Islanders Keep Playoff Push Alive with 6-0 Win
August 29, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
Harrisburg, PA - Craig Foster racked up a hat trick in less than 20 minutes in the Harrisburg City Islanders 6-0 drubbing of FC Montreal in Clipper Magazine stadium in front of 4,741 fans Saturday evening.
Foster's three goals all came in the second half after the Islanders ended the first half up 3-0. Jose Barril, who had three assists on the night, got Foster going with a searing service that gave him the pace to place it home. His next two goals put the cap on the Islanders most dominant win of the year.
Harrisburg still sits one point behind Pittsburgh after the Riverhounds took down second place Louisville.
After kickoff Montreal was able to beat Harrisburg's backline for their best chance of the game. Noble was able to make a reaction save on a streaking ball that cut right through the goalmouth.
After that, it was all Islanders.
Enric Valles got the scoring rolling in the eighth minute with a quick passage of play that involved a great service from Barril. Valles second goal of the season slid right under Yannick Fillian's hands.
After taking the lead the Islanders didn't wait long to give themselves a little bit of breathing room with Jason Plumhoff's first goal of the evening. Barril laid out a perfect ball that gave Plumhoff room to make a cut inside and direct a low hard ball into the back of the net.
The third goal of the half came from Plumhoff yet again. Plumhoff's second goal of the night came right before the half. He collected a ball at his feet and cut past the Montreal goalie to deposit his seventh goal of the season into an open net.
City took no time at all to keep control of the game once the second half was underway. Foster scored the first of his three goals just two minutes in off another quality Barril service.
Foster's needed no help when he took on two Montreal defenders and then Fillian to hammer home his second goal of the night and he wasn't done.
The final goal of the first Islander hat trick this year came after Andrew Lubahn stole a pass from the goalie. Lubahn sent a pass to Foster who was streaking to net the final goal of the 6-0 victory.
Noble's effort to keep a clean sheet is something that could get lost in all of the scoring. He didn't face a lot of shots, but he had to make some reaction saves on some quick hard shots from all angles.
Harrisburg will be right back at Clipper Magazine Stadium to face off in their final friendly against the Philadelphia Union as affiliates. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The next league match will be away against Louisville FC in Louisville at 7 p.m. City faced off against Louisville just a month ago and suffered one of their worst losses of the season.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 29, 2015
- Lou City Falls to Pittsburgh 1-0 - Louisville City FC
- Aztex Drop 2-0 Result to OKC Energy FC - Austin Aztex
- Vincent Penalty Steers Hounds to Huge Win in Louisville - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
- Islanders Keep Playoff Push Alive with 6-0 Win - Penn FC
- Kickers Suffer 2-0 Loss to Charleston - Richmond Kickers
- Sacramento Republic FC Receive Thompson, Koval and Sherrod on Loan from San Jose Earthquakes - Sacramento Republic FC
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