MATCH INFORMATION
- New York Red Bulls II vs. Harrisburg City Islanders
- Red Bull Arena, Harrison, N.J.
- Saturday, May 9, 2015
- 2:00 p.m. EDT (WATCH: Live Stream available on NewYorkRedBulls.com/Live)
- Follow on Twitter @NYRBII
- Tickets
New York Red Bulls II look to continue their winning ways at Red Bull Arena this Saturday as New York host the Harrisburg City Islanders at 2 p.m. ET. Red Bulls II are coming off of their second win of the USL season in a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Sunday while Harrisburg achieved the same feat in a 4-0 rout of Wilmington Hammerheads FC on the road in North Carolina last Saturday.
NEW YORK RED BULLS II
NYRB II (2-3-2), took all three points in a hard fought 3-2 victory over Eastern Conference foe, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Sunday at Red Bull Arena. The back and forth match saw New York hold a lead at three different times, including scoring the game winner in stoppage time.
Red Bulls II opened the scoring in the 6th minute on an own goal when Manolo Sanchez’s cross was deflected into the net by Pittsburgh defender Fejiro Okiomah. The Riverhounds responded two minutes later with the equalizer when Kevin Kerr gained possession in space on the right side of New York’s penalty box. Kerr spotted Vincent making a run into the box and delivered his cross. Vincent slammed home his chance from the penalty spot on the volley to level the match, 1-1.
Red Bulls II re-gained the lead in the 66th minute thanks to Sanchez, his first goal of the season. The play started when Dan Bedoya delivered a long cross-field pass to McLaws, who located Sanchez charging into the box. McLaws placed his cross perfectly on the forehead of Sanchez, who headed home New York’s second goal. Pittsburgh drew level for a second time, once again thanks to Vincent. Kerr received a pass just outside the box and teed up an open Vincent, who blasted a low shot from the top of the 18-yard box into the lower right hand corner past Santiago Castano to secure his brace.
As the match entered stoppage time, New York pushed numbers forward looking for a late winner. Andrew Jean-Baptiste sent in a cross that was headed away and fell to captain Anthony Wallace just left of the penalty arc. Wallace chested down and got a hold of a volley, smashing it across the face of goal into the side-netting. A late shot from the Riverhounds was cleared off the line by Jean-Baptiste to secure the win for New York. The victory was the home team's second on the season and first since April 4—a 4-1 defeat of Toronto FC II.
NYRB II will play the City Islanders at Red Bull Arena before heading to their new USL home at the Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium at Columbia University in New York.
New York Red Bulls II currently sit in sixth place in the USL Eastern Conference standings with eight points through seven matches.
Notes:
- The matchup against Harrisburg is the second of a four game home stand for New York. Red Bulls II will play the City Islanders at Red Bull Arena this Saturday, the Charleston Battery at Columbia University May 17, and then return back to RBA to face off against FC Montreal May 24. Red Bulls will play all remaining home matches at Columbia after the May 24 match.
- New York Red Bulls II have been successful earning corner kicks so far this season. Their 38 corners won rank third in USL.
HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS
The Harrisburg City Islanders (2-1-2) enter Saturday's clash undefeated in their last three matches (2-0-1). The City Islanders defeated FC Montreal 2-1 in their lone home match of the season on April 18 before drawing at Charlotte Independence 1-1 and then disposing of Wilmington on the road last weekend, 4-0. Harrisburg has responded well to a slow start, falling to Pittsburgh and Charleston in their opening matches by a combined tally of 7-2.
Harrisburg looked sharp in last week’s rout of the Hammerheads as midfielder Kenny Tribbett scored his first two professional goals for the City Islanders to secure their second victory of the season. Brett Jankouskas and Jason Plumhoff also netted for Harrisburg in the victory. The City Islanders have followed a goals by committee strategy this season with their nine total goals coming from eight different players.
Since dropping the first two matches on the road, Harrisburg has seemed to have found success away from home, outscoring their opponents 5-1 in their last two contests away from Highmark Stadium. The City Islanders have also been very cautious on the pitch so far this season. The squad has only committed 39 fouls on the season, second least in the USL, while their two yellow cards are the least in the entire league.
The City Islanders currently sit one place behind NYRB II, in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with seven points through five matches.
Notes:
- After this match, the City Islanders will return to Harrisburg to play only their second home game of the season.
- The two teams will meet twice more this season—a back-to-back series on July 12 at Columbia University and July 18 at Highmark Stadium.
CITY ISLANDERS FACTS
The Harrisburg City Islanders were founded in 2004 and are the USL affiliate of MLS club, Philadelphia Union. The City Islanders competed in the USL second division until 2010 before making the transition to USL Pro in 2011.
Harrisburg has been known as 'giant killers' for their success in the U.S. Open Cup tournament. The squad have made it to the quarterfinals in four different seasons since 2007, defeating MLS clubs such as D.C. United, the New England Revolution, and the New York Red Bulls.
Harrisburg City Islanders have connections with some high level international clubs. French-Ivorian forward Yann Ekra spent his youth career with Lyon in France while Spanish midfielder José Barril came up through Real Madrid's youth system.
Kickoff on Wednesday at RBA is set for 2:00 p.m. ET, and the game will be streamed live on NewYorkRedBulls.com/Live.
