LD Update: NASL weekly, season honors; MISL signing, combine news

CCL News: The Puerto Rico Islanders finished off their Champions League schedule with a 3-0 victory over Isidro Metapan, avoiding a winless campaign. The victory put them in second and clinched the quarterfinal berth for the group-leading LA Galaxy. Hector Ramos scored twice with Gregory Richardson adding the third. LA and Metapan play in the final match with Metapan having a chance to move back ahead of the Islanders for a second-place finish in the group, though only the winners advance to the quarterfinals.

LD Update: Puerto Rico out of CCL; Tampa Bay clinches playoff bye

CCL News: The Puerto Rico Islanders were eliminated from Quarterfinal contention despite playing the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy, comprising mostly reserves, to a scoreless draw Wednesday evening. They have one game remaining versus Metapan at home next Thursday, just days before their opening round playoff game Sunday. - MORE

Atlanta Silverbacks 3 :: 1 San Antonio Scorpions - Perhaps a bit on cruise control having locked up a first round bye, the Scorpions dropped their second consecutive game and have now gone five games without scoring more than at least one goal. Atlanta's Danny Barrera was the star of the night, setting up all three goals. He delivered a corner for a Willie Hunt header three minutes in and sent a free kick off Blake Wagner's head for an own goal in the 41st. Leading 2-1, he connected with Pedro Mendes in the 75th to secure the win. - MORE

Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 :: 1 Carolina RailHawks - A Luke Mulholland corner kick 13 minutes in found the head of defender Andres Arango for the lead and Arango's back line allowed just one RailHawks goal, a strike from Ty Shipalane in the 61st minute, as the Rowdies held on for the sole point needed to clinch the remaining first round bye. - MORE
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LD Update: CCL for PR; NASL honors & final week

CCL News: The Puerto Rico Islanders resume Champions League play Wednesday with a second consecutive game against the LA Galaxy, who were victorious 4-0 three weeks ago. The Islanders have zero points at the midway point while the Galaxy are perfect.

NASL News: The league announced midfielder Ty Shipalane of the Carolina RailHawks as the Offensive Player of the Week and Puerto Rico Islanders defender Anthony Vasquez as the Defensive Player of the Week.

LD Update: Bixler retires; USL Pro award winners; MISL sched released

USL Pro News: Veteran Harrisburg City Islanders defender Dustin Bixler, a three-time All-League selection and 2007 USL Second Division championship MVP, announced his retirement... The expansion club in Arizona announced it will play as Phoenix FC, unveiling Wolves as the mascot and prominent feature of the new logo... The league announced the season award winners at the championship banquet, honoring Kevin Molino (Orlando) as MVP, Adrian Heath (Orlando) as Coach of the Year, Troy Roberts (Rochester) as Defender of the Year and Jose Cuevas of the championship finalist Charleston Battery as the Rookie of the Year.  

LD Update: USL Pro semis tonight; PR pounded; player availability news

The USL Pro championship finalists will be determined tonight with both semifinals kicking off around 7:30 pm ET. The reigning two-time regular season champion and last year's league winners Orlando City play host to the Wilmington Hammerheads, the only team to hand them a loss in their amazing 17-1-6 campaign, while longtime foes Rochester Rhinos and Charleston Battery square off in New York.

Both matches will be streamed on USLnation.com.

LD Update: Puerto Rico falls in CCL opener; Hammerhead to Iceland; PDL award finalists

USL PRO: Harrisburg City Islanders 2:4 Orlando City - The Florida club may have already locked up first, but they certainly did not take it easy in Harrisburg. Jamie Watson struck six minutes in. After Garret Pettis equalized in the 10th, Watson would restore the advantage beore the break with his second in the 32nd. In the second half it was Dennis Chin, setting up defender Erik Ustruck with a rebound finish in the 52nd and scoring himself in the 75th to put the match out of reach. James McLaughlin provided a late effort for a rally in the 82nd. - MORE

LD Update: Islanders advance to fifth CCL; Open Cup Semifinal hosts set

CFU Championship: The Puerto Rico Islanders advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League for a fifth consecutive tournament, finishing third in the Caribbean Football Union with a 2-0 victory against USL Pro side Antigua Barracuda in Trinidad Thursday evening. 

USL Pro News: The three remaining clubs in the US Open Cup - Charlotte, Dayton & Harrisburg - learned where and who they may be facing in the Semifinals (July 10-11) should they advance past their Major League Soccer opponents next Tuesday. Harrisburg is the lone team that could potentially host a semifinal match, but would also need their league compatriots Dayton to win... Defending champion and league-leader Orlando City announced the signing of Senegalese midfielder Adama Mbengue, a star for the club's U23 side, to the squad.

PDL News: The league unveiled the Team of the Week, honoring midfielder Matt Friesen of the Kitsap Pumas as the Player of the Week.
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LD Update: CFU Semifinal results; US Futsal roster; EPL-PDL friendly

CFU Semifinals: Only one club from the North American lower divisions will advance to the CONCACAF Champions League as the reigning two-time Caribbean Football Union champion Puerto Rico Islanders (NASL) and Antigua Barracuda (USL Pro) both lost their semifinal contests to their Trinidad & Tobago hosts Tuesday evening.

