City Islanders Weekly
June 5, 2006 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
The Harrisburg City Islanders (1-3-2, 5 points) earned their first win of the season on Saturday night at Skyline Sports Complex, downing the Long Island Rough Riders 3-0. Rookie forward David McClellan (Messiah) scored a goal and assisted on another, and Matt Tanzini and Jamel Mitchell added goals for Harrisburg. Goalkeeper Sam Bishop made three saves en route to his second straight shutout.
In just a 20-minute span (beginning with McClellan's strike at the 17-minute mark), Harrisburg set a season high for goals scored.
MCCLELLAN NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK; SADLER, TANZINI ALSO RECOGNIZED: David McClellan was named the USL Second Division Player of the Week for Week 7, the league announced on Monday. He is the first City Islander to earn the honor in 2006.
The rookie McClellan, who won the Division III Player of the Year Award while leading Messiah College to a national title last season, scored Harrisburg's first goal on Saturday and later set up Jamel Mitchell for the team's final score. McClellan is now tied for second on the team with five points (two goals, assist).
McClellan is joined on the Team of the Week by Justin Sadler and Matt Tanzini. Sadler made his first pro start on Saturday at left back and helped spearhead a defensive effort that resulted in Harrisburg's second straight shutout. The former Cumberland Valley High School star also factored into the attack on more than one occasion, including a scintillating 64th-minute run out of the back that resulted in a shot just wide from the top of the box.
Tanzini celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday with a vicious free kick goal in the 25th minute. His dipping blast from 30 yards out squirted through Long Island goalkeeper Michael Behonick, giving Harrisburg a 2-0 lead. It was the second goal of the year for Tanzini.
The City Islanders hope to continue their winning ways on a two-game road trip this weekend. This Friday, June 9, Harrisburg faces the New Hampshire Phantoms in Manchester, NH. The club then travels to Ludlow, MA, to face the Western Mass Pioneers at Lusitano Stadium on Saturday, June 10. Both games kick off at 7:30 p.m.
The Phantoms, who finished in eighth place with a 6-11-3 record in 2005, have rebounded to start 3-2-1 (10 points) this year. Harrisburg tied the Phantoms twice last year: 1-1 in New Hampshire on July 16 and 2-2 on July 23 at Skyline Sports Complex. The clubs will meet again in Harrisburg on August 11.
The Pioneers, who lost the 2005 USL-2 Championship Game to Charlotte in penalty kicks, enter the week with a 2-3-1 mark. One of those two wins came on May 20 in Harrisburg, when Everson Maciel converted a penalty kick in the 85th minute to give Western Mass a 3-2 victory. The City Islanders wasted a 2-0 lead, built on goals from McClellan and Sumed Ibrahim over the first 25 minutes of the game.
Following this weekend, Harrisburg returns to Skyline for a brief homestand that will feature visits from the Wilmington Hammerheads (Sunday, June 18, 3:05 p.m.) and Charlotte Eagles (Wednesday, June 21, 7:05 p.m.).
ODDS AND ENDS:
- City Islanders midfielder Teofore Bennett took the field for the Jamaican National Team on Saturday, playing the final 16 minutes of the Reggae Boyz' 6-0 loss to England.
- Jim Stevens, a 6-7 rookie forward out of Lehigh, made his City Islanders debut in the 78th minute on Saturday.
- Mitchell, who assumed Harrisburg's scoring lead, is now tied for second in the league with three goals and tied for fifth with six points.
- With the win, the City Islanders snapped a franchise record three-game home losing streak.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 5, 2006
- City Islanders Weekly - Penn FC
- Defender Cody Bragg and Forward Mike Apple Named to USL Team of the Week - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
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