There’s no arguing that three of the biggest stories in American soccer this year (the overnight success of the Seattle Sounders, the acceptance of expansion bids in Portland and Vancouver, and the improbable run of the Puerto Rico Islanders through CONCACAF) have all come courtesy of the United Soccer Leagues’ First Division, so it’s no surprise that Major League Soccer’s often-overlooked little brother kicks off its 2009 season brimming with “look at us!” confidence.
Having come a couple kicks away from the region’s Champions League final, and returning last year’s league MVP, Defender of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year, the Islanders are “the team to beat” according to ESPN Soccernet’s Jeff DiVeronica. With their recent headlines and Cinderella story, the 2008 USL-1 runner up comes into ’09 knowing that, as 2008 MVP Jonny Steele puts it, “everyone is going to be looking to take your heads off.”
But Puerto Rico seems ready, having added a trio of players – Jamaican forward Nicholas Addlery, midfielder Martin Nunez and former MLS midfielder Domenic Mediate – that according to Steele have given even more “buzz” to a team returning all of its key performers and possessing “quality depth” that the Islanders showed in making their impressive run through two sets of 2008 playoffs.