Harrisburg City Islanders News Release -- www.cityislanders.com
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Harrisburg City Islanders were defeated by the Rochester Rhinos on Tuesday night in a 1-0 loss in the second round of the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. A 90th-minute penalty kick by midfielder Tony Donatelli advanced the Rhinos to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup against Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire.
In the first half, there was no dominant team as both sides had chances throughout the half. The City Islanders were the first to take a crack at goal in the seventh minute as midfielder J.T. Noone struck the ball 30 yards out, just missing the left upper 90 of the goal. The Rhinos would retaliate just one minute later as defender Troy Roberts served a ball behind the Islanders defense into the box to Donatelli for the volley, but City Islanders goalkeeper Phil Tuttle made the save.
The City Islanders almost received a little luck in the 13th minute as defender Geoff Bloes blasted a ball 25 yards out, redirecting off of a Rhinos’ player and catching goalkeeper Neal Kitson off guard, forcing him to make a last second save. Former Philadelphia Union midfielder Noone would try from distance again in the 34th minute, making Kitson go at full stretch for the save.
Rochester midfielder Tyler Rosenlund made a nice run to receive a ball from defender Quavas Kirk for the breakaway shot in the 39th minute, but once again Tuttle came up big with the save. At the end of the first half, the City Islanders outshot the Rhinos 9-3 and recorded nine corner kicks.
The first 35 minutes of the second half consisted of little chances from both clubs with shots from Angulo and Jagdeosingh, respectively.
Approaching the 81st minute, the City Islanders almost put the ball in the back of the net off a set piece starting with midfielder Jason Pelletier who quickly fed the ball to Angulo for the one timer but Kitson got a hand on the ball, directing it onto the left post before the Rhinos were able to clear.
The Rhinos then took the lead when Donatelli delivered a ball to forward Kendall Jagdeosingh, who received the ball and went one-on-one with Tuttle, who missed the ball and instead took out Jagdeosingh’s legs, giving the Rhinos a penalty kick. Donatelli stepped up and converted to give the Rhinos a 1-0 lead.
In four minutes of stoppage time, the City Islanders almost found the back of the net and shots by Sainey Touray and Jose Angulo were cleared off the goal line by the Rhinos backline. The 1-0 win was good enough to knock out the Harrisburg City Islanders of the 2011 U.S. Open Cup.
The City Islanders’ next home game of the season is scheduled for 7:00pm Saturday, July, 2nd at Skyline Sports Complex on City Island against the Charlotte Eagles. The first 1,000 fans will receive a FREE t-shirt and bread courtesy of Bimbo Bakeries. For more information on the City Islanders, or to order tickets, contact the team at 717-441-GOAL, or visit www.cityislanders.com.