TKO – Islanders knock out the Rhinos off the playoffs (Part 2)

The message is clear. The Orange Darth Vader tifo says it all…

It wasn’t as exhilarating as last year, when the Islanders scored 3 goals at home (victory goal on the 119′ in overtime) to shutout the Rhinos and win the 2008 Semi-Final match up 3-2 on aggregate; but the Islanders duplicated the same feat this year: they came back from behind and knocked out Rochester of the USL-1 Playoffs.

After losing 1-2 to the Rhinos last Thursday in the away leg of the 2009 Quarter Finals, the Islanders rallied past Rochester to win the return leg in Bayamón 4-1, win the quarterfinal match up 5-3 on aggregate, and eliminate the Rhinos who fell out the USL-1 playoffs in Puerto Rico for the 2nd year in a row.

The Noël-Addlery forward duo scored 2 goals each, while 2008 MVP Jonathan Steele earned all 4 assists in the game for the Islanders. Bill Gaudette had 3 saves out of 4 Rhino shot’s, missing the one shot that scored Rochester’s lonely goal on the 82′ by Amaury Nuñes.

The final four USL-1 Semifinalists are set for the upcoming week with the idle regular season champion Portland Timbers returning to action against rival Vancouver as Montreal and Puerto Rico square off in the other semifinal series. The opening legs will be Thursday October 1 with the second legs on Sunday, October 4.

The Islanders will play tomorrow night (Tuesday Sep. 29) in Mexico City against Cruz Azul in the 5th date of the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League, before flying to Montreal to face the Impact in the first-leg of the semi-finals on Thursday Oct. 1st, and returning home for the 2nd leg on Sunday Oct. 4th in Bayamón.

The result ended the season for Rochester, and triggered Rhinos’ DT Darren Tilley dismisal, as he was fired as coach before the team boarded their return flight to New York from Puerto Rico.

Here are the 4 Islander goals:

Category: 2009 Season, Match Reports, Playoffs, Puerto Rico Islanders, Rochester Rhinos, Videos, goleadas