BAYAMON, PR- Puerto Rico has had this kind of year, where they work hard and play well; yet small details keep killing them.
The Rochester Raging Rhinos beat the Puerto Rico Islanders 2-1 in the match played this Saturday, May 29, at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon. Puerto Rico played with technique, cool, and control most of the game but a hard foul by defender Javier Novarini, which led to his red card, left the locals with ten players and things went downhill from there.
In this game the Puerto Rico Islanders took the attacking initiative the same way they did last Thursday against these Raging Rhinos. Rochester held on defensively and waited for their chances to come.
It would not take long for that chance to appear. In the 23rd minute of play, referee Greg Watson called a penalty kick in favor of the Rhinos after Alexis Rivera of the Islanders touched the ball with his arm inside the box. Doug Miller would score and give the visiting team the lead.
Puerto Rico kept it coming and answered immediately in the 25th minute when Luis Fernando Zuleta scored the tying goal on a header off a perfectly executed corner kick by Edivaldo “Juninho” Da Silva. This was the first time the Islanders came back to tie a game, and the goal lifted their spirits… and the crowd’s, too.
In the second half, the Raging Rhinos played in more of an attacking mode, with Puerto Rico defending well.
Things changed dramatically in the 59th minute when Islander defender Javier Novarini was shown the red card on a hard foul. Novarini not only kicked a Rochester player: the referee was just a few feet away. This silly foul was enough to ruin the Islanders’ plans.
The Raging Rhinos took advantage of the situation and in the 69th minute Corey Woolfolk would score Rochester’s second goal of the night on a header off a corner kick.
Puerto Rico tried to score their second and came closest when Ricardo Alcerro almost beat the Raging Rhino goalkeeper Soren Johnson from outside the box in the 72nd minute. Johnson, who made his first start today, responded with a spectacular save that denied the tie.
The Islanders also had a new goalkeeper of their own in Michael Ueltschey, who had a very good game overall, but could not help the Isles get the W.
The Isles would not even get the tie although they tried to move past Rochester’s wall of defense. The frustration eventually set in and Alcerro was sent-off near the end of the match after another unnecessary hard foul.
Now the Islanders must wait until flying to Toronto for two games against the Lynx on June 6 and 9. Maybe the Islanders can finally grab a win against a struggling team, if they pay attention to details.
BLUE NOTE: The Islanders confirmed on Tuesday, June 1st that indeed Javier Novarini was released by the team after another sent-off. Also leaving is forward Clyde Geffrard, while Mauricio stays for now despite criticism from many fans. The new player will be midfielder Johanes Maliza, who will join training this week.
RR: Johnson, Mendes, Sedgewick, Wright, Semedo, Tsakiris (Woolfolk 63’), Trout, Delgado, Steenkamp, Carrieri (Allnutt 72’), and Miller (Fuller 77’) PR: Ueltschey, Novarini, Zuleta, Gores, A. Rivera (Mourelo 88’), Ortiz, Nieves (H. Rivera 82’), Juninho, Mauricio (Astondoa 75’), Zapata, and Alcerro
GOALS:
23’ Miller (PK), RR 1-0
25’ Zuleta, 1-1
69’ Woolfolk, RR 2-1
CARDS:
Yellow:
RR: Sedgewick, Wright, and Tsakiris
PR: Zapata
Red:
RR: None
PR: Novarini and Alcerro
Att: 3,190
