The Cinderella CCL Run Time Forgot
Once upon a time, a USL team finished just a couple penalties away from the biggest stage in CONCACAF club football.
There’s a plague going around in North American soccer, and it’s highly contagious.
No, it’s not the COVID-19 pandemic, though that continues to be a problem, as much as the government would make you think otherwise. It’s the seasonal outbreak of CCL Fever.
CONCACAF Champions League is the pinnacle of club football in this region. It’s the way into the Club World Cup, where you’ll be rubbing shoulders with other clubs who conquered their own continent.
MLS fans constantly wonder if this is the year an MLS team finally takes home the trophy. True, the Galaxy and DC United won the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup in the early years of the league, but that was a one-week, neutral-site tournament.
But today, I’m going to take you back in time to the late aughties. Before the MLS expansion explosion of the last decade, before even the USMNT’s iconic Confederations Cup run.
We’re keeping it in the United States though…in a way. Because in 2008-09 CCL, a USL team from the island of Puerto Rico got so, so very close to continental glory. A run that time has caught up with, and a club who faded away just a few years later.
This is a CCL that is…not fondly remembered by MLS fans, to put it lightly.
Of the four MLS teams to qualify for the tournament, only Houston even made it out of the groups. DC finished rock bottom of their group, with just one meager point, a 1-1 draw against Saprissa. Meanwhile, Chivas USA and New England couldn’t even get into the group stage. Chivas lost their prelim matchup to Panamanian side Tauro, while the Revs suffered the single most embarrassing defeat in MLS CCL history, a 6-1 two-leg shellacking at the hands of Joe Public of Trinidad that included a 4-0 embarrassment at Gillette.
That being said, non-MLS teams from USL did pretty well. Yes, teams as in plural.
Montréal Impact’s quarterfinal run is the one most people remember because, well, that team still exists. And it was a great run in its own right, as a USL team nearly knocked off Liga MX opposition.
The Puerto Rico Islanders’ run, despite being a round longer, is one that’s less remembered, especially as the club ceased to exist a decade ago.
And much like their league brothers in Quebec, it ended in heart-shattering fashion on the field in Mexico.
Let’s start by meeting the Islanders. They qualified via the 2007 Caribbean Football Union Club Championship, where the team finished third. After topping their group ahead of Antiguan side SAP, Jamaican side Harbor View, and Inter Moengotapoe of Suriname, they crushed SV Leo Victor 7-1 in the quarterfinals before falling 1-0 to Joe Public in the semis. But they won the third place game 1-0 over San Juan Jabloteh of Trinidad to squeak into the 2008 CCL as the third Caribbean club.
The club was managed by Colin Clarke, who had recently managed three-plus fairly successful seasons in Dallas. USL Defender of the Year Cristian Arrieta anchored the defense, and Haitian international Fabrice Noël led the forward line. They also had 2008 USL First Division MVP Jonny Steele, and had thrived in the second tier of American soccer, having finished with the best record that season.
There was plenty of Caribbean experience to this side, even beyond the Puerto Rican homegrown contingent. You had the likes of Noël and James Marcelin from Haiti, Osei Telesford, Nigel Henry, Kendall Jagdeosingh, and later Kevon Villaroel from Trinidad and Tobago, and in the latter stages the club added a couple of Jamaicans in Nicolas Addlery and Sean Fraser.
The team entered the CCL through the preliminary round. And the Islanders were immediately hit with a tough test: Liga Deportivo Alajuelense, from Costa Rica.
Alajuelense were just five years removed from their second CONCACAF crown, and had just finished second in the aggregate table of the Costa Rican league to Saprissa by one point. They’d been a thorn in MLS’s side during CCL historically, too; their previous three CCL runs all saw them knock out an MLS team - New England in 2002 and 2006, and San Jose in 2004.
Getting a result in Alajuela was critical, and where the Revs and Quakes failed, the Islanders succeeded. Osei Telesford cancelled out Argenis Fernández’s opener, and the Orange Troop took a 1-1 tie with them to San Juan.
That’s where the magic began.
While the Revs got dunked on by Gregory Richardson, Puerto Rico went down 1-0 on an early goal by Ariel Rodríguez. As the game reached its latter stages, it looked like that was all Alajuelense was going to need - a clean, safe, 1-0 road win against an “inferior” opponent.
But this is CCL. Things change in an instant. The 87th minute was that instant
Alajuelense keeper Wardy Alfaro came off his line to grab a ball, but was unable to corral it and slipped out of the box to boot. The ball trickled right to Kendall Jagdeosingh, and the Trinidadian made no mistake. We were going to extra time.
Actually, wait, nah, let’s not settle for that.
Just moments later, a free kick from the Islanders led to chaos in the box.
Chaos, deeply embedded in the nature of CCL.
Chaos, today, the Islanders’ best friend.
Taiwo Atieno pounced on the loose ball, and what looked like a 2-1 aggregate defeat became a 3-2 upset win on aggregate that put the Islanders through to the group stage.
While Chivas USA shook their heads after a tough aggregate loss and the Revs were trying to cover up their humiliation with “SUPERLIGA CHAMPS THOUGH,” Puerto Rico (and their USL leaguemates in the Impact) celebrated.
That was Step 1 though. Step 2 was going to be a lot harder: the group stage.
Joining the Islanders in Group D would be the aforementioned Tauro, Guatemalan side Municipal, and of course the big one: Santos Laguna. Champs of Liga MX’s 2008 Clausura (spring season).
That group stage would start in September at their home, Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel in Bayamón, against Tauro.
