Islanders Rudely Dump Carolina
Soccer365.comThe Puerto Rico Islanders came out tonight to secure a solid win at home, and they did not disappoint their fans. Goals in minutes 13, 23 and 60 did the RailHawks in squarely.
The furious action started right off in the first five minutes of play, with Taiwo Atieno taking two solid shots at goal, making Chris McClellan earn his keep.
Puerto Rico’s push finally paid dividends in the 13th minute. An assist from Jonathan Steele found Kendall Jagdeosingh in the right position to blast the ball into the back of the net. The scoring action was followed by an exchange of fouls that earned each team yellow cards in minutes 17 and 19.
The Islanders kept the pressure on, and Carolina seemed unable to stop them. The second goal of the match came from Noah Delgado. A shot by Petter Villegas was blocked away by McClellan, but Delgado was standing squarely in front of the gate and reacted with lighting-fast reflexes to secure the 2-0 score.
Not five minutes went by, when Puerto Rico’s Cristian Arrieta threatened once more the RailHawks’ goalkeeper with a blast from 30 yards away that flew dangerously close but wide past the left post. The visitors answered back with an attempt of their own in minute 35, but the half ended with the 2-point advantage for the home team.
The second period was again dominated by Puerto Rico, with the RailHawks struggling to even the score.
One minute into play, Jagdeosingh received a side pass from Arrieta and forwarded the ball to Atieno, who attempted an almost perfect header that flew inches over the crossbar. Carolina responded with a good attack on Islander territory that earned them two consecutive corner kicks. They could not convert, however, and followed their attempt with a hard shot to goal that Bill Gaudette managed to stop.
In minute 61, with an assist from Jonathan Steele, John Krause tallied the third and decisive goal of the match. Several substitutions from both sides, and excellent shots by Carolina that made Gaudette scramble, did not change the final outcome. Puerto Rico finally got the 3 points on the big board it had been yearning for over the last four weeks.
Carolina will be heading to Miami tomorrow to face the Blues on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Islanders will stay home for a week and will then fly to Atlanta to try to avenge the last tied game they played against the Silverbacks. They will be returning to the Juan Ramón Loubriel stadium to host the Minnesota Thunder for a two-game weekend starting on June 27.
