An Orange Tsunami hit Honduran sea shores today taking down the mighty Green Monster and pushing the way clear for the Fantastic Islanders to move on to the CONCACAF Champions League Semi-Finals!

The Islanders could not have found better timing to win their first road game in the tournament (1-3-1 on the road and 5-3-2 overall [W-T-L] in the CCL).

The last Puerto Rican “international” road win was a 7-1 trumping of 4-time Surinamese champion SV Leo Victor at the 2007-08 CFU Champions Cup quarterfinals in Trinidad & Tobago. After that “goleada” the Islanders went 0-4-2 [W-T-L] on the road in the CFU & CCL combined, before defeating Marathon tonight at San Pedro Sula.

Puerto Rico accomplished something that no other team was able to do before in the 2008-09 Champions League, score and defeat the 6-time Honduran Champion CD Marathon at their home at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, in San Pedro Sulá.

As part of action in the 1st round, in the “Group of Death” Marathon shutout Mexican powerhouse Cruz Azul 2-0 and DC United from the MLS by the same score. In the battle of Central American Monsters, the Green Monster killed the Purple Monster of Saprissa (Costa Rica) also 2-0. The only team to score against Marathon at the Olímpico was El Salvador’s Isidro Metapan in their 2-1 loss to the Green Monster in the preliminary round.

The Islanders came into the game with a 2-1 lead in the 1st leg, and would have been perfectly comfortable to go back home and to the semifinals with a nil-nil draw. But the unimaginable happened…

The Islanders had held Marathon off for the full 90 minutes, and were waiting for the final couple of minutes to tick away, when…

…seconds into extra-time they put the dagger in the Green Monster’ throat on a counter attack, where newly acquired Jamaican striker Nicholas Addlery scored an “alajuelazo” [a late 85+ minute game result-changing goal] for the game’s only goal, to give the Islanders a late 1-0 win over Marathon, and advance the Boricuas to the semifinals. Addlery also scored the first goal in the Islanders win over Marathon last week in Bayamón.

Puerto Rico goalkeeper Bill “The Wall” Gaudette, who led the USL with 10 shutouts last year, was brilliant as usual; and was kept very active by the Green Monster, as he earned his first clean sheet of the tournament. Great timing Bill!!!

At the end, the USL’s 2008 Goalkeeper of the Year, justifiably could not contain his emotions.

The Islanders are now 2-1-0 [W-T-L] on elimination games in the 2008-09 Champions League. (2-1 win over Liga Alajuelense on the 2nd leg of the preliminary round, 2-2 draw with Tauro FC in the final game of the group stage, and this 1-0 win in the quartefinals against Marathon).

March 3, 2009

The Puerto Rico Islanders arrived in San Pedro Sula, Honduras via Miami for their return leg against CD Marathon in the Quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Both flights were good and there was not any inconvenience during the trip. After going through Immigration and Customs, there were approximately 25 local reporters who had the opportunity to interview players, coaching staff and directives.

The team left the airport on their way to the hotel to drop their bags and have a light meal before having their first training session in Honduras at 4:30 PM. The closed door session took place at Francisco Morazan Stadium and was relatively light given that its purpose was to loosen up the players legs after the trip.

The team returned to the hotel afterward to shower and get ready for dinner which took place at an Italian restaurant close to the hotel. The players were cited at 8:30 AM today Tuesday for breakfast. At 10:00 AM, the team will have their morning training session at the same stadium. Around 6:00 PM, the “Tropa Naranja” will have their field recognition at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano which will be the match venue against CD Marathon.

The following players traveled to San Pedro Sula:

GOALKEEPERS: Bill Gaudette, Justin Myers

DEFENDERS: Nigel Henry, John Krause, Alexis Rivera, Scott Jones, Cristian Arrieta, Kevon Villaroel

MIDFIELDERS: Petter Villegas, Jonathan Steele, Noah Delgado, Osei Telesford, James Marcelin, Sandi Gbandi

FORWARDS: Kendall Jagdeosingh, Nicholas Addlery, Joshua Hansen, Sean Fraser

And as it happened the Green Monster went into Juan Ramon Loubriel stadium, in Bayamón, to “eat” Islanders, and instead ended up knocked down 2-1 by the locals as the Islanders rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal match.

Nicholas Addlery and Kendall Jagdeosingh scored within the last quarter of the match to rally Puerto Rico to a 2-1 victory. Marathon had a 1-0 lead at halftime thanks to an Islander defense lapse that allowed Jerry Palacios to open up the score in the 41st minute. Oscar Bonilla launched a long cross into the penalty area that eluded the Puerto Rican goalkeeper Bill Gaudette, and Palacios, who was left unmarked by Nigel Henry, redirected the ball inside the post with his left calf.

The rusty Islanders looked rusty indeed… Otherwise they may have defeated the infamous Marathon 4-1 or worse. The same Green Monster that took first place in the “Group of Death”, over Mexico’s Cruz Azul, Costa Rica’s Saprissa and the MLS’ DC United.

By far Puerto Rico had the better of play for much of the game. With 3 corner kicks within the first 10 minutes of the game (10 overall) and completely outshooting Marathon (18-11), the score gap could have been wider. But the Islanders looked frustrated by their poor finishing early in the game, and only seemed to pick up after forward Kendall Jagdeosingh was substituted into the game early in the 2nd half.

Marathon is not dead yet. But like in a Rocky Balboa movie, the favourite was knocked down; and against all odds, the ultimate underdog is still very much alive. The Islanders Cinderella story continues…

February 25, 2009

The Puerto Rico Islanders will face CD Marathon of Honduras this Thursday the 26th of February at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals.

