The Seattle Sounders opened their USL First Division semifinal aggregate score series against the Puerto Rico Islanders with a 2-1 win Friday night at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar and Kenji Treschuk tallied the goals for the Sounders, but it was Chris Eylander who came through with nine second half saves to secure the Sounders first ever win in Puerto Rico and make a statement to the rest of the league after being snubbed in the USL First Division All League Team honors.

Both teams finished the match with ten men from two separate incidents that saw Sounders captain Danny Jackson sent off with a straight red card and Islander forward Alejandro Gonzalez issued two yellow cards. Both players will miss the second leg of the series in Seattle on Sunday. The match will be at Starfire Sports Stadium at 5pm. Tickets are $15 through SeattleSounders.net and $18 at the gate.

The Sounders dominated early possession and pressured the home side from the opening whistle. The Islanders conceded in the 22nd minute when Alcaraz-Cuellar converted a Leighton O’Brien corner kick.

Forward pairing Sebastien Le Toux and Roger Levesque nearly combined just two minutes later when the Sounders released Le Toux over the top and into the 18 yard box, but his pull back for his strike partner was well defended by the Islanders backline.

The Islanders offense came to life just after the half hour mark when Puerto Rico earned a free kick 19 yards in front of Chris Eylander’s goal, but Gonzalez put the free kick off the cross bar and Chris Eylander made a spectacular save on the following scramble.

Eylander came up just short in the 39th minute when Peter Villegas uncorked a shot from 25 yards out that was too strong for the Seattle Keeper, who had recorded two shutouts in his first two playoff matches.

Shortly after the goal, Le Toux suffered a blow to the head and spent several moments on the pitch receiving attention from Sounders trainer Randy Noteboom. He eventually wobbled to his feet and was escorted off the field holding his head.

Le Toux continued to receive attention on the sideline as the two teams came together again after a Seattle foul 32 yards in front of the Seattle goal. Puerto Rico set up the free kick and but could not convert.

Le Toux returned to the field but the Sounders were on the back foot and conceded a free kick in first half stoppage time, again 19 yards in front of the Seattle goal. This time the Sounders dealt with the threat well and the teams went into the locker room for halftime tied at one goal each.

Puerto Rico came out of the half time break and forced Eylander into two quick saves, the second of which rebounded right to the feet of Fabrice Noel who skied the ball from a yard in front of the goal.

Eylander continued to keep Seattle in the match with two more saves as the Islanders came forward with the same type of fury that saw them upset Montreal just five days previously.

Seattle was dealt a further blow when captain Danny Jackson received a straight red card after a challenge on Delgado leaving the Sounders short handed with about 35 minutes left in the match and making Jackson ineligible for the return leg in Seattle.

Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer responded immediately, bringing in Noah Merl in place of Josh Gardner to help shore up his backline.

Greg Howes came on just after the hour mark to replace Le Toux, who struggled to make an impact on the match after taking the early shot to the head.

Immediately after the substitution Levesque found himself with pace behind the Sounders defense. The Islanders keeper Josh Saunders came out to cut down the angle on Levesque who slid the ball across the 18 yard box to an on rushing Kenji Treschuk who slotted the ball into the back of the net for his first goal as a Sounder.

Gonzalez led with an elbow into the back of Leighton O’Brien and received his second yellow card of the match, leaving both teams with ten men.

Sounders late season super sub Andre Schmid came into the match with about ten minutes left to try and work some of his late match magic for coach Schmetzer and the Sounders.

Adam West entered the match in the 86th minute to put another defensive body behind the ball and work to take the one goal lead back to Seattle.

It was Eylander who came through again with a great sprawling save as Puerto Rico found themselves with an open shot from 14 yards out. He further stamped his impression on the match with his eighth save of the half.

He received some timely help from his goal post in stoppage time as Puerto Rico poured desperately forward to try and take at least an even score to Seattle.

The final whistle blew with the score 2-1 in favor of the Sounders who leave Puerto Rico at 2pm tomorrow afternoon and arrive in Seattle in the evening ahead of Sunday’s second leg match.

Seating for the match is limited and Sounders fans are encouraged to pre-purchase their seats to ensure there is space available.