2012 Harrisburg City Islanders

Discussion in 'United Soccer Leagues' started by ButlerBob, Jan 5, 2012.

  1. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    thanks
     
  2. Hax

    Hax BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 1, 2000
    A big win road win for the City Islanders last night in Pittsburgh as they knocked off the Riverhounds 3-2 to move into a tie for 4th place with Wilmington. The Hammerheads have played one more game than Harrisburg while Rochester, who has a 6 point advantage in 3rd place, has played two more games than the City Islanders. While the top two seeds might be out of reach, Harrisburg could certainly grab a home playoff game if their current form holds. First things first, however, beat Antigua in stifling heat tonight. The scheduling gods have not been too kind to either side, and because of concerns about the heat index, kickoff at Skyline has been moved to 8 pm. Harrisburg continues to have awful weather for home games, if it isn't a flood or thunderstorm, it's record-breaking heat. I really can't count how many home games have been affected by terrible weather over the past two seasons. Basso remains out with his shoulder injury, as does Brandt, but Touray returned from his ankle injury (and scored) last night, while Lucky and Pettis also netted goals. Lucky is really fitting in nicely with the team, Ekra continues to produce (as assist last night), and the City Islanders scored twice in the final ten minutes to record their comeback victory. Hopefully there's something left in the tank, considering that Welker, Touray and others were substitutes, I expect them to log more minutes tonight. Hydrate people, I'll see you on the Island!
     
  3. buzz99

    buzz99 Member

    Mar 29, 2007
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    While heat, rain and insects provided no help to Islanders fans, they were at least treated to an entertaining match. Antigua appeared rested and physically hammered a few Isles' including center back Andrew Marshall who had played every minute of every match including Open Cup and friendlies this season. Watched limping gingerly off the field in the 28th minute, all hope that the knee is not damaged and requires repair.

    Meanwhile, the Isles struggled to score but it was not for lack of effort. They put a least 4 seeming goals off the woodwork and the 'Cuda national team GK made a number of top flight saves to keep the game close. Using their speed, Antigua was dangerous but for one great save by Noble off a direct kick, never really challenged the Isles' keep. Their only score came from a deflection of a strong shot that wrong footed Noble. But, as has been their mantra, the Isle's came back strong in the waning minutes to tie and then nearly put a win in the books.

    A win would have been ideal, but a point is a point.

    The banged up line up got some relief from Adrian LeRoy, Tom Brandt and, once again, Colin Zizzi. Tom Mellor seems to have found his rythm and adds great balance to Pettis, Touray and Ekra in the final minutes. If only Morgan could put a few shots on goal . . . . .
     
  4. Macsen

    Macsen Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 5, 2007
    Orlando
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Is there a source for who gets the various sub-MLS prizes? I need a source so I can add it to Wikipedia. :)
     
  5. Hax

    Hax BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 1, 2000
    Onetime City Islander Vincenzo Bernardo has signed with a Guatemalan second division club. How does a guy go from the US U-20 nat'l team and Napoli academy to the Guatemalan second division? Why on earth didn't he stick around USL-PRO? I have no idea how good this kid is, he only played in the championship game and nearly assisted on a shot Jose Angulo headed off the post during his brief appearance, but he scored a few goals at the NASL combine. I really don't understand why he didn't stick with an American league, was he asking for too much dough?

    http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/07/31/american-exports-us-youth-bernardo-signs-guatemala
     
  6. Hax

    Hax BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 1, 2000
  7. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Looks to be a good match! Cant wait for Saturday night.
     
  8. Hax

    Hax BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 1, 2000
    With no offense intended to the author of the Yahoo article, what does this mean: "While it is disappointing for fans of the City Islanders, it was not surprising. The team had been playing against a strong opponent and the City Islanders did not have a great record against the Battery. Fans still have a lot of things to be proud of about the season. Though the season ended sooner than fans had hoped, for the team to have made the playoffs is a great accomplishment. Although the team is out for this year, there is a lot to look forward to for next year and a lot of work that will be done in the offseason. Fans will still be able to watch the last several games on the Philadelphia Union's schedule. Though the MLS team is not having a great year, the team has gotten in some great game play recently. Congratulations to the City Islanders on a great season."

