Saturday August 12, 2006

          The Atlanta Silverbacks tied the Puerto Rico Islanders 1-1 tonight at RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium. The tie takes Atlanta’s record to 8-8-5 and Puerto Rico remains one point ahead of the Silverbacks in the USL First Division standings.
          Atlanta pieced together some dangerous plays early in the first half. Scott Buete created a great chance for the Silverbacks in the 10th minute when he exploded down the sideline and sent in a hard shot, forcing Puerto Rico’s goalie to send the ball out for a corner. David Hayes took the corner and sent the ball in to Matt Bobo who had a great header that was narrowly cleared off the goal line by Puerto Rico defender. Another one of Hayes’ lethal corner kicks helped the Silverbacks take the lead in the 30th minute. After his initial corner, Hayes received the rebound and crossed the ball back inside – Rodrigo Rios framed the goal and headed the ball in at the far post. Felipe Quintero made an amazing save in the 44th minute and the half ended with the Silverbacks leading 1-0.
          The Silverbacks came out in the second half and dominated offensively with some excellent chances. Atlanta had two back-to-back corner kicks in the 64th minute but could not convert either opportunity.  Quintero made some amazing saves early in the half and denied some great chances by the Islanders. Puerto Rico evened the score in the 82nd minute when Marco Velez crossed the ball in to Arturo Nurambuena, Nurambuena’s header hit the crossbar and bounced into the net. The Silverbacks missed some close opportunities in the final minutes of the game, but could never regain the lead. The game ended in the third 1-1 draw between the Islanders and the Silverbacks. 
           The Silverbacks will host Miami FC next Saturday, August 19 at 7:30 pm. The first 500 fans will receive the final set of 2006 player cards. For ticket information call 1-866-GO-BACKS or visit www.atlantasilverbacks.com.