City Islanders Score Early But Unable to Hold off Late Charlotte Attack
June 25, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
Harrisburg, PA - City Islanders FC suffered the sixth straight loss of the season in a contentious 3-1 match against the Charlotte Independence on Saturday afternoon at FNB Field.
After inclement weather and unsatisfactory field conditions stalled the game the previous night, the two teams were finally able to get their final meeting of the season underway a day later.
City looked to get a split in the season series against the fifth ranked team in the Eastern Conference, but a penalty kick and red card, which brought them down to ten men for the last 12 minutes, led to the Isles sixth loss in a row.
It didn't take long for the Islanders to find their footing and break through on the score board. Just 10 minutes in the match Bobby Warshaw fed a streaking Craig Foster in space between the Charlotte defense. The Independence keeper saved the initial shot, but Foster buried the rebound to give the Islanders an early lead.
After letting the opening goal through Charlotte went on the attack. They played the majority of the half in the Islanders end. City's defense held strong and got a big early performance from their veteran goaltender. Nick Noble was forced to make five saves to keep the Islanders up by one heading in to the locker room.
Charlotte's relentless offensive pressure ultimately led to two goals in less than 10 minutes. Their first goal came from a penalty kick awarded for a handball in the box on Shawn McLaws. The Independence then took the lead after David Estrada put back a rebound opportunity off of Noble.
The Islanders' come back effort for the Isles was hampered when James Thomas was shown a straight red card for a hard tackle on a Charlotte player who was almost in on a breakaway. City played with ten men for the remainder of the game.
Charlotte took advantage and added a third goal to their tally in the 85th minute when Lewis Hilton slid one by a sliding Noble to end the game 3-1.
This was the last meeting between the two eastern conference foes of the season. The next match for the Islander will be the first leg of the Keystone Cup on Monday, July 4 against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in Pittsburgh.
City will return to Lancaster for two games in three days on Friday, July 8 and Sunday, July 10 against the Richmond Kickers and Toronto FC respectively. The next game at FNB field will be Friday, July 29 when they take on the Rochester Rhinos.
For tickets and more information on City Islanders FC visit www.cityislanders.com or call 717-441-GOAL (4625). Be sure to follow the team on social media for the most up to date information.
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