Wednesday, August 7, 2013
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- What started out in excitement and encouragement turned into disappointment all within the first half as the Harrisburg City Islanders lost to the Charlotte Eagles by a final score of 2-1 at Skyline Sports Complex on Wednesday night. The victory moved the Eagles into sole possession of fifth place in the USL PRO standings, and one step closer to guaranteeing a berth in the USL PRO Playoffs.
The pivotal moment in the game came in the 38th minute when the Islanders were pushing up to try to break a 1-1 tie. With their lines pushed up, Charlotte was able to find a chance on the counter-attack that saw Drew Yates slip a pass behind the defense for Christian Ramirez, who centered to Jorge Herrera after Nick Noble came off his line to challenge, leaving the Colombian with a simple finish.
The Islanders came out firing and had a few chances in the opening minutes of the game. They were finally able to break through in the sixth minute when Cristhian Hernandez scored his first goal since June 1st. The ball was played into the penalty area from the left by Tom Mellor, but went through untouched and was saved from going into touch by Sainey Touray. The forward made a pass to Hernandez at the corner of the penalty area, and he used his left foot to curl a laser shot passed diving Charlotte goalkeeper Eric Reed.
After the opening goal, Charlotte was putting the pressure squarely on the Islanders’ defense, which seemed a bit sluggish to start. The Eagles picked up their first goal in the 27th minute off a cross from Nick Courtney that found Ramirez at the back post for a close-range finish.
With the Islander defense still looking a bit restless the Eagles looked to keep the pressure on. The next goal came after Ramirez slipped behind the defense and in on goal. Nick Noble came out and met the forward but Ramirez took a look to his right and saw a teammate streaking towards the net. It was the Eagles' leading scorer Jorge Herrera, who settled the ball and tapped it in to give his side a halftime lead.
The second half was a mix of back-and-forth play and pressure by Charlotte. The Islanders couldn’t seem to get a real good footing or put together enough good passing movements to create good chances. With the Islanders trying to counter-punch at every chance it left their defense even more vulnerable. The Eagles had a number of good chances on the counter-attack, and might have added to their lead if it weren’t for the efforts of Noble.
In the 79th minute lightning started to show up just as the Islanders were about to have a chance on a corner kick, causing the referee to pull both teams from the field. Following an approximately hour-long delay, the Islanders made nothing of their chance from the corner, but did have one more shot to tie it up in stoppage time. Matt Bahner took a hard shot that blew past Reed, but ricocheted off the right post and away to safety.
The Islanders have already sealed their place in the USL PRO Playoffs, and remain in third place despite the loss. They will be back on City Island on Saturday night at 7 p.m. to face VSI Tampa Bay. This is the last regular home game of the season for the Islanders. For tickets and information please visit www.cityislanders.com or call (717)-441-GOAL.