City Islanders Win Thriller Over Pittsburgh, 1-0
May 8, 2004 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
Harrisburg, PA â A standing-room only crowd of 2,832 saw midfielder Steve Fisher score the only goal of the game in the 88th minute of play as the Harrisburg City Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1-0 in their first game at Skyline Sports Complex on Saturday night.
Fisher, who replaced the injured Steve Custer in the 42nd minute of the match, ran onto a ball from Aleks Radovic, sped ahead of the Pittsburgh defense, and pinged a low drive off the far post past losing goalkeeper Chris Robinson (one save), to give Harrisburg (2-1-1, six points) the win.
The victory also moves the Islanders ahead of Pittsburgh (3-2-0 overall, nine points) in U.S. Open Cup qualifying play. Harrisburg now owns six points at 2-1-0, while the Riverhounds remain at three points (1-2-0).
From the opening kickoff, the eager throng was treated to an intense back-and-forth affair that ultimately yielded seven yellow cards (five to Harrisburg) and a total of 37 fouls.
Islanders keeper Dave Kern was tested early, when he was forced to turn away an excellent chance from David Flavius on the left wing in the third minute. Kern joined Fisher as a star of the night for Harrisburg: the 23-year-old rookie from College Misericordia finished with a career-high eight saves, including another big parry in the 39th against Said Ali (the PSL's leading scorer entering the game) and a brilliant stop on Ali in the 81st. Kern was active, smart, and sound throughout.
Pittsburgh's defensive posture in the second half met with success, as Harrisburg found themselves largely pinned against the sidelines, unable to spring forward runners â until the 88th minute, when Kyle Swords won a ball in his defensive third and sent it forward to Radovic in the middle of the field. Radovic took a few steps before deftly spraying the ball into Fisher's path down the right wing. The 22-year-old Fisher, who scored the first goal in Islanders history on April 17, did the rest.
The Islanders and Riverhounds wrap up their brief season series next Saturday, May 15, in Pittsburgh (7:35 p.m.)
United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 8, 2004
- City Islanders Win Thriller Over Pittsburgh, 1-0 - Penn FC
- Long Island Rough Riders fall short in New Hampshire 4:2 - Long Island Rough Riders
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