By Jeff Hemelt

Crystal Palace Baltimore ended their two-game road swing July 9 with a 2-0 loss to the Puerto Rico Islanders in Bayamon.

The home side opened the scoring with a goal from Richard Martinez in the 22nd minute. A deflected cross found the feet of the right fullback who slammed the ball into the side netting past Evan Bush from 18 yards out.

An unlucky defensive miscue was the cause of Puerto Rico's second goal. Baltimore's Andrew Marshall redirected a cross from Bush into his own net to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

Baltimore's woes continued in the 74th minute. Santiago Fusilier was sent off after a heavy challenge against Nicholas Addlery. The first red card of the season for the visitors allowed Puerto Rico to exploit the flanks and attack the Palace defense. However, no further damage was done, and the Islanders triumphed by a score of 2-0.

With the loss, Palace's record falls to 4-8-3. At the midway point of the season, they sit second-to-last in the league standings with 15 points but only two points out of a playoff spot. Baltimore will play four of its next five games at home, starting July 14 against the Rochester Rhinos at 7 p.m. After a trip to Montreal July 18, Baltimore will face St. Louis (July 24), Montreal (July 31) and Miami (August 4). All four of the home matches will be played at Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md.

Posted July 11, 2010