The Islanders come back to action with 19 returning players after their most successful year in their history. The 2008 team captains Noah Delgado and Petter Villegas along with USL’s Most Valuable Player Jonathan Steele will continue to contribute to our attack. USL’s Defender of the Year Cristian Arrieta, experienced central defender Nigel Henry and USL’s Goalkeeper of the Year Bill Gaudette will help keep the Islanders on top in the league’s defensive ranking.

“We believe that the key to our successful 2008 season was the quality and unity that our players had on and off the field. This is what we are looking for in 2009 with all these returning players” said Islanders Vice-President Jorge Pierluisi.

The team added four great players for 2009 that will boost both our offense and defense. These are: Nicholas Addlery, Martín Nuñez, Sean Fraser and Kevon Villaroel.

Addlery, a former Jamaican international and US Permanent Resident, comes from the USL defending Champions Vancouver Whitecaps where he scored 4 goals and 1 assist in 27 games in the 2008 season.

Nunez, a 22 year old Uruguayan midfielder and US Permanent Resident, comes to the Islanders from the Carolina Railhawks. In 2008 he scored 5 goals and 2 assists for Carolina.

Fraser comes to the Islanders via transfer from Miami FC. He was a member of the Jamaican U20 National Team that competed in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina. Fraser has also played for other international clubs such as Boavista Sport Club in Brazil and Harbour View FC in Jamaica. In 2008, Fraser scored 4 goals for the Miami FC Blues.

Villaroel, a 21-year-old left back, has represented his country in international competition at the youth levels. He has previously played for Joe Public FC, Rangers FC, and most recently with San Juan Jabloteh of the Trinidad and Tobago Professional League.

These 23 players have had a very productive pre-season under Head Coach Colin Clarke and are ready to face Honduras’ 2008-2009 Apertura Champions CD Marathon in this two-legged Quarterfinals series. “We are very excited. We have been training for about a month now and are finally getting close to our last week of preparation for such an important game that will give us the opportunity to advance to another round in CONCACAF”, said midfielder and captain Noah Delgado.

CD Marathon of Honduras seems to be ready to face the PR Islanders and is aware of what the Puerto Rican side has accomplished in the last year. “We can’t get overconfident. We know who we are up against and have prepared well for our opponent to expect no surprises” said defender Milton Palacios. However, the Honduran side could be affected by injuries and suspensions for Thursday match against the Islanders.

However, injuries and suspensions will not determine the result of this game according to PR Islanders Head Coach Colin Clarke. Clarke and his players are aware of what they are up against. “Marathon are a great team, are good going forward and qualified in a much more difficult group,” Clarke said. “Getting a result in the first game will be crucial for us because after the first leg, we will be headed to their stadium and a hostile environment for the return match.”

The game will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8:00pm ET on Thursday February 26th.

The Puerto Rican fairy tale story now resumes in 2009. The Islanders were drawn to play Marathon from Honduras in the quarterfinals. The first leg of this match is set to take place on February 26 at the Juan Ramón Loubriel stadium in Bayamón, with the 2nd leg taking place on March 4 in Honduras.

In preparation for the match against the Marathon, the Islanders played 4 MLS teams in the preseason, finishing with a 1-1-2 (W-T-L) record. The Islanders lost 1-0 to the Chicago Fire, drew 0-0 with the MLS Sub-Champ New York Red Bulls, defeated 2-0 the MLS Champ Columbus Crew, and closed the preseason with a 1-0 loss to DC United.

It was a .500 MLS preseason for the rusty Islanders who will be facing a limping Marathon team on Thursday night. Honduran news media published that 3-4 of the Green Monsters regular players were injured and wouldn’t make the trip to Puerto Rico. This may be a small advantage for the Islanders.

Time is now running out… Marathon is in Puerto Rico, and Wednesday both teams will have their last practice before the big match. Most in the soccer world pick Marathon to defeat the surprising Islanders. But they also picked the favorite Costa Ricans, Panamanians and Mexicans; who each in turn fell to the Boricuas at home in Bayamón.

America loves Cinderellas and underdogs, and the Islanders are the ultimate underdog. The Cinderella story shall continue again and again…

The Champions League quarterfinals knockout-round draw took place Wednesday December 10th at the CONCACAF head offices in New York.

In the other quarterfinal pairings Mexico City’s Pumas will meet its local rival Cruz Azul, Mexico’s champion Santos Laguna will go against the USL’s Montreal Impact; and the last Mexican team, Atlante, is set to meet its MLS nemesis Houston Dynamo again to seek for revenge! (Houston trashed Atlante 4-0 in this past summer’s SuperLiga group stage).

Marathon becomes the fourth Central American team the Islanders face in the 2008-09 Champions League tournament.

The Islanders are close to unbeatable at home in the Juan Ramón Loubriel stadium, also known as “La Islandera”, and as the “Central American Cemetery” by some fans!

The Islanders successes at home in the Loubriel include wins over Liga Deportiva Alajuelense from Costa Rica 2-1 in the preliminary round and Tauro FC from Panama by the same score (2-1) in the group stage. A 0-1 loss to Municipal from Guatemala (the only team to “win” at the Loubriel) in a twist of fate was still a success for the Islanders, as the win was not good enough for the Guatemalans who still ended up eliminated from the tournament with that “win” (they needed to score at least 2 goals in Puerto Rico to stay alive, so in a way, Municipal still met its fate at the Loubriel!).

The Islanders biggest success yet at the Loubriel was a 3-1 win over the Mexican Champion Santos Laguna in the group stage.