Islanders win USSF Div2 Championship with 3-1 aggregate victory!!!

La Tropa Naranja, ¡Campeones 2010!

The Islanders earned their 2nd Championship Title of the year as they defeated the Carolina Railhawks 3-1 on aggregate to win the 2010 USSF Div2 Final!

Sandy Gbandi weaved his way through the Carolina box in the 7th minute and netted a goal for the Puerto Rico Islanders to put the Islanders up 3-0 on aggregate goals, which proved to be too much to overcome for the RailHawks who fell 3-1 in the series after a 1-1 draw in the second leg of the final.

On the 7th minute, Sandy Gbandi escaped the Railhawks’ defense inside of the box and shot a goal past Carolina’s keeper Eric Reed, giving the Islanders a 1-0 lead in the game and 3-0 on the Championship Series aggregate.

Puerto Rico, the 2010 USSF D2 Pro League Champions, recorded a 9-11-10 in the regular season, used their post season and CONCACAF Champions League experience to grind out a 3-1-2 playoff record.

In doing so, they knocked off the likes of: the #1 seed Rochester Rhinos, who finished with the best regular season record; the Vancouver Whitecaps who were the #5 seed, and the Carolina RailHawks who were #2 seed and had the third best overall record in the league.

Gbandi’s 7th minute goal silenced most of the 5,000 fans in attendance at WakeMed Soccer Park, but not the about 200 Puerto Rican fans in section 302 cheering for the Islanders.

Fortunately for the other 4,800 fans in attendance, three minutes later, Tom Heinemann scored a goal on a header to tie the hostilities for the Railhawks. Floyd Franks got the assist.

But the 1-1 scoreboard (3-1 aggregate for the Islanders) would hold for the remainder of the match.

With a couple minutes left on the clock (plus stoppage), the Islanders had a golden opportunity to score the winner and seal the match. On the 88th, Josh Hansen took control of the ball and passed to Nicholas Addlery, who was onside on a counter attack, got past the Railhawk defense and on his way to nail the Carolina goalkeeper, before defenseman Brad Rusin knocked the Islanders’ forward down inside of the box.

Rusin was immediately red-carded and ejected from the game. Addlery himself took the penalty shot, but unfortunately, RailHawk’s goalkeeper Eric Reed came up big, diving to knock down the Jamaican’s PK attempt off of the crossbar to keep the score even.

Later in stoppage, 2010 USSF D2 Best XI midfielder Daniel Paladini lined up for a free kick and unleashed a well-placed bullet towards the upper corner of the Islanders’ net, but 2008 USL Best XI Goalkeeper of the Year Bill Gaudette leapt high and denied Paladini.

Paladini congratulated the Islanders’ keeper after the game. “I just told Gaudette right now [that] he saved them,” Paladini said. “He was picking stuff out of the corners that should’ve gone in.”

Bill “The Great Wall” Gaudette, the hero of the match, finished the night with 7 expectacular saves for the Islanders to bring home the Championship Crown!

Gaudette also had a save on a potential own-goal, misfired by David Horst on the 68th minute…

“We knew that they (Carolina) were going to come very aggressive at us, especially on their home turf. But we did what we had to do to hold them back. This is the reward for our collective efforts, the hours of work at the gym, travel and away from our families to obtain this glory. It’s definitely spectacular!”, told Gaudette to Primera Hora.

USSF Div2 Championship Match – 2nd Leg

Islanders 1-1 Carolina Railhawks

(Islanders win aggregate 3-1)

Goals:
1. PRI: S. Gbandi 7′
2. CAR: T. Heinemann 10′

Yellow Cards:
1. PRI: J. Hansen 47′
2. CAR: K. Low 55′
3. PRI: K. Jagdeosingh 70′
4. CAR: T. Heineman 90′
5. PRI: C. Nurse 90′+

Red Cards:
1. CAR: B. Rusin 88′

Lineup Islanders:
Bill Gaudette, Richard Martinez, Marco Velez, Alexis Rivera, David Horst, Noah Delgado, Chris Nurse, Sandy Gbandi, David Foley (Nicholas Addlery 81′), Kendall Jagdeosingh (Osei Telesford 72′), Josh Hansen

Lineup RailHawks: Eric Reed, Kupono Low (Allan Russell 82′), Brad Rusin, Daniel Woolard, Cory Elenio (Tiyi Shipalane 72′), Marques Davidson, Floyd Franks (Gregory Richardson 61′), Matt Watson, Daniel Paladini, Etienne Barbara (Josh Gardner, 72′), Tom Heinemann

Venue: WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina

Attendance: 5,074

Category: 2010 USSF Div2 Season, Carolina Railhawks, Match Reports, Playoffs, Puerto Rico Islanders, Videos