Right from the outset, the Thunder looked to attack as in the second minute, Melvin Tarley tried to chip the goalkeeper with numbers even but his touch was off and slowly rolled wide for a goal kick, but the shot set the tone early for quick shots from both sides. In the early going, Kevin Friedland, and Aaron Paye for the Thunder and Isaac Nievas and Chris Gores all seeing poor efforts miss the frame.

Chris Gores stood tall in the center of the Islanders defense, the former Thunder man getting to every high ball that came his way. Beside him in defense, Marco Valez reprised the role of a hard tackler/hack he played last year for Seattle, picking up a caution for a rough tackle from behind on Freddy Juarez.

The Islanders took the lead on 23 minutes, as Maliza Johannes raced down the Thunder’s right hand side and sent in a low cross which was touched in by Corey Woolfolk, another former Thunder player.

The Thunder were soon level, however, as Islanders keeper Dan Kennedy protested a call (which had gone his way anyways) for over a minute and the referee awarded an indirect free kick inside the Islander’s penalty area. Kevin Friedland touched the ball to Jeff Matteo who rocketed a shot into the upper corner.

Quickly back on the offensive, however, Mauricio Salles de Alencar touched the ball past Warren, but Branan was on hand to clear off the line.

In the 40^th minute, Puerto Rico took back the lead; a lead they would hold through half time. Again, Johannes and Woolfolk hooked up, this time Woolfolk made the low cross from the left and Johannes touched it into the net.

At the break the Thunder made two substitutions that changed the game. Godfrey Tenoff replaced Aaron Paye and Kiki Lara replaced Matt Schmidt. With Kevin Friedland switched over to the right side of midfield, the Islanders could no longer exploit that side of the field and the Thunder pressed the advantage.

In the 51^st minute, Minnesota would tie it again. Jeff Matteo sent a ball across to the right side of the penalty area and Melvin Tarley fired a powerful volley past Kennedy in goal.

A few minutes later Tarley had a nearly identical shot, but could only manage to screw his shot high and wide. A minute after that, Tarley stole the ball on the right side and crossed into the box where Kiki Lara took a touch and then had his shot blocked when a first time volley would have been the better option.

In the 61^st minute, de Alencar’s temper got the better of him and he shoved Matteo well behind the play. Although he escaped a caution, the Thunder’s quick free kick nearly caught the Islanders asleep as Friedland’s long pass to Menyongar saw the Liberian fire just wide. A minute later Melvin Tarley broke in on goal after a pass from Menyongar, but his shot was cleared off the line by a retreating defender.

In the 63^rd minute, however, the Thunder would take their first lead of the game. Chris Gores for once missed a clearance at the halfway line, and Kevin Friedland took advantage, crossing to Johnny Menyongar, who dropped the ball off for Godfrey Tenoff to volley high past Kennedy in goal.

On the rack, Puerto Rico looked out of it. Johannes slipped near the halfway line allowing Menyongar to steal in behind him, but his low cross was missed by Melvin Tarley at only three yards from the open goal.

They would eventually get back into the match, as a 75^th minute header from Chris Gores missed only by inches. But the Thunder weren’t finished either, and in the 77^th minute, they added an insurance goal. Kiki Lara stole the ball and crossed inside where Menyongar tapped the ball into the net from close range.

As the final ten minutes approached the fans began singing “you’ve come a long way just to lose” a bit prematurely. In the 81^st minute, Friedland chased a long ball into the box, but came up cramping. He was replaced by James Prosser, but without Friedland to hold down the right side, Puerto Rico again came down that flank to great affect.

In the 86^th minute, Johannes flew down the line again and sent in a cross between Chris Brunt and James Prosser. The cross flew off the head of Brett Branan and into the net making it 4-3.

The rest of the match was played out without great incident or any good chances for either team, the only action being a caution to Chris Gores for a late tackle on Matteo that left him hobbling for some time.

It was a good and satisfying win for the Thunder and the first time that we’ve scored four goals in a match since 2003. Next up is Toronto on the 24^th of June at the Jimmy. See you there.

Player Ratings:

Warren – 6 – Steady, nothing he could do about any of the goals.

Branan – 6.5 – Despite own goal, looked good.

Brunt – 5.5 – Received little defensive help from Schmidt in the first half, and all three goals came from his side.

Wilson – 5. 5 – Didn’t catch the eye offensively or defensively. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.

Juarez – 6 – Steady in the center of the field, but picked up another yellow card. He’s already got more than he had all of last season.

Matteo – 6.5 – Directed traffic in the second half, perhaps was hampered by another playmaker in midfield during the first half. Nice goal.

Menyongar – 6.5 – Looked much better at forward than in midfield, but that probably a symptom of poor team play in the first half.

Schmidt – 4.5 – Poor again. Ducked out of tackles and headers until replaced at the half.

Friedland – 7.5 – My man of the match, defensively strong and offensively potent.

Tarley – 6 – Often invisible, but did good running and got a goal finally.

Paye – 5.5 – Ineffective, but can’t be faulted entirely for poor service.

Substitutes:

Lara – 6.5 – Locked down the left when he came on. Would like to see him and Friedland on the field together more often when Jay Alberts is out.

Tenoff – 6.5 – Not sure why he was dropped and justified his insertion with good possession play and running.

Vorenkamp – 6 – Good defensive work and some important touches.

Doe – 6 – Not a lot of time, not a lot of end product, but did show a few nice touches.

Prosser – 5 – Hard time to come into the game and replace the best man on the field, didn’t do enough to prevent the third goal.