The United Soccer Leagues moved one step closer to having two teams in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals after the Puerto Rico Islanders posted a 2-1 victory against CD Honduran club Marathon in the first leg of their quarterfinal series.
Second-half goals from Nicholas Addlery and Kendall Jagdeosingh helped Puerto Rico erase a 1-0 deficit and provided the difference in the home leg for the Islanders, who must travel to Honduras next week to finish off the current Honduran league leaders.
Puerto Rico's victory pushed the record for USL teams in the CONCACAF Champions League to 9-3-6.
Here are some other soccer news items to get your day started:
Wizards tie Chivas de Guadalajara
Rookie midfielder Graham Zusi continued his strong pre-season form on Thursday, scoring the lone goal for Kansas City in the Wizards 1-1 tie vs. Mexican power Chivas de Guadalajara.
Zusi, who has compiled two goals and five assists this pre-season, delivered the equalizer in the second half when he took a Josh Wolf pass and beat a pair of defenders before blasting a 15-yard shot past the Chivas goalkeeper.
The Chivas squad the Wizards faced was hardly made up of pushovers. The Guadalajara lineup included Jared Borgetti, Edgar Solis and former Chivas USA midfielder Francisco Mendoza.
Graham suffers broken foot
Seattle Sounders defender Taylor Graham looks set to miss an extended period of time after a scan revealed a broken bone in his foot during the Sounders' pre-season tour of Argentina. The former New York and Kansas City defender had been projecting as a starter for the Sounders, but could see his push for a starting role hurt by the injury, as well as the recent arrivals of Tyrone Marshall and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.
What do you think of Puerto Rico's victory? Impressed? Surprised? Are you starting to think the Wizards found a second-round steal in Graham Zusi? Are you among the many who think Seattle's defense is going to have serious problems this season?
Share your thoughts on these, and any other soccer stories from this morning and Thursday, in the comments section below.