Miami FC Travels to Puerto Rico in Search of Three Points
August 7, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release
Miami August 7, 2009- Miami FC will travel to Puerto Rico this Saturday to face USL-1 powerhouse, the Puerto Rico Islanders. The Blues got an emotional, last-minute draw against the Montreal Impact this past Saturday, and will now put their road record to the test. They will play at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, where the Islanders have only lost one game all season. Miami is currently battling with Montreal, Vancouver, and Rochester for the last two play-off spots. Kickoff is scheduled for 8PM.
The Puerto Rico Islanders followed up their deep run into last year's CONCACAF Champions League, when they reached the tournament's semifinal, by eliminating MLS' Toronto FC and advancing to the group stage for the second consecutive year. The Islanders seem poised to return to the USL-1 playoffs sitting comfortably in 4th place with 35 points. Last year, the Islanders went all the way to the USL-1 championship game where they lost to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Captain John Pulido thinks this will be a good test for his team: "Puerto Rico is a great team, you have to respect them. They are also our biggest rivals, but I think the team is ready for the challenge. Zinho has prepared us well for this match, and I am confident we can come away with positive results."
The Blues have only lost two out of their last seven games. Miami is coming off a suspenseful draw against the Montreal Impact at FIU Stadium. Even though Miami maintained possession of the ball for most of the match, they found themselves down 1-0 at the half; however, the Blues responded with a spectacular goal by Alen Marcina, with only seconds left in the match.
Head Coach Zinho is content with what he has seen is practice this week.
"The boys have worked hard all week. I especially liked what we are doing tactically. Puerto Rico is a tough team to play, we faced them once already in our house, but I think we played well against them. What's important now is that we control our own destiny, we just have to play our soccer."
Miami FC will return home next Friday, August 14th to play the "FOX Soccer Channel" USL game of the week. The Blues will face off against the Minnesota Thunder at Lockhart Stadium. This will be their third and final matchup of the season. Miami leads the season series 1-0-1. Kickoff is scheduled for 8pm. For more news and ticket information please log on to www.miamifc.com
Notes...
Miami FC launched their latest viral campaign this week the "Miami FC Challenge". For every 500 tickets sold for the September 19th game, one Miami FC player will shave his head, and if the Blues make the playoffs head coach Zinho will also shave his head... Miami FC signed its newest player this week, locking up USA's U-20 center defender Gale (pronounced gah-LEH) Agbossoumonde... Miami FC will announce their newest reinforcement this weekend via twitter. This will be the first time Miami FC will make an exclusive player signing announcement through social networking...
USL First Division Stories from August 7, 2009
- Miami FC Travels to Puerto Rico in Search of Three Points - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- RailHawks face Cleveland with eyes on top of the league - North Carolina FC
- Midfielder Leighton O'Brien Joins Impact - Montreal Impact
- City Stars Travel To Carolina For Saturday's Match With The RailHawks - Cleveland City Stars
- Whitecaps FC fall to 1-0 defeat - Vancouver Whitecaps
- Midfielder Ryan Pore seals 1-0 win with strike in the first half - Portland Timbers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