The Islanders struck twice within the first hour through Petter Villegas and Jagdeosingh, bringing the 3,500 fans in attendance to their feet. Tauro quieted them a little bit with a goal just before the hour mark to add some spice to the game, but they were not able to find a second.
That 3,500 mark damn near tripled for their second match. The big guys, Santos Laguna, were coming to town. A team that featured the likes of Oribe Peralta, Juan Pablo Rodriguez, and the late, great Christian “Chucho” Benítez.
And the Islanders just flat-out outplayed them.
Outshooting them 20-12 on the night (13-6 on target), Puerto Rico opened up a 3-0 lead before an hour had passed on goals by Telesford, Noah Delgado, and Edwin Miranda. A late consolation goal by Benítez was not going to rain on the parade. A club from the US second division, playing in a market where baseball reigned supreme, had just upended Liga MX opposition, convincingly.
Things were about to get rocky, though.
On the road in Guatemala City for their third match, a win over Municipal would’ve all but assured the Islanders a spot in the quarterfinals. After a 90th minute goal by Sandy Gbandi (the brother of former MLS #1 overall pick Chris Gbandi), they thought they had it.
But just moments later, Juan Carlos Plata, Municipal’s club icon, thumped home a stoppage time equalizer to break Puerto Rican hearts and send them home with only a draw.
It didn’t get easier from there. Santos put them to the sword 3-0 in Mexico, and the Islanders slipped up in the fifth game of the groups with a late home loss to Municipal. What once looked like mere formality was now in jeopardy as they took on Tauro in Panama City.
Desperately needing a win at the Estadio Nacional Rod Carew, Puerto Rico struck twice in the first thirty minutes, through Telesford and Noël. But a Brunet Hay brace leveled things with just over ten minutes to go, and with Municipal and Santos playing an absolutely insane game with 2 penalties to both sides, it was time to clench.
Thankfully, the score held, and the Islanders were through to the quarters on the head-to-head thanks to their home win.
When the quarters opened in the spring, their opponents would be CD Marathón, from San Pedro Sula in Honduras. That club had just won the Apertura of the Honduran league, and topped their CCL group with 13 points in a tough group that included DC United, Saprissa, and Cruz Azul.
In the first leg at home, Puerto Rico poured on the shots and pressure, but it was the Hondurans who struck first, via Jerry Palacios.
But the Islanders were a team that never gave up. They persisted and persisted. In the 73rd minute, they finally broke through via new addition Nicholas Addlery. Eight minutes later, Jagdeosingh continued his CCL heroics with the winner.
A 2-1 aggregate lead was nice, but would it be enough on the road? Surviving in San Pedro Sula ain’t easy. Just ask the Canadian national team of 2012.
The answer, somehow, was yes.
As the Hondurans tried desperately for an equalizer, knowing they had the away goal edge, the hero this time would be William Gaudette. The Islanders keeper made 9 huge saves to keep them off the board, and in second half stoppage time, Addlery applied a dagger straight to the hosts’ hearts.
Somehow, against all odds, facing some tough, tough CONCACAF opposition, the Puerto Rico Islanders, a second division club playing in the US system from a non-footballing region, had reached the semifinals.
Their opponents would be the team that Marathón had pipped to the Group A crown: Cruz Azul. The Mexican side was led by the likes of Gerardo Torrado, and Cristian Riveros, two players who ended their international careers with over 100 caps.
A good result in the first leg in Bayamón was critical, and the Islanders started strong with a fourth minute goal from Gbandi. Addlery added another goal before halftime, and from there, Gaudette stood on his head again to keep the team in the game.
But let’s be real: we’ve seen Liga MX teams against MLS teams before. A 2-goal lead might not be enough, though the clean sheet was vital.
At the Estadio Azul for the second leg, Puerto Rico got a huge early boost. Riveros was sent off in the 32nd minute. Holding on and making the final was a possibility now, but Cruz Azul with 10 men is probably still better than a USL team.
Pablo Zeballos pulled one of those two goals back just before halftime, but as the clock ticked on, time was quickly becoming the Islanders’ friend. No way they were about to do this…right?
It was too good to be true. Javier Orozco equalized with six minutes to go. That forced extra time, so while it was a tough goal to take, it wasn’t fatal.
That was especially so after Gbandi scored just two minutes into the extra frame. Just hold on…hold on…
They did not, in fact, hold on. César Villaluz equalized eight minutes later, and the lottery of penalties would be required.
And for as magical as this ride was, most Cinderella sports stories end in a defeat. This was no different.
Cruz Azul converted all four penalties, while Delgado and John Krause both missed. Midnight struck for the Cinderella story.
From there, the Islanders began to fade. They went from first in USL in 2008, to third in 2009, all the way to 8th when the USSF D2 Pro League played its temporary season in 2010. Granted, they did win the playoff title that year, but again…8th seed. They did snag another couple CFU Club Championships, and qualified for CCL in each of the next four years. But they never again made it past the group stage.
The club would be a founding member of the new NASL in 2011, and had a couple solid seasons before withdrawing for the 2013 season. They never played again. While NASL did try again in Puerto Rico with the Carmelo Anthony-backed Puerto Rico FC in 2017, the league itself folded after their second season. Puerto Rico hasn’t fielded a USL team since, and hasn’t seen a team in CCL since 2015, when Bayamón finished bottom of their group with a -21 goal difference in 4 matches.
As fast as they nearly reached the apex, Puerto Rico Islanders saw oblivion. But as they say: don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.