Big game for HCI after Wednesday's loss against Charlotte in an attempt to be the 3rd place seed in the playoffs.
The City Islanders must win to keep their playoff seeding intact. Should be interesting to see attendance tonight, last regular season home game and humidity has left town, unfortunately Union play tonight too, they really need to stagger home games next season to avoid overlapping so much. Local hero J.T. Noone returns with Tampa Bay in a clash of league's top scorers with Touray (11 g, 6 a) and Mkosana (10 g, 2 a) vs. Salles (8 g, 2 a) so expect a lot of goals (that and the fact that HCI doesn't defend too well). Speaking of which, Greg Jordan could finally return from injury tonight. If Jordan plays, City Islanders might actually have the full allotment of four loan players the MLS-USL agreement supposedly promises since Hernandez, McLaughlin, and now Anding will complete the season with Harrisburg.
HCI wins 3-1 on a Mkosana (now 2nd leading goal scorer in USL PRO) hat trick. Anding, Bahner and Basso had the assists. Jordan returned to the line-up after a long injury spell. 2,170 was the attendance - high for the season. Next game, HCI visits Dayton. Game Report: http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/746198.html Box Score: http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/scripts/runisa.dll?M2:gp::72013+Elements/Display+E+47107+Stats/+3684834
Harrisburg finally wore down Tampa Bay in a match that saw plenty of great scoring chances. Salles had some great rips for Tampa, including a beautiful bicycle kick for a goal, while Nick Noble made an utterly terrific save on another Salles effort. Tampa also hit the post and carried possession well, but Harrisburg countered very very effectively. It was great to see Greg Jordan back, it's not coincidence that the team struggled in his absence. He and Andrews have a good understanding of each other as the central defensive pair, so it's great to get them reunited for the playoffs. What else is there to say about Lucky? He had scored 10 goals in 7 games, with two hat tricks thrown in there. Great finisher, makes great runs to get him in scoring position. He'll gotta get some more MLS calls after the USL season, he's been close with the Fire and Crew in the past and with his current form, any team could use him. Anding had a good game on the left wing, he set up some good chances. I still like Harrisburg better with Hernandez pulling the strings behind Ekra (rather than the central midfield of Bahner and Pelletier) because I think they hold the ball better with him, but the team has gone 3-1-1 in their past five matches, so I'll take it. A win next weekend will clinch the #3 seed and a home playoff game, get it done boys!
What do you mean? It wasn't one game, Jordan missed 12 games but played in 12 before his injury and one since. What's lofty about saying Greg Jordan was a huge loss? Consider these stats: With Jordan: 9 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie - 14 goals allowed, 1.08 gaa Without Jordan: 5 wins, 6 losses, 1 tie - 22 goals allowed, 1.83 gaa The City Islanders were flying high before Jordan got hurt. Their mid-season slump directly corresponded to his injury. Looks at the amount of goals they yielded without him. He and Coady Andrews are a very solid tandem at center back, and without Jordan, the team lacked an experienced organizer. His replacements have largely been first year pros who struggled at times. Lucky and Sainey have been lighting up the scoreboard, but Jordan might be more valuable because the team lacks depth at center back.