Thursday June 5, 2008
ATLANTA—The Silverbacks look to win its second straight Friday night  game when it hosts the Puerto Rico Islanders at Atlanta Silverbacks Park. The match will be televised nationally on Fox Soccer Channel. Kickoff is set for 7:55 PM.

(Photo Caption: Mac Kandji, Chris Mahaffey, and Josh Bolton celebrate Kandji's game winning free kick versus the RailHawks last Saturday. Photo by Elaine Carroll)

“Both teams like to attack. Whenever we play Puerto Rico, there are  goals scored,” said head coach Jason Smith. “It's going to come down to who defends a little better.”

The Silverbacks (3-3-2, 11 points, seventh place) are fresh off a much needed 1-0 win over the Carolina RailHawks last Saturday at Silverbacks Park. Mac Kandji scored the match's lone goal in second half added time to earn the Silverbacks three points. His game-winning free kick earned him a spot on the USL-1 weekly Best 11 team. The goal was his second on the season.

After dropping two consecutive road games, (4-2 at Seattle and 2-0 at Charleston), Smith made minor changes to his lineup for the club's third and final regular season matchup with the RailHawks. Josh Bolton reclaimed a starting spot in the central defense and Jerson Monteiro started the game, paired with Jason McLaughlin up top, moving Kandji back into the midfield 

Puerto Rico (1-3-2, five points, 11th place) has struggled, despite playing five of six matches at home. The Islander's are coming off a pair of draws, most recently versus Seattle, playing to a 1-1 stalemate. Taiwo Atieno put the Islanders in the lead in the 34th minute, only to surrender the lead with 10 minutes to play. A week before, against Portland, the Islanders went up by two goals in the first 25 minutes before the Timbers rallied to level the score in the second half.

“I don't think their place in the table necessarily reflects the team they have,” Smith said. “They have been focusing a lot of their energy on qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League. Now that they are done with that and have qualified, I'm sure they are going to be coming at us full strength.”

Last month, the Islanders joined Jamaica's Harbor View F.C. and Trinidad's Joe Public F.C. as the Caribbean entrants to the CONCACAF Champions League beginning play this summer.

Friday's match is the first meeting between the two clubs in 2008. Last season, the Silverbacks swept the Islanders, winning 3-2 at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, and 3-0 and 3-1 at Silverbacks Park.

Notes

In the Running
Jason McLaughlin remains tied for second in goals in the league with four along with three other players. Charleston's Randi Patterson and Miami's Alex Afonso are tied at the top with six each.

Best 11
After a one week absence, a Silverback found his way back into the weekly Best 11 side. Mac Kandji earned the honor for the first time this season for his injury time free kick goal versus the RailHawks.

New Captain, My Captain
Matt Bobo wore the captain's armband to start the match for the first time this season due to Rodrigo Rios' absence in the starting 11. Rios proved to be a spark coming off the bench in the 60th minute, drawing the foul that resulted in the winning goal.

Derby Doings
The Silverbacks made huge strides on bringing the Southern Derby back to Atlanta after losing it last year to Carolina. The 1-0 win over Carolina bumped the Silverbacks to the top of the three-team table with four points and one game remaining. The supporter-sponsored tournament could very well be decided when Charleston returns to Silverbacks Park August 16.

Opening Things Up
The Silverbacks begin its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign Tuesday June 10, traveling to Austin, Texas to face PDL side Austin Aztex. The Aztex are 4-1-1 in the club's first PDL season. The Silverbacks will face the Aztex again in 2009 when it fields a USL-1 squad.

Road Warriors
The Open Cup match will be the first of three road matches in five days. Immediately following the match in Austin, the Silverbacks travel to Portland for a Thursday night match at PGE Park, and then on to face Minnesota on Saturday.

Playing With the Big Boys
The Silverbacks will face three of Latin America's top teams in July at Silverbacks Park. CONCACAF champions Pachuca C.F. will face off against the Silverbacks Wednesday, July 9, Argentinean super-club C.A. Independiente on Saturday, July 12, and the newly crowned Honduran champion C.D. Olimpia on Saturday, July 19. Tickets for all three matches go on sale Friday.

Availability Report

Injury:
Mike Ambersley (knee)—Out remainder of season
Warren Ukah (knee)—Out remainder of season

Suspension
Zach Kirby—Final game of three game suspension