Charlotte Eagles News Release -- www.charlotteeagles.com
Friday, May 31, 2013
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Eagles will play host to a doubleheader this Saturday night as they host the Harrisburg City Islanders in a return to USL PRO action. The Eagles' men will take the field at 8 p.m. ET, following a W-League contest between the Lady Eagles and the Atlanta Silverbacks at 5:30 p.m. ET. The doubleheader is also the return of Princess and Mustache night at the Queens Sports Complex.
The Eagles will look to rebound from a tough 2-0 defeat at the hands of Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire in U.S. Open Cup play when the Harrisburg City Islanders come to town. The Eagles are looking to keep their league home record of 3-0-2 intact, having only conceded one goal so far in USL PRO play.
Charlotte's last league game came on the back-end of a two-game West Coast road trip at Phoenix and Los Angeles. Only managing one point from both contests, a 2-2 draw with Phoenix and a 4-3 loss against the LA Blues, was not the best result for the Eagles but they will look to get back to their winning ways against the fifth-place City Islanders.
Rookie forward Christian Ramirez currently sits alone atop the Eagles goal scoring table. The California native has three goals on 18 shots so far in the young season. First-year Eagle Shaun Francis was the most dangerous player for Charlotte in the Open Cup game against the Fire. The Jamaican defender, whose two goals and two assists, have him tied with Ramirez on six points at the top of the scoring table. Christian Meza and Nate Thornton are tied with five points apiece, while Eagles veteran Jorge Herrera is tied with first year man Stefan "Tommy" Smith with four points apiece.
Harrisburg comes into Saturday's game with a 5-2-1 record, having most recently come up short 2-0 against Richmond on Friday, May 24th. The City Islanders got off to a fast start compiling a record of 4-1-0 in the first five games. The City Islanders fell to PDL side Reading United in the second round of the US Open Cup by a score of 1-0.
Sainey Touray, a Gambian forward, leads the City Islanders in scoring with five goals in seven games. Touray is ranked tied for third in the league in both goals and points. Touray is in his third season with the City Islanders, after playing previously for the Carolina RailHawks.
Harrisburg, in partnership with Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, has had players join the club on loan this season. Among those that have played this season are defenders Greg Jordan and Don Anding, midfielders Leo Fernandes, Christian Hernandez and Jimmy McLaughlin and forward Aaron Wheeler.
Some more City Islanders to keep an eye on this Saturday are forward Lucky Mkosana, who is second on the team in scoring with three goals and one assist. Mkosana played collegiately at Dartmouth College, where would collect various honors including Ivy League player of the year (2011), four-time All-Ivy League First Team and would also become the leading goal scorer in school history with 34 career goals for the Big Green. Goalkeeper Nicholas Noble has started in all eight Harrisburg contests this season. Originally drafted seventh overall by the Chicago Fire in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, the 6-foot-4 former West Virginia Mountaineer is in his second season with the City Islanders after playing previously for Swedish club Ljungskile SK. Noble has a 1.125 goals-against average this year, only surrendering nine goals on 65 shots faced.
Be sure to CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets for this Saturday's action as the Silverbacks and City Islanders come to town.