AFTER THE WHISTLE | An Island Paradise For Ramos

Photo credit: Puerto Rico FC

In Carolina, the NASL debut of Mexican star Omar Bravo put an exclamation point on a wild game against Miami FC on Friday night to kick off Week 4 of the Fall Season. Héctor Ramos continued his fast start in the Fall Season, helping Puerto Rico FC  to some history on Saturday night. 

Here are some of the key storylines from last week’s matches:

Head Over Heels In Puerto Rico: Five games, four goals, four backflips. Héctor Ramos performed his patented celebration for the fourth time in the Fall Season. He scored the game’s only goal, then left his feet and brought the fans at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium to their feet as Puerto Rico FC (1W-2D-2L, 5 points) won the first game in club history. Puerto Rico now heads north for Saturday’s match at the New York Cosmos.

Bravo And RailHawks Hoping For An Encore: CBS Sports Network was on hand Friday night when Omar Bravo and Carolina (2-1-1, 7) went toe to toe with visiting Miami FC (1-2-1, 5) in an engrossing and entertaining 3-3 goal fest. In the see-saw battle, Bravo’s first NASL goal gave the RailHawks a short-lived advantage in the 78th minute that was erased when Jaime Chávez scored two minutes later, his second of the game. Tiyi Shipalane picked up two assists in the game and Matt Fondy scored for the second time in three games ahead of Carolina’s midweek match at Ottawa Fury FC.

All Good Streaks Come To An End: FC Edmonton (2-1-1, 7) and Rayo OKC (2-2-1, 8) both carried impressive streaks to road games, but failed to extend. Before facing Spring Season Champion Indy Eleven, a 1-0 loss, the well-organized Eddies had lost only once in 10 games. Rayo OKC was coming off an emphatic 3-0 win over the Cosmos and took a six-game unbeaten streak to Puerto Rico, but also suffered a 1-0 defeat.

A Return To The Win Column: Speaking of streaks, Indy Eleven (3-1-1, 10) returned to its winning ways. The Eleven saw its league-tying 13-game unbeaten streak end at Minnesota on July 16, but didn’t miss a beat back at Carroll Stadium on Saturday night. Although FC Edmonton goalkeeper Matt VanOekel stopped eight shots, some with acrobatic saves, Dylan Mares provided the assist from a free kick on Greg Janicki’s headed goal. In the game, Indy unloaded 11 shots in the penalty area.

Two Loons Flying High: Minnesota United (3-0-1, 9) striker Christian Ramirez buried his league-leading 11th goal of the year – a left-footed shot from the top of the penalty area against Fort Lauderdale at NSC Stadium in Blaine, Minn. But the feel-good story of the night belonged to Ismaila Jome, the rookie from nearby Brooklyn Park, Minn., who made his NASL debut as a substitute in the 63rd minute, then scored his first league goal seven minutes later.

Cosmos’ Road Goes On Forever: It might have been the proverbial “point on the road,” but New York (3-1-1, 10) is looking up at Indy Eleven from second place in both the Fall Season and Combined Standings, again lamenting a squandered opportunity late in a road game. At Tampa Bay, the Cosmos allowed two goals after 83 minutes and had to settle for a point in the 2-2 draw. New York is only 2-1-5 away from home this year and has allowed eight goals, 50 percent of the club’s total goals against, in the final 15 minutes of matches. New York will play its third straight game away from Shuart Stadium, at FC Edmonton, on Wednesday night.