Puerto Rico Islanders News Release
February 25, 2009
The Puerto Rico Islanders will face CD Marathon of Honduras this Thursday the 26thof February at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals.
The Islanders come back to action with 19 returning players after their most successful year in their history. The 2008 team captains Noah Delgado and Petter Villegas along with USL’s Most Valuable Player Jonathan Steele will continue to contribute to our attack. USL’s Defender of the Year Cristian Arrieta, experienced central defender Nigel Henry and USL’s Goalkeeper of the Year Bill Gaudette will help keep the Islanders on top in the league’s defensive ranking. «We believe that the key to our successful 2008 season was the quality and unity that our players had on and off the field. This is what we are looking for in 2009 with all these returning players» said Islanders Vice-President Jorge Pierluisi.
The team added four great players for 2009 that will boost both our offense and defense. These are: Nicholas Addlery, Martín Nuñez, Sean Fraser and Kevon Villaroel. Addlery, a former Jamaican international and US Permanent Resident, comes from the USL defending Champions Vancouver Whitecaps where he scored 4 goals and 1 assist in 27 games in the 2008 season. Nunez, a 22 year old Uruguayan midfielder and US Permanent Resident, comes to the Islanders from the Carolina Railhawks. In 2008 he scored 5 goals and 2 assists for Carolina. Fraser comes to the Islanders via transfer from Miami FC. He was a member of the Jamaican U20 National Team that competed in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina. Fraser has also played for other international clubs such as Boavista Sport Club in Brazil and Harbour View FC in Jamaica. In 2008, Fraser scored 4 goals for the Miami FC Blues. And Villaroel, a 21-year-old left back, has represented his country in international competition at the youth levels. He has previously played for Joe Public FC, Rangers FC, and most recently with San Juan Jabloteh of the Trinidad and Tobago Professional League.
These 23 players have had a very productive pre-season under Head Coach Colin Clarke and are ready to face Honduras’ 2008-2009 Apertura Champions CD Marathon in this two-legged Quarterfinals series. “We are very excited. We have been training for about a month now and are finally getting close to our last week of preparation for such an important game that will give us the opportunity to advance to another round in CONCACAF”, said midfielder and captain Noah Delgado.
CD Marathon of Honduras seems to be ready to face the PR Islanders and is aware of what the Puerto Rican side has accomplished in the last year. “We can’t get overconfident. We know who we are up against and have prepared well for our opponent to expect no surprises” said defender Milton Palacios. However, the Honduran side could be affected by injuries and suspensions for Thursday match against the Islanders.
However, injuries and suspensions will not determine the result of this game according to PR Islanders Head Coach Colin Clarke. Clarke and his players are aware of what they are up against. “Marathon are a great team, are good going forward and qualified in a much more difficult group,” Clarke said. “Getting a result in the first game will be crucial for us because after the first leg, we will be headed to their stadium and a hostile environment for the return match.”
The game will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8:00pm ET on Thursday February 26th.
