By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com
Thursday's playoff semifinal, first leg, game in Puerto Rico is a match-up between an indifferent performing home side in the Islanders and a solid road club in Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Playing Colin Clarke's side on the Caribbean island has never been an easy task for any visiting team - be it the USSF D-2 Pro League or the CONCACAF Champions League. The travel to Puerto Rico and the warm climate of the region pose their own set of challenges, let alone the quality of the Islanders squad.
Though the Blue and White are well aware of the difficulties they face in Thursday's first leg, they will be full of confidence at achieving an important away result. At 2W-2L-3D, the 'Caps all-time record in Puerto Rico is a decent one, though more can be made of Vancouver's away record of 5W-4L-9D in all competitions this season. Meanwhile, the Islanders home record in USSF D-2 currently sits at 8W-5L-3D.
For Whitecaps FC, the prospects of claiming a result in Puerto Rico are favourable. One only has to look at the Islanders' home playoff record to understand that playing postseason games in Puerto Rico is not an impossible mission for visiting sides. The Islanders have made the playoffs every season since 2006, and leading into Thursday's game, the Caribbean outfit have played seven playoff games at home and registered a 4W-3L-0D record. Since 2008, three of those four home playoffs wins have come against Rochester Rhinos, with the other victory coming against Montreal Impact in 2007.
However, the more notable statistic is that two of the three Islanders' home defeats in the playoffs have occurred during the semifinal stage. Puerto Rico lost 2-1 to Seattle Sounders in 2007, while in 2009, Clarke's side fell 2-1 to Montreal. In both cases, the home defeats led to Puerto Rico's playoff elimination at the semifinal stage. The one exception came in the 2008 semifinals when the Islanders defeated Rochester 3-0 after extra time for a 3-2 aggregate win. That led the Islanders to the 2008 United Soccer Leagues First Division Championship Final versus Whitecaps FC at Swangard Stadium, where Vancouver triumphed 2-1 on Thanksgiving Sunday.
The 'Caps know they face a difficult task to claim a result on Thursday. Yet, if history is anything to go by, the task is not insurmountable.
