Saturday, June 1, 2013
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Harrisburg City Islanders started quickly against the Charlotte Eagles with three goals in the first 22 minutes on their way to a 4-0 victory on Saturday night at Queens Sports Complex. The City Islanders got a pair of goals from Aaron Wheeler as they won both games in their trip to the Carolinas to move into second place in the USL PRO standings.
Harrisburg took an early 1-0 lead thanks to a Chris Hernandez goal off a curling free kick from just outside the penalty area. The Eagles created their first chance in the 16th minute as Juan Guzman found Christian Ramirez inside the penalty area but Ramirez’s shot was smothered by Nick Noble. Harrisburg countered in the 18th minute as Wheeler’s left-footed shot hit the right post and glanced in around goalkeeper Eric Reed to give the City Islanders a 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes.
Four minutes later, Harrisburg received a penalty kick and Wheeler doubled his tally by converting from the spot to make it 3-0. The City Islanders and Eagles then traded possession and shots in the final 20 minutes but neither team finished their chances and Harrisburg took a 3-0 lead into halftime.
Evan Harding made his debut for the Eagles, coming on in relief of Ben Newnam as the Eagles made a quartet of changes in the 60th minute. The Eagles were able to put some pressure on the City Islanders' goal, Noble being forced into a good save that saw him tip a shot onto the post and away for a corner, but late on Samuel Asante’s chipped cross was the Eagles' last effort, and Noble claimed easily.
Harrisburg capped the scoring as it caught Charlotte with a counter-attack in the 89th minute and Jimmy McLaughlin added the fourth goal of the night for the City Islanders. The 4-0 victory in Charlotte combined with the 2-1 victory against the Charleston Battery on Friday moved Harrisburg into second place in the league standings, four point behind Orlando with a game in hand.
The Eagles' next league match comes on Wednesday night as they visit the Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium. In the previous matchup against the Battery, Shaun Francis’ free kick was the decisive goal of the night in a 1-0 Eagles' victory. Be sure to log on to USLNation.com to catch the stream of the match against the Battery.
Charlotte’s next home match will be against the Chicago Fire Reserves on Friday, June 14th at Queens Sports Complex.