Saturday, June 9, 2012
HARRISBURG, Pa. – A busy, but productive, weekend for the Wilmington Hammerheads continued on Saturday night against the Harrisburg City Islanders as goals by Andriy Budnyy and Corey Hertzog gave them a 2-0 victory at Skyline Sports Complex. After earning a 1-1 draw with second-placed Rochester on Friday, the Hammerheads quickly made the trip south and showed their mettle against a hot Islanders squad, who were undefeated in their last eight contests.
Andriy Budnyy opened the scoring in the 31st minute off a feed from Emanuel Guzman, with Budnyy sliding his finish past advancing Harrisburg goalkeeper Nick Noble into the left corner of the net. Former Penn State All-American Corey Hertzog, on loan from the New York Red Bulls, then fired a second goal home three minutes later off a cross from the left by Paul Nicholson to give the visitors a comfortable lead.
Harrisburg was missing key pieces in rookies Tom Brandt and Lucky Mkosana, and their absence showed on the pitch. While fill-in Adrian LeRoy performed well in his first start of the season – showing off his athleticism with several leaping headers to clear the ball out of harm’s way – the Islanders’ defense was often out of sync and on its heels.
In the second half, the Islanders used all five of their substitutions in hopes of sparking the offense. The strategy worked to an extent, producing 11 of the team’s 18 shots. But none got by Hammerheads’ goalkeeper Alexander Horwath, who ended with 10 saves.
Despite being outshot 18-to-4, the Hammerheads made the most of their opportunities, capitalizing on half of their sparse chances.
Wilmington moves to 4-3-4, while Harrisburg goes to 3-2-4. Wilmington heads back home to face the Richmond Kickers on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The Islanders play at Hersheypark Stadium on Tuesday against their MLS affiliate, the Philadelphia Union. The friendly takes place a fortnight before the teams’ quarterfinal U.S. Open Cup match on June 26. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.