Sporting Madness

After a 0-0 tie in Puerto Rico in the first leg of their USSF-II semifinal, the Vancouver Whitecaps have returned home ( on the same flight as the Islanders ) for the rematch. They take on Puerto Rico today at 4 p.m., and I'll be live-blogging it from Vancouver's Swangard Stadium. Wes Knight is back in the lineup, which should give the Whitecaps a boost, but facing the Islanders in an elimination game is never easy. Check out game previews from Marc Weber , Ben Massey , Simon Fudge and Bruce Constantineau , then come join me at 4 for the game! Whitecaps - Islanders: Leg II

After narrowly surviving the Portland Timbers in the first round of the USSF-2 playoffs, the Vancouver Whitecaps hope to continue their run against the Puerto Rico Islanders, who upset top-seeded Rochester in the first round. Game One is today at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific in Puerto Rico. The Whitecaps are webcasting it , and it will be live-blogged here (as long as the webcast's working; Puerto Rico isn't on their usual ground, and I know Rochester had some issues trying to get a webcast from the temporary ground). To get ready for this one, check out the game previews from Ben Massey , Marc Weber , Simon Fudge and Bruce Constantineau . After looking through those, come join me for the live blog below! Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders

The USL-1 semifinals kick off today, and both matchups are intriguing. Here's a brief breakdown of what we're likely to see. Both series involve home-and-home, total-goals clashes with no away-goals rule. If still tied after both legs, the teams will go to extra time and then a shootout. The winner of each series will advance to the USL-1 final. (1) Portland versus (7) Vancouver: On paper, the seeding system makes this one (which I'll be live-blogging) look like a bit of a mismatch. However, as I wrote before the Whitecaps' first-round matchup against the second-seeded Carolina RailHawks, their low ranking is a bit deceiving . The team has plenty of talent and a surprising amount of depth. They've struggled with consistency this year, partly due to personnel issues (especially in central defence), partly thanks to their emphasis on giving young players plenty of experience and perhaps even partly as a championship hangover, but they've been in fine form late...

It should be an action-packed evening in North American soccer. I'll be covering the Toronto FC - Columbus Crew game at 7:30 Eastern (4:30 Pacific) and the Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders game at 10:00 Eastern (7:00 Pacific), but there's also plenty of other MLS action, including New England at Houston at 8:30 ET, the L.A. Galaxy at Kansas City at 9:00, the New York Red Bulls at Colorado at 9:30 and D.C United at San Jose at 10:30; some of the other guys at Epic Footy will be reporting in on those games as well. Come join us for what should be a great evening of soccer! Soccer Saturday live blog

I'll be live-blogging tonight's match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Puerto Rico Islanders here and at The 24th Minute . Kickoff is at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific, and the game will be webcast on USL Live . It should be a good one; these are two of the top USL teams, and they met in the USL final last year, so there's a great rivalry there. The Islanders took the last meeting 2-1 at home, so Vancouver will also be out for revenge. Both of these teams are coming off busy and somewhat disappointing weeks as well; Vancouver lost 1-0 to Toronto FC in the first match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on the road Wednesday, while the Islanders tied the Austin Aztex 1-1 in Texas on Friday. Neither side's had the start to the year they envisioned, either; Vancouver's 2-1-2 through five games and in fifth place, while Puerto Rico's 2-0-2 in four games and in fourth. There's lots of time left in the USL season, but tonight's match could mark a ...

I'll be live-blogging tonight's USL game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Puerto Rico Islanders both here and at The 24th Minute . My match preview is already up over there. Check it out, and then join me in the live blog at 7 p.m. Eastern! Whitecaps - Islanders live blog

It was tremendous to hear that the Vancouver Whitecaps claimed the United Soccer League Division I championship [ Marc Weber , The Vancouver Province ] Sunday with a 2-1 win over the Puerto Rico Islanders [ Jim Morris , The Canadian Press via The Globe and Mail ]*. It's the Whitecaps' second championship in three years (their last one came in 2006), and their first championship clinched at home since they won the 1991 Canadian Soccer League title. That's some great news for Vancouver soccer fans. Yes, the Lions are still doing well and the Canucks are off to a 2-0 start, but for at least a little while, the Caps claimed top spot in the Vancouver spotlight. *Morris has some great tidbits in the notes at the bottom of his story, including that this is the first time the USL men's final has ever been between two teams from outside the U.S. and that the Vancouver-Puerto Rico trip is the second-longest in any world soccer league (bested only by Vladivostok and Kaliningrad...

Sunday Night Lights Photo: The Vancouver Whitecaps take on the Puerto Rico Islanders Sunday night under the lights at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium. The match ended 0-0. [Andrew Bucholtz photo]. Breaking down yesterday night's match for USL supremacy, featuring the second-place Vancouver Whitecaps and the top-of-the-league Puerto Rico Islanders... The score: 0-0 How I saw it: In person The Good: -Jay Nolly: The Whitecaps' keeper continued his outstanding season with another stellar performance, including several diving saves, key interceptions of crosses and corner kicks, and a couple of crucial stops on potential breakaways. -Alfredo Valente: Valente had a solid game on the wing for the Whitecaps, creating several quality chances with his speed and crossing ability. His crosses weren't always exactly on the mark, but on balance, he turned in a strong performance. -Luca Bellisomo: The SFU product came on for Lyle Martin in the 63rd minute and demonstrated again that...