City Islanders To Visit Pittsburgh On Friday
July 5, 2012 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
Harrisburg, PA- Some might call it "confidence." Others call it "self-assurance." Harrisburg General Manager John Gregg has dubbed it "City Island Swag."
On Friday night, the Harrisburg City Islanders (5-4-4) will look to bring some of that bravado to Chartiers Valley Stadium in their second contest this season against Hunter Gilstrap and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (3-7-5).
After concluding an unforgiving four-game road trip with a 2-1 victory against Rochester Saturday night, the City Islanders received the jolt of confidence they needed going into Friday's matchup against in-state rival Pittsburgh.
"The Rochester win was very important for us after a tough couple of games in a row," said defender Colin Zizzi. "At the moment we are just focusing on one game at a time and looking to get a positive result on Friday in Pittsburgh."
The Islanders are hoping that "positive result" will come in the form of three points as consecutive losses to Orlando and Charleston prior to Saturday's win over Rochester sapped the team's spirits and posed a major setback to Harrisburg's tenuous playoff run. Currently, Coach Bill Becher's side sits in sixth place in the USL PRO standings, just a point back from Richmond and three points behind Wilmington, two teams that will square off this Saturday night at Legion Stadium.
Against Pittsburgh and its terrific keeper, the Islanders will need to have a sense of swagger heading into the Steel City as the Riverhounds went undefeated at home during the month of June. Their keeper, Gilstrap, who is tied for third in the league in minutes played with 1350, has played a crucial part in their success, holding three of the league's top four teams to one goal each during June's four-game home stand. In the previous meeting of the Keystone Derby on May 16, Gilstrap was stellar, saving eight and doing everything but score in the scoreless draw.
Despite June's success, the Riverhounds began July with an Independence Day loss against Dayton. In sticky conditions at Miami Valley South Stadium, the Riverhounds still mustered a decent offensive effort, pouring in 11 shots to the home team's six. But what looked like another clean sheet for Gilstrap - and a sixth draw for the Riverhounds - ended as a 1-0 loss in the 86th, as Akeem Priestly beat his defender, a sharp angle and the Pittsburgh keeper to send the visitors home disappointed.
However, Andrew Welker, a key cog in the Islanders' midfield, was not taking Pittsburgh lightly.
"It looks like they (Pittsburgh) have had a very solid last few games," he said. "They just tied Orlando on Saturday and not many people have been able to take points from them this season.
When we played Pittsburgh earlier this season, their keeper, Gilstrap, was outstanding so it should be another great game between us."
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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