    I know that much of the stuff I write might not be perfect, but this paragraph drives me crazy. If the loss is not surprising, why would it be disappointing? The City Islanders split their matches against the Battery in 2012, including a 3-0 Harrisburg win just a couple of weeks ago, so what record against the Battery is she referring to? Sure, the Battery own a good record against Harrisburg historically, but that doesn't strike me as particularly relevant to a single-elimination playoff match, especially after this year's results. The City Islanders advanced to the USL-PRO final last season, simply advancing to the playoffs is not what this team expected, why make the assertion that it's an accomplishment? Last year's run was an accomplishment, this year's was not. And why claim that Harrisburg fans will be appeased by getting to watch a Philadelphia Union team that she admits is struggling? I'm not surprised by the loss at all, the City Islanders were not as consistent or cohesive as last year's team, but this article doesn't offer any real insight into the match or the City Islanders' season. We have no idea what next year's team will look like, a bunch of players (Bixler, Pelletier, Ombiji, Basso) might retire while the promising youngsters (Mkosana, Ekra, Mellor) might bolt for greener pastures. Considering how small the Harrisburg market is, I don't think we really know how much of the core of this team will be retained.

    The author is right to note that Charleston looked better, they outshot Harrisburg by a huge margin and clearly deserved to win, but I don't think we should sugarcoat a disappointing season that didn't live up to its potential. If there's anything the City Islanders should be proud about, it's the Open Cup run, but this team was too talented to finish sixth and crash out in the first round, coach Bill Becher said so himself: "It was disappointing... There was a lot of talent on the team; this was a very good team... But we should have finished higher than what we did. We finished in a tie for fifth place, but we gave some games away or we could have finished second. And that gives us a bye for this week and we’re home for the semis. It was there for the taking ... we just didn’t get that done... We fell short in a few areas." http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2012/08/harrisburg_city_islanders_watc.html
     
  9. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good match by Harrisburg last night. they really left it all on the field. I haven't followed them close enough to comment on the lineups but the team last night did well. Both teams looked like they were running out of gas toward the end. But I was worried that if Harrisburg tied it up and it went to extra time, The Battery would have dropped their heads and HCI would have gained a second wind.

    Overall I felt this season was pretty tight with several teams being right there in the hunt. a bounce or call one of the teams favor, the whole season table could have changed
     
    Hax repped this.
  10. Hax

    Hax BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 1, 2000
    Mikey, you are right to point out how close the standings were (minus Orlando), but I think many of us, coach Bill Becher included, thought this team could've separated itself from the pack. Considering that many of the key pieces of last year's finalist returned, such as Sainey Touray and Andrew Welker who each scored a lot in 2011, some key defenders in Andrew Marshall and Stephen Basso, midfielders J.T. Noone and Jason Pelletier and wingers Morgan Langley and Brian Ombiji, while adding newcomers like the young and talented Yann Ekra and Lucky Mkosana plus veterans Bilal Duckett and Nick Noble, I expected a little more from this more talented and deeper squad. Now, you could argue that last year's club exceeded expectations and set the bar too high, but considering how well the team played in the Open Cup, and with their pedigree and past success, I think this team was better than #6 on paper. Injuries played their part, but beyond that excuse, the team was inconsistent and not as tight as the 2011 version. That doesn't mean I expected them to beat the Battery, but like Becher, I expected them to have a better regular season and to compete for a bye or home game in the playoffs. I thank the team for an exciting year, especially in the Open Cup, but I'm not entirely satisfied and I suspect most of the organization feels the same.
     
  11. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Do you think Harrisburg will do more with its Reading and Philly connections next year?
     
  12. Hax

    Hax BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 1, 2000
    The affiliation with Philadelphia seems to be very strong and as stipulated in their agreement, Harrisburg gets to host an annual exhibition against their MLS brethren each season. This year the City Islanders hosted the Union at Hersheypark Stadium, hoping to draw a large crowd but bad weather and the change of venue didnt really allow for that anticipated bump (fewer than 1K came). I'd expect the 2013 friendly to return to the Skyline Sports Complex. Otherwise, the player development relationship seems to benefit both sides and will continue. Fr example, Antoine Hoppenot appeared on loan for Harrisburg early this season, played well, and worked his way back to Philly where he's excelled as a substitute. Greg Jordan and Jimmy McLaughlin each played a lot down the stretch for Harrisburg and now return to Philly with crucial match experience and fitness. I don't know if the Union will sign any former City Islanders as in years past (such as Sheanon Williams, Chase Harrison, Morgan Langley or J.T. Noone), but it wouldn't surprise me. The affiliation seems to be a win-win for both parties, so I don't see why anything would change.

    Now, the relationship with Reading is very different however. The two teams never really had a partnership. Last year, they played a friendly in Reading and then met in the Open Cup, but they didn't stage the exhibition this season. I don't really know why. Reading United didn't play any exhibitions as in previous years, and maybe fixture congestion led to that decision? In any case, their relationship was less formal and I don't know what the future holds. It makes sense for the two to work together, but no Reading players joined Harrisburg like last season, and the friendly seems to have been a onetime occurrence.
     
    SoccerPrime repped this.

Share This Page