difficult to know what to expect. On one hand, the Islanders desperately needed a win to continue any realistic hopes of advancing past the group stage and the team still has a solid reputation of defending their home turf regardless of the opponent. Still, the team has been going through a tough month of injuries and a grueling schedule. While Cruz Azul has been playing well in their domestic league, they were under no pressure of coming out with a win (having won their first 2 CCL matches) – something demonstrated by their initial lineup and the fact that they left a few starters back in Mexico City.

With the atmosphere of a grudge match, the Islanders and Cruz Azul took to the field in Bayamon. It didn’t take long for the Islanders to show their dominance and rattle the visitors’ nerves with several close shots within the first 10 minutes. Clarke’s men dominated possession and kept attacking the Cruz Azul net repeatedly. The first half ended with the Islanders ahead 3-1. It had been a magnificent display of futbol and what the team can do when playing at the top of their game.

…Continue reading

Carolina was able to exploit the visitor’s early defensive mistakes and defeat the visiting Islanders for the first time in team history via final score of 2-1. The Islanders allowed 2 goals in the first 10 minutes of the match and weren’t able to come back from their deficit against the RailHawks.

A injury stricken and fatigued Islanders side played their 4th match in 6 days on Saturday when they faced the RailHawks in Cary, NC. The team had just come from a 5-2 meltdown in Minnesota less than 48 hours earlier. According to the Islanders’ Alexis Rivera, one of the team’s main problems in that loss was the hit to their morale when they went down 2 goals to none early in the match. Unfortunately for them, they experienced the same thing against a tough RailHawks squad.

The match can be broken down simply in several key points:

-Just as they did in Minnesota, the Islanders allowed 2 early goals from defensive mistakes and looked demoralized for much of the first half.

-The players were clearly tired and weary from the 4 games and all the travel they had to do during the week.

-Normally, the team could have counted on several strong bench players to offset all the playing and traveling – but the Islanders were missing many players due to injury: Gaudette, Behonick, Telesford, Gbandi, Mediate, Villaroel, and Jagdeosingh.

-The RailHawks dominated the first half while the Islanders looked the better team throughout most of the second-half.

The positives:

-Myers seems to be a much better choice for backup goalkeeper to Gaudette than Behonick.

-Alexis Rivera continues to perform impressively in games where he is giving serious playing time. Rivera was one of the few consistent bright spots on the team.

-The team barely missed some shots during the second-half and showed they could get back into the match.

The bottom line:

The RailHawks played much better from the opening whistle and managed their first ever win over the Islanders. Puerto Rico seemed to struggle with a fatigued and injured squad but still managed to come close to tying the score towards the end of the match. Myers’ performance should add some confidence to the team when not having Gaudette available. But the main issue to be worked on now is to not allow early and easy goals.