(Puerto Rico 2, Rochester 1)
1-0 min. 10 Mauricio Salles on PK (Puerto Rico)
2-0 min. 22 Corey Woolfolk (Puerto Rico)
2-1 min. 65 Lennin Steenkamp (Rochester)
BAYAMON, PR - The Puerto Rico Islanders finished off a perfect weekend by beating the Rochester Raging Rhinos again, this time by a score of 2-1 in front of 4,821 fans at Juán Ramón Loubriel in Bayamón on Sunday afternoon.
The Islanders quickly grabbed the lead, when Puerto Rico was awarded a penalty kick after a Rochester defender committed a foul on Islander striker Mauricio Salles #10 inside the penalty box. Salles himself executed the penalty kick perfectly, making Rochester goalkeeper Scott Vallon #24 guess to the wrong side, and putting up the 1-0 score for Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico did not stop there and, in the 22nd minute of the first half, Mauricio Salles made his presence felt again. Salles passed the ball to Noah Delgado #17, who perfectly saw fellow teammate Corey Woolfolk #23 position himself as he ran toward goal. Delgado made the precise pass and Woolfolk found himself with only Vallon to beat. Corey would deliver mercilessly and give the Islanders a 2-0 lead. For the Islanders it was payback; now they were the ones leading 2-0 early in the match instead of Rochester.
The Rhinos quickly found themselves in a big hole and fought back, with Tony Rougier #9 and Johnny Steele #22 leading the way. Nevertheless, Islander goalkeeper Dan Kennedy #1 remained as solid and secure as a keeper could on goal and protected his team's two-goal lead all the way up to halftime.
As soon as play restarted in the second half, Puerto Rico almost tasted the 3-0 lead, with Isaias Bardales #12 hitting the left post in the 48th minute. He could have sealed it right there.
Rochester woke up and gave the locals a scare in the 54th minute. Lennin Steenkamp #23, who entered the pitch after halftime, was called offside when he headed the ball into the nets, therefore the goal was denied. Then in the 59th, Jonathan Bolanos #6 tested Kennedy, but the goalkeeper made a brilliant save. Drew McAthy #9 responded for Puerto Rico a few minutes later but he headed the ball just wide of goal.
In the 65th minute of play, Rochester would cut the lead in half on a perfectly executed corner kick by Pato Aguilera #7. Pato's ball was headed into the nets by Steenkamp for the 2-1 score. Reenergized, the Rhinos looked to tie the match but Puerto Rico held on the rest of the way, earning a second straight victory and sending the message to the Rhinos and the whole USL-1 that indeed these Islanders are a team to respect this year
