MLS Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Whitecaps and Islanders Meet Again This Saturday

July 23, 2009 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC News Release


VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC (5W-7L-3D) look to return to winning ways when they host USL First Division high-flyers Puerto Rico Islanders (9W-4L-7D) at Swangard Stadium on Saturday evening.

Having reached the midway point of the 2009 campaign, Teitur Thordarson's side have found the defence of their USL-1 championship title to be a big challenge through the club's first 15 matches of the regular season. The Blue and White have recorded just two wins in their last nine games, with both those results coming at Swangard. Their woes on the road continued last week, as the 'Caps suffered a pair of 2-1 defeats at Miami FC Blues and Carolina RailHawks.

With Vancouver sitting in the bottom half of the standings, Thordarson's men look to move up the table by claiming the regular season series versus Colin Clarke's Islanders after splitting their first two meetings of 2009 with the Caribbean outfit. On April 18, two first-half goals by former Whitecaps striker Nicholas Addlery gave the Islanders a 2-1 victory in Puerto Rico before Charles Gbeke's first goal of the season helped Vancouver to a 1-0 home win over the Islanders on May 10.

Saturday's match will be the 13th all-time meeting between the two clubs, with the Whitecaps leading the all-time series with a record of six wins, two defeats, and four draws. The Whitecaps will take further encouragement by their undefeated home record versus Puerto Rico, as Vancouver have registered four wins and two draws since the 2005 season.

Complete match preview: men/schedule/2009_07_25_v_Puerto_Rico_Islanders.aspx

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 23, 2009


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