Harrisburg City Islanders News Release -- www.cityislanders.com
Thursday, June 14, 2012
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The Harrisburg City Islanders (3-2-4) will welcome the Rochester Rhinos (6-2-3) to Skyline Sports Complex on Friday at 6 p.m. Harrisburg enters the contest coming off a 3-2 exhibition win against Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union on Tuesday night. Garret Pettis scored twice in a rare start, putting on a show under the lights of Hersheypark Stadium. Typical starters Brian Ombiji and Sainey Touray sat out, giving the Islanders’ rookie a chance to shine, and Pettis did not disappoint, netting goals on both sides of halftime and racing around the pitch for 79 minutes of the match.
The friendly was a good tonic for the Islanders after suffering a 2-0 home loss last Saturday night. The Wilmington Hammerheads scored the match’s two goals within a three-minute span and weathered an 18-4 disadvantage in shots and 14-3 deficit in corners. With the win, the Hammerheads concluded a productive road weekend after battling second-place Rochester to a 1-1 draw on Friday.
In that contest, Rochester ended a 210-minute scoring drought in all competitions as Danny Earls set up a Tyler Rosenlund header in the 30th minute. The Hammerheads equalized in the 68th minute, however, after Paul Nicholson, who would record an assist the next night against the Islanders, blasted home a rebound from the top of the penalty area.
City Islanders captain Jason Pelletier commented on the Wilmington game and the implications it had for the young team. He keyed in on the importance of playing well at home.
“I felt good coming into the Wilmington game, because we have been playing well and playing hard,” he said. “Coach [Bill Becher] told us that we have to come out firing and we just didn't start the game like we wanted to. We let them get two early goals and we couldn't fight our way back.
“Rochester is a must-win game, period. We already dropped two games at home this year, so we need to start winning them. You can't expect to do well in this league if you don't win your home games. So, the Rhinos game is huge for us.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s game will take place at 6 p.m., with gates opening at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults, $7 for youths and
$12 for senior tickets. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.cityislanders.com or call 717-441-GOAL.