Islanders tie 1-1, again…

By: BoriQa | May 24th, 2009

The Islanders and the Portland Timbers drew 1-1 on Friday night at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, to keep both teams tied in 5th place in the USL-1 standings with identical 2-3-1 [W-T-L] records.

The Islanders, whose promising start included wins against their Canadian nemeses Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact, are now winless with two 1-1 ties (one with Austin) and a loss to Vancouver in their last 3 matches.

After a scoreless first half, Sean Fraser (in his 2nd start of the year) scored his first goal of the season on the 52’ minute, to give the Puerto Rico the lead. But that lead was short lived as Timbers’ forward Mandjou Keita countered with his first goal of the season on the 59′ with a header after a corner kick by David Hayes, to tie the score 1-1.

The Islanders had some opportunities to score but were unable to complete. Kendall Jagdeosingh was alone in the box and took a shot straight at Timbers goalkeepr Steve Cronin who made the stop on the 13′. Soon after that Noah Delgado was also alone against Cronin, but his shot went wide to the right.

The Islanders got a scare on the 62′, after Portland had their potential 2nd goal of the game (by Brian Farber) anulled due to an off-side call.

Bill Gaudette faced 8 shots and made 3 saves in the game, to score his 3rd tie of the season. His only clean sheet this season was the 0-0 draw at home against Rochester on April 24th.

The Islanders made three 2nd-half substitutions: Petter Villegas came in for Gbandy in the 71’; Josh Hansen replaced Noah Delgado in the 78’; and Andres Cabrero replaced Fraser just 4 minutes (86’) before the end of regulation time.

2008 USL MVP Jonathan Steele made his 2009 season debut and had a missed shot at goal. Steele injured himself in the quarterfinals against Marathon (Honduras) in the recently completed CONCACAF Champions League. He missed the first 5 games of the USL season due to that injury.

The Islanders roster for Friday night was missing Nicholas Addlery (Jamaica), Fabrice Noël and James Marcelin (both from Haiti); who were playing for their respective countries National Teams in a soccer friendly at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Jamaica tied 2-2 with Haiti, and there is a report that Fabrice Noël got injured during the friendly match.

The Islanders sit currently tied in 5th place with Portland in the USL standings with 9 points; 7 points behind the leading Charleston Battery (16 pts) and Carolina Railhawks (16 pts), both of which have 2 more games played than the Islanders.

The Islanders will play Portland again tonight at 6pm EDT, and are looking forward to their 4th win ever against the Timbers at Juan Ramón Loubriel stadium. The Islanders are undefeated at home with a 3-2-0 [W-T-L] record.

The Islanders will play next on the road, in Minnesota against the Thunder next Sunday May 31st.

Scoring Summary:
1. PRI: Sean Fraser 52’
2. POR: Mandjou Keita (David Hayes) 59’

Cautions:
1. POR: Ryan Pore 50’
2. PRI: Noah Delgado 69’
3. PRI: Kendall Jagdeosingh 90’

Puerto Rico Islanders Lineup:
Bill Gaudette (GK), Nigel Henry, John Krause, Kyle Veris, Cristian Arrieta, Noah Delgado (Josh Hansen 78’), Sandy Gbandy (Petter Villegas 71’), Scott Jones, Jontathan Steele, Sean Fraser (Andres Cabrero 86’), Kendall Jagdeosingh

Subs not used: Chris McClellan (GK), Alexis Rivera, Kevon Villaroel, Martin Nuñez

Portland Timbers Lineup:
Steve Cronin (GK), David Hayes, Stephen Keel, Cameron Knowles, Scot Thompson, Johan Claesson (Takayuki Suzuki 76’), Tony McManus, Alex Nimo (Brian Farber 45’), Ryan Pore, George Josten (Keith Savage 45’), Mandjou Keita (Jason McLaughlin 66’)

Subs not used: Brian Visser (GK), Mamadou Danso, Takuro Nishimura

Attendance: 3,011

Referees: Lee Suckle, Javier Santos, William Anderson, Jeff Gontarek