Cousins Rennie Britto and Jerrel Britto scored three goals to pace W Connection to a three-goal lead before Josh Hansen scored the Islanders' lone goal in a 4-1 defeat in the second match of the doubleheader. Antigua was in a deadlock with Caledonia AIA until Radanfah Abu Bakr opened the scoring in the 65th minute. Devorn Jorsling capped the victory four minutes from time in a 2-0 result.

LD Update: CFU resumes; NASL honors; WPSL Elite forfeit

CFU Resumes: The Final Four of the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship wraps up this week in Trindad, featuring a pair of T&T clubs and the North American lower division duo of Puerto Rico Islanders (NASL) and Antigua Barracuda (USL Pro).

The tournament resumes with the Semifinals Tuesday evening. First up is a showdown between Antigua and Caledonia AIA. Barracuda are new to the competition and Caledonia failed to advance to the Final Four a year ago, falling in penalties to Haitian side Tempete.

The other semifinal features the winners of the last three editions of the tournament and a rematch of the 2009 Final when W Connection edged Puerto Rico, 2-1. Jonathan Fana has raised the trophy three consecutive years having led W Connection to the 2009 title before joining the Islanders for the past two campaigns.

LD Update: Edmonton out; Velez returns; Blues broken nose

No midweek lower division pro action aside from FC Edmonton's Canadian Championship contest...

ACC: Scoreless after the first leg, Toronto FC got an early lead at home just two minutes in via Reggie Lambe and, despite losing Richard Eckersley to a 16th minute red card, held on for a 2-0 series win against the Montreal Impact with a Ryan Johnson insurance tally in the 38th minute... In the late game, the second division FC Edmonton made things interesting with the opening goal in Vancouver after falling 2-0 at home. Yashir Pinto headed home a cross in the 54th minute to make it 2-1 on aggregate. Vancouver answered back though with Sebastien Le Toux scoring in the 75th. Le Toux headed a second in with three minutes left to leave no doubt and Darren Mattocks added another three minutes into stoppage to repeat the two-goal margin, 3-1, for a 5-1 aggregate win.

LD Update: PR loses; NASL suspensions; Cascadia PDL signings

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3:2 Puerto Rico Islanders – Someone finally got the better of the Islanders as they just could not stop Aly Hassan in Fort Lauderdale. Hassan tallied the opener in the 35th and added a second two minutes into the second half. Jay Needham buried a corner in the 50th and David Foley scored his third goal in four games in the 62nd to level terms. Hassan, however, continued to be a threat and after a few chances, completed the hat-trick with the winner in the 84th.  – More

LD Update: NASL preview; USL Pro honors; Amateur signings

NASL Preview: In a rematch of the 2011 semifinals, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers play host to the Puerto Rico Islanders Wednesday in the league's lone midweek contest. The Strikers upset the Islanders, 5-2 on aggregate , in the playoffs a year ago after splitting the season series 1-1-2 with each getting a win at home. The meeting will put two the league's top defensive sides against one another as Puerto Rico has allowed just one in four games and Fort Lauderdale two in three.

USL Pro News: The LA Blues fell, 3-2,  in a closed-door scrimmage with the LA Galaxy Tuesday with Matt Fondy setting up Carlos Borja for both goals after trailing by three…  Charleston Battery midfielder Ryan Richter was selected as the Player of the Week , and was the lone player from the club selected for the Team of the Week... The Rhinos inked a partnership that included jersey sponsorship with Rochester-based Excellus BlueCross BlueShield... 

LD Update: NASL Game Night; USL Pro signing

Tampa Bay Rowdies 1:1 Carolina RailHawks – The RailHawks just can’t find a victory. Earning a third consecutive draw Wednesday evening, at least they aren’t going empty handed. In the 66th minute Carolina took the lead on the road when Mike Palacio sent a cross to the back of the box to Brian Shriver, who volleyed it past Jeff Attinella. Four minutes later, though, the Rowdies answered when Dan Antoniuk redirected a cross back across the goal mouth with a header to Tsuyoshi Yoshitake for the equalizer. – More 

Puerto Rico Islanders 0:0 FC Edmonton – The bad news is that Edmonton is still scoreless after three games. The good news they finally picked up a point, playing to a scoreless draw in Puerto Rico after suffering 1-0 losses in Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay. Puerto Rico has been nearly perfect thus far, shutting out all three opponents. – More 

LD Update: Sunday Blowouts

The NASL and USL Pro wrapped up Week 2 action with a pair of big victories on the day.

NASL: San Antonio Scorpions 0:4 Puerto Rico Islanders – The Islanders wasted no time in spoiling expansion San Antonio’s home debut in front of a sold out 13,000-plus, scoring just seven minutes into the contest when David Foley found Jonathan Fana. Thirteen minutes later Foley doubled the lead himself. Nicholas Addlery, last week’s hero in the 1-0 win, made it 3-0 in the 56 and Fana added a second in the 73rd to round things out. – More 

USL Pro: Orlando City 4:1 Wilmington Hammerheads – The defending champions are off to a flying start. John Rooney gave the Lions the lead nine minutes in from the spot and pushed the lead to two with his second four minutes before the break. Rob Valentino made a three-goal margin in the 54th on a Rooney corner kick with Wilmington answering on a corner of their own two minutes later via Bryce Taylor. Kevin Molino, who set up Rooney’s second connected with Dennis Chin to close out the scoring in the 65th. – More

USL Pro Signing: The Harrisburg City Islanders, who have yet to open their season, announced the addition of rookie defender Tom Brandt out of the University of Pennsylvania.