The Puerto Rico Islanders will face the Atlanta Silverbacks this Saturday, August 3rd, at Atlanta Silverbacks Park at 7:30 p.m. This will be the fourth and last encounter between these two teams. Come and enjoy the game during the “Watch Party” in the “Skybox” at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium this Saturday at 6:00 p.m., where the team will be giving away prizes to those who bring the most ‘vintage’ articles of the Puerto Rico Islanders. The Orange Troop will return home September 7th to face Montreal Impact. Kick off is set for 7:30pm.
About the Islanders:
This past August 27th and 30th, the Islanders facedFC Edmonton at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium where they maintained there undefeated home streak, beating FC Edmonton 3-2 and tying 1-1, respectively. The Islanders are the only team in the North American Soccer League (NASL) that is unbeaten at home. The Orange Troop clinched their playoff spot and are currently in second place in the NASL with 45 points, six points behind the Carolina RailHawks. The PR Islanders have not lost in the last six games.
This week the Islanders will be shorthanded of players since nine players will represent their national teams during the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches.
Among the absent players for the match against the Silverbacks is: Jonathan Faña, forward and leading goal scorer for the Orange Troop and third leading goals scorer of the NASL with 10 goals. Faña will represent the Dominican Republic, while forward Gregory Richardson will represent the Guyana National Team.
Another seven players were called for the Puerto Rico National Team. They are: the defenders Marco Vélez, Alexis Rivera, Scott Jones, and Richard Martínez and the midfieldsers Petter Villegas, Tyler Wilson, and Noah Delgado.
About the Silverbacks:
The Atlanta Silverbacks lost their last game 2-4 against the Carolina RailHawks last August 27th. Head Coach Jose Manuel Abundis and goalkeeper Felipe Quintero were suspended and will not be avialable for the match against the Islanders. The Silverbacks are already eliminated from the playoffs.
The last encounter between the PR Islanders and the Atlanta Silverbacks was on August 10th at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium of Bayamon where they won 2-0 which marked the third victory of the Orange Troop over the Silverbacks during the season. On July 4th the Islanders beat the Silverbacks 4-3 at Atlanta Silverbacks Park. They also won at "La Islandera" 3-1 the first time these two teams faced each other.
Junior Sandoval Returns:
Forward Junior Sandoval returned to the ‘ La Islandera’ after being loaned out to the Atlanta Silverbacks during the 2011 season.
During his time with the Silverbacks, Sandoval participated in 15 games and was in the starting line tem times, scoring two goals and contributing two assists. The 20 year old forward started his career with the Atlanta FC y with Georgia Perimeter College. Sandoval made his debut with the Islander on April 18th, 2010, in the Caribbean Football Union Championship against Racing des Gonaives of Haiti.
