Islanders Fall Short to Union in Front of Franchise Record Crowd
August 31, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
Harrisburg City Islanders vs. Philadelphia Union at Clipper Magazine Stadium
(Penn FC)
Lancaster, PA (August 31, 2015) - The Harrisburg City Islanders fell 3-1 to the Philadelphia Union in their annual friendly in front of a franchise record crowd of 6,546 at Clipper Magazine Stadium on Saturday.
After falling down 1-0 at the very end of the first half the Union rallied scoring three unanswered goals in the second with some of their top players getting in the thick of the action.
Sebastion Letoux had two assists in the game and Christian Maidana scored the game-winner to put the cap on the match just weeks after announcing an end to their exclusive affiliation between the USL and MLS clubs.
The first half started off with both teams playing with good pace to get a few good chances on goal.
Harrisburg had the majority of the chances to start and thought they had broken the scoring open when Tony Donatelli fired a shot from just outside the box only to see it ricochet off the far post.
Jimmy McLaughlin, playing against his former team, took over play following the scare. He drove down the sideline to swing a pass in for Fernando Aristeguieta but Islander's keeper
Kyle Renfro was up to the task.
It seemed that the first half would end scoreless until Brett Jankouskas took a shot from way outside the penalty box. He ripped a rocket passed a sprawling John McCarthy into the bottom corner to open up the scoring for the Islanders.
Philadelphia wasted no time to knot the game up in the second half. Just two minutes in they peppered Renfro with a series of shots before the ball finally landed at the feet of Ethan White, who tapped it home.
The Union kept the pressure on the Islanders defense until they finally broke in the 66th minute. Letoux made a far run into the box to bring Renfro off his line, which gave Christian Maidana a wide-open goal to hammer in the game winner.
The third goal of the game also came off of a Letoux assist. His wide run opened up the middle of the field for a long low pass that Conor Casey chipped into the net to finish off the scoring for the night.
Even though this was the final friendly between the teams it is likely not the final match-up overall. In the past few season the teams have met in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup with the Union taking both games.
Harrisburg will be back in action in two short days when they travel to Louisville City FC to face-off against one of the best teams in the league. The Islanders will look to return the favor by beating Louisville on their home pitch to better their spot in the playoff race.
Harrisburg will come back to the friendly confines of Skyline Sports Complex this Sunday, August 6 at 6:30 p.m. when they face St. Louis FC.
For tickets and information please visit www.cityislanders.com or call 717-441-GOAL (4625).
Images from this story
 Harrisburg City Islanders vs. Philadelphia Union at Clipper Magazine Stadium |
United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 31, 2015
- Islanders Fall Short to Union in Front of Franchise Record Crowd - Penn FC
- USL Week 24: OKC Rises, Hounds Spoil City's Party - USL
- Louisville City Strives for Playoff Berth on Last Regular Season Home Match - Louisville City FC
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
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