100th Win Captured at Home Opener
April 28, 2013 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
Harrisburg, PA: On a perfect spring night in Central Pennsylvania the Harrisburg City Islanders 10th Anniversary season home opener was also the 100th win in team history. The Islanders downed the Rochester Rhinos by a score of 5-1.
"This win is the culmination of ten years of hard work and sacrifice," Eric Pettis said. "Seeing where we have come from and where we are going is really exciting."
The Islanders stay undefeated on the season after a strong showing by the entire team. Seven different players had either a goal or an assist in the game. Lucky Mkosana came off of the bench in the 68th minute and ended the game with two goals.
This was also head coach Bill Becher's 100th win as he has been with the team since the beginning.
"The win is a testament to the great players we have had here throughout the years," Becher said. "It's good to come home and build on what we did on the road, if we would've came home and lost it would've been giving back points we earned on the road."
The Islanders had a few great scoring chances before breaking through in the 31st minute with a goal from Jimmy McLaughlin with the assist from Yann Ekra. Ekra picked out McLaughlin who was able to slip behind the Rochester defense. After a great first touch, McLaughlin made a nice move around the Rochester keeper and put his first goal of the season into an open net.
It only got tougher for Rochester from there. In the 43rd minute Blake Brettschneider made a reckless challenge on Sainey Touray, which resulted in a straight red card. Despite being down a man the Rhinos broke through with their second goal ever at Skyline Sports Complex in the 62nd minute. Former Islander Bilal Duckett tapped in the tying goal with his head with the assist coming from Michael Reidy.
The Islanders took back the lead four minutes later with an Ekra goal off a corner kick from Cristhian Hernandez with the assist going to Coady Andrews.
Mkosana's first goal of the night came less than ten minutes after he entered the game. It was a pass from Don Anding that released Mkosana behind the defense. The Rochester keeper was able to get a fingertip on the shot, but it wasn't enough as the ball deflected off of the far post and in.
Sainey Tourey's shot in the 81st minute from Colin Zizzi put the Islanders up 4-1. Touray broke down the sideline and slid the shot past the keeper for his second goal of the season.
Mkosana's final goal of the night came on the last kick of the match, which put the Islanders up 5-1 and cemented one of the best starts in Islander history and kept Rochester winless at Skyline Sports Complex before 1,817 fans.
The Islanders next game is at Skyline Sports Complex and will come against the Charleston Battery at 7 pm. The Islanders will look to build on a great start to the 2013 season.
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United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 28, 2013
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- 100th Win Captured at Home Opener - Penn FC
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