Islanders qualify for Open Cup
May 12, 2007 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
(Harrisburg, PA, May 11, 2007) - The Harrisburg City Islanders officially qualified for the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in team history on Friday by playing to a 0-0 tie against the New Hampshire Phantoms in United Soccer Leagues Second Division action.
The Islanders who have a record of 3-0-2 in U.S. Open qualifying matches, to date, will begin play in the tournament on Tuesday, June 12 against a yet to be determined opponent. The Harrisburg squad will face a team from either the USL Premier Development League (PDL) or a representative from the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). However, the location of the match along with the opponent won't be announced until May 29 after all qualifying matches have been played.
"We're very happy to be off to a quick start and to have qualified for the tournament." said Islanders head coach Bill Becher, "This was our first team goal for the season but in our minds we haven't achieved success until we can check-off all of our goals which includes a League Championship."
Dating back to 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world. Open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States, the annual U.S. Open Cup is a 90-year-old single-elimination tournament. In a nutshell, the U.S. Open Cup is very similar to domestic cup competitions popular throughout Europe, South America and the rest of the world. Cup competitions, which usually run concurrent with a country's league season, are open in the early stages to any club that can qualify, giving local amateur teams a chance to compete against the best teams a country has to offer. Additional information about the U.S. Open Cup is available at www.usopencup.com.
The Islanders will continue to sell tickets until the allotted supply is depleted for a potential U.S. Open Cup match against the L.A. Galaxy featuring English soccer icon David Beckham. The team announced the unique ticket campaign in April and has sold over one thousand tickets to date. "We implemented the idea as more of a promotion then an actual event but the closer we get the more we have a feeling that it could really happen," said City Islanders General Manager Joe Sierko. "We'll continue to sell the one dollar tickets and nothing would make us happier then to be able to honor this offer." Information about the potential Beckham match is available at www.cityislanders.com.
The Harrisburg City Islanders are one of just 30 professional outdoor soccer teams competing in the United States this season and they are into their fourth season of play in the United Soccer Leagues' Second Division. The City Islanders have never qualified for the U.S. Open Cup in their brief history and their first seven League matches of the 2007 season serve as qualifiers. The Islanders play their home matches at Skyline Sports Complex located on City Island in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 12, 2007
- City Stars bring home another 2-1 win against Cincinnati - Cleveland City Stars
- Cincinnati Kings Drop Rematch With Cleveland, 2-1 - Cincinnati Kings
- Islanders qualify for Open Cup - Penn FC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
