City Islanders Settle for Draw against FC Cincinnati
May 7, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
Harrisburg City Islanders vs. FC Cincinnati
(Penn FC)
Harrisburg, PA - City Islanders FC and FC Cincinnati played to a 1-1 draw in their first ever match in Harrisburg in front of 2,204 fans at FNB Field on Saturday night.
Craig Foster broke the scoring open with a hard shot over the shoulder of the Cincinnati goalie to give the Islanders 1-0 lead less than 20 minutes into the game. City held that lead almost for the entirety of the game until former Philadelphia Union loanee Jimmy McLaughlin fired a shot off an Islander for the ultimate tying goal in the 82nd minute.
With the tie City will go to 1-1-1 at home on the season, but are unbeaten in their last two games on at FNB Field. Cincinnati comes out of Harrisburg still on a seven-game unbeaten streak and currently sit in second place behind Louisville FC.
It didn't take long for the Islanders to pressure Cincinnati's defense. Paul Wilson fired a hard shot on goal just minutes into the game. City would keep the pressure with a few scoring chances that just missed their mark.
Foster's opening goal came off the heels of a few quality chances by the visitors. Wilson started the play around midfield with a quick move and through ball that had eyes for Foster's foot. He gathered the ball around two Cincinnati defenders with work to do to get a quality shot on net.
After using his speed to race through the rest of the defense, Foster shot a hard ball from left to right over the keeper's shoulder for his team-leading third goal of the season.
Cincinnati strung together a series of scoring chances to close out the half, but were unable to cash in on them. City took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.
The second half started off both teams trying to hold possession and string together passes to get into good scoring position. Cincinnati looked to have found that positive play in the form of a free kick from just outside the penalty box. Sean Okoli took the kick himself and just missed the mark by bouncing the ball off of the crossbar.
A high scoring Cincinnati team finally found the back of the net after a misplayed ball by City off of a corner kick fell to the feet of a former Islander. The ball bounced through the box after the initial clearance and landed in the perfect position for McLaughlin to get a shot on net that deflected off an Islander and in.
The game finished with a few scoring chances for each team. City crossed the ball through the net mouth a few times, but to no avail as they lacked the final touch to get the winning goal.
The City Islanders will be back home again to face Eastern Conference rival Charleston Battery this Monday, May 9 at 7 p.m. Come out for Superhero Night featuring Central PA Comicon and Avengers.
For more information and tickets please visit www.cityislanders.com or call 717-441-GOAL (4625). Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @city_islanders or Facebook by liking Harrisburg City Islanders.
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 Harrisburg City Islanders vs. FC Cincinnati |
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