USL News Release
Monday, September 29, 2008
TAMPA, FL – The USL First Division Semifinals are set with the two-leg, aggregate score series slated for Friday, October 3 and Sunday, October 5 with regular season champion Puerto Rico facing Rochester in one series and the two Canadian clubs, Montreal and Vancouver, squaring off again for national pride in the other. The second leg in Vancouver will air live on Fox Soccer Channel at 6:30 pm ET.
The Puerto Rico Islanders used their first round bye to rest, watching this past weekend’s results play out in favor of the three top seeds, giving them a showdown with Rochester, whom they won the season series against at 2-0-1 with an aggregate advantage of 7-1 in the scoreline.
Following Puerto Rico’s CONCACAF Champions League match Wednesday in Guatemala against Municipal (available on FSC at 1:00 am ET), the series will open Friday at 7:35 pm ET in Rochester, where the Islanders posted a 2-0 victory just three weeks prior, and concludes Sunday at 6:00 pm ET in Bayamon, where Puerto Rico has not lost to the Rhinos since 2006.
The Canadian showdown in the other Semifinal begins Friday in Montreal at 8:00 pm ET and wraps up in Vancouver Sunday at 6:30 pm ET live on Fox Soccer Channel.
The pair played, essentially, two season series this year with the Whitecaps coming out on top in the USL-1 league series 2-0-1 while Montreal took the series in the Canadian Championship tournament with two victories that helped them advance to the CONCACAF Champions League, where they continue their phenomenal run Wednesday in Honduras against CD Olimpia. The Champions League match can also be seen on Fox Soccer Channel, airing at 10:00 pm ET.
Both legs of the Puerto Rico and Rochester series as well as the first leg of the Canadian series will be available on USLlive.com.
USL FIRST DIVISION SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE
Puerto Rico Islanders (1) vs Rochester Rhinos (4)
Leg One: @ Rochester, 7:35 pm ET – Leg Two: @ Puerto Rico, 6:00 pm ET
Vancouver Whitecaps (2) vs Montreal Impact (3)
Leg One: @ Montreal, 8:00 pm ET – Leg Two: @ Vancouver, 6:30 pm ET
