Puerto Rico Islanders

Puerto Rico Islanders
Basic data
Surname	Puerto Rico Islanders Football Club
Seat	Bayamón , Puerto Rico
founding	2003
president	Andy Guillemard-Noble
First soccer team
Head coach	Adrian Whitbread
Venue	Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel
Places	12,500
league	North American Soccer League
2013	Break from the game
home Away

The Puerto Rico Islanders (officially Puerto Rico Islanders ) are a Puerto Rican football - Franchise of the North American Soccer League (NASL) from Bayamón , Puerto Rico . The franchise was founded in 2003 and started gaming operations in 2004. This franchise is currently on pause.

The franchise plays its home games at the Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel in Bayamon . In addition to a few local and US players, the squad consists mainly of Central and South American players. Arch-rivals of the Islanders include the Charleston Battery and the Carolina RailHawks .

history

As early as 1995 there was a team called Puerto Rico Islanders. These played in the then United States International Soccer League and were founded by the Puerto Rican businessman Joe Serralta. After seven games, Serralta decided to move the franchise to Houston. So on June 1, 1995, the name changed to Houston Force. After a lawsuit with the Puerto Rican Football Federation, Force was suspended after one game.

The franchise was founded at the end of 2003. After two average seasons, the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 2006. Against the Charleston Battery came in the quarterfinals. In the same season, the club won the Puerto Rican Cup competition. This qualified the Islanders for the CFU Club Championship , the Caribbean club cup competition. A 3-1 win against Hoppers FC ( Antigua and Barbuda ) was followed by a 0-1 defeat by W Connection ( Trinidad and Tobago ).

The Islanders are participants in the first edition of the CONCACAF Champions League , for which they qualified third in the 2007 CFU Club Championship . The tournament was held in 2008/2009. The team failed in the semifinals to CD Cruz Azul on penalties in the second leg.

In the 2008 season, the Islanders reached the play-offs final and won the regular season in the USL First Division.

In 2009 the franchise reached the final of the CFU Club Championship , so the team qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League 2009/10 . In the preliminary round, the qualifying round for the tournament, the team won against the MLS club Toronto FC , which previously won the Canadian Championship 2009 . In the main round of the tournament, the Islanders could not win and were eliminated.

In the USL First Division 2009, the Puerto Rico Islanders reached the semi-finals of the play-offs after a third place in the regular season. There they lost to Montreal Impact with two defeats.

By winning the CFU Club Championship 2010, Puerto Rico qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League 2010/11 . The team meets Los Angeles Galaxy in the Preliminary Round .

In the 2010 season the Islanders play in the USL Conference of the USSF D2 Pro League. In the regular season the club reached third place. In the subsequent play-offs, the Islanders made it to the final. There they won their first game 2-0 against the Carolina RailHawks.

In December 2012, the franchise announced that it would withdraw from the competition for half a year and take a break. This was favored by the change in the NASL's game operations, since from 2013 two independent six-month competitions will be held in one year. The club will therefore only return to the NASL in August 2013 for the 2013 fall season . In February 2013 it was announced that the Islanders were also pausing the 2013 fall season and would not return to play until 2014. This means that only seven franchises will participate in the 2013 spring season, but eight in the 2013 fall season.

Stadion

The Puerto Rico Islanders play their home games at the Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel in Bayamón , which is 10 minutes from the capital, San Juan . The "JRL", as it is also known, was originally a ballpark intended for demolition. In 2003, it was converted into a soccer stadium and, in addition to the Islanders, is home to the Puerto Rico national soccer team and Bayamón FC , which plays in the Puerto Rico Soccer League .

Fans

The largest fan group operates under the name "Hinchas Isleños Autoconvocados de Puerto Rico, Batallon S-10" (short: Batallon S-10). The group is one of the loudest and most energetic fan clubs in the league. The members are mainly from Puerto Rico, but there are also loyal fans in California and Spain . Other fan groups are the Orange Star Ultras and La Rabia Naranja.

The franchise's biggest rival is Charleston Battery. This fact goes back to the first season of the Islanders in the USL First Division. Charleston was the first club to defeat the Islanders.

successes

National

• USSF D2 Pro League
  • Winner: 2010
• Commissioner's Cup
  • Winner: 2008

International

• CFU Club Championship
  • Winner: 2010

statistics

Seasonal balance

season	step	league	Regular season	Play-offs	CFU Club Championship	CONCACAF Champions League
2004	2	A-League	9th place (east)	not qualified	not qualified	not qualified
2005	2	USL First Division	7th place	not qualified	not qualified	not qualified
2006	2	USL First Division	6th place	Quarter finals	Group stage	not qualified
2007	2	USL First Division	6th place	Semifinals	3rd place	not qualified
2008	2	USL First Division	1st place	final	not carried out	not qualified
2009	2	USL First Division	3rd place	Semifinals	final	Semifinals
2010	2	USSF Division 2 Professional League	5th place (USL)	master	master	Group stage
2011	2	North American Soccer League	2nd place	Semifinals	master	Group stage
2012	2	North American Soccer League	4th Place	Semifinals	3rd place	Qualifying round
2013	Break from the game

1. ↑ Since 2008 the competition has started in the autumn of the previous year. Previously under the name CONCACAF Champions' Cup .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ United Soccer Leagues Statistical History, Part 2 (1994-1996) . USA Soccer History Archives. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
2. ↑ Puerto Rico Takes Two Goal Advantage after First Leg of USSF D-2 Pro League Championship Series . USSF. October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 27, 2010. 
3. ↑ prislandersfc.com: Islanders to Kick Off 10th Anniversary in August 2013 , December 21, 2012, accessed on December 22, 2012
4. ↑ Puerto Rico Islanders to sit out 2013 season , SoccerAmerica. February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2012.