Islanders Earn First Win of the Season over Orlando City B
Published on April 17, 2016 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
Harrisburg City Islanders Battles Orlando City B
(Penn FC)
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Cardel Benbow scored the lone goal in the 60th minute to lead the Harrisburg City Islanders to a 1-0 victory against Orlando City B on Saturday at the Titan Soccer Complex.
Harrisburg earned its first win of the season, improving to 1-2-0 (3 points) while Orlando dropped to 0-2-1 (1 point).
Orlando had to play for 50 minutes down a man when Tony Rocha was sent off in the 40th minute. Teammate Lewis Neal was issued a second yellow card in second-half stoppage time as the remaining minutes featured only nine OCB players.
Harrisburg's Jose Barril had one of the better scoring chances of the first half in the 19th minute with a wonderful strike toward the upper right corner. Orlando goalkeeper Mark Ridgers was up to the task with a fantastic stretching save to his left to keep the match scoreless and instead surrender a City Islanders corner kick.
In a first half that did not generate too many close chances, a pivotal moment occurred when Rocha was issued a straight red card for his challenge against Harrisburg's Shawn McLaws. The two players collided about a minute earlier, and when the players were up and about, Rocha was officially sent off, forcing host OCB to play the remainder of the match down to 10 men. It marked the second consecutive home game in which Rocha was sent off.
With the man advantage, Harrisburg got going in the 58th minute with a couple of good scoring chances. Barril's corner kick sequence resulted in OCB's defense making a key clearance near the line, and shortly after Bobby Warshaw's header was cleared at the near left post by Ridgers.
Despite OCB's defensive efforts, Harrisburg finally broke through in the 60th minute.
From midfield, Barril played a great long ball to the right side and Benbow, who did the rest of the work, dribbling between OCB's defense and shooting just inside the right post for a 1-0 lead that held up the rest of the way.
Upcoming Games:
April 22: Louisville City FC at Harrisburg City Islanders; FNB Field, 7 p.m. ET
April 22: Orlando City B at Pittsburgh Riverhounds; Highmark Stadium, 7 p.m. ET USLSoccer.com Man of the Match
Cardel Benbow, Harrisburg City Islanders - In a match with limited shots on frame, Benbow delivered with a fantastic dribbling display to carve through Orlando's defense for the game's only goal.
City will open up with their first home match of the season at FNB Field, Harrisburg against Louisville FC on Friday, April 22 at 7 p.m. Arrive early and be part of the Islanders historic first night at FNB Field. Pregame activities include a pregame show and ribbon cutting ceremony set to begin at 6:10 p.m. Additionally, fans will receive a special edition Capital BlueCross insulated water koozie.
All fans are welcome to join the Islanders this Sunday, April 17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Grain + Verse Bottlehouse for their annual home opener kickoff party! Meet the team, coaches and front office staff all while playing games, winning prizes and picking up your home opener tickets!
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 Harrisburg City Islanders Battles Orlando City B |
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- Islanders Earn First Win of the Season over Orlando City B - Penn FC
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