After watching the Hounds struggle for most of the year it was a pleasant surprise to see them finally get all eight cylinders firing in sync as they shut down the Harrisburg City Islanders 2 - 0 on a perfect night for soccer. As the 2,058 in attendance would attest.
You sort of had the feeling that things were going to go well for the Hounds as in the first minute of play as David Flavius put a shot on goal from 18 yards out which banged off a defender and went just wide. Not by a feet but by inches. Four minutes after that the Hounds went up one to nothing and never looked back.
Cody Bragg took a corner kick and bended it perfectly onto the head of David Flavius who snuck it home.
It was then the defense of the Hounds that stole the show, shutting down the Islanders time and time again. Midfielder Matt Tanrini gathered up a wonderful through ball in the 15th minute and despite dancing his way through the box, was unable to get a shot or a cross off.
Three minutes after that Islander David McClellan may have watched to many World Cup games and tried to sell a foul in the box instead of taking the shot. Again in the 23rd minute, this time Jonel Mitchell charged in after a loose ball only to be met by a sliding Terry McNelis in goal and a shoulder charge by a Hounds defender.
Pittsburgh countered in the 19th minute of play and Islander goalie Dave Kern made a great point blank save off of a David Flavius shot from roughly six yards out.
A long ball out of the defensive end of Pittsburgh found its way through the Islander defense. David Flavius beats the trap and let loose with a powerful shot, only to be denied by Dave Kern who made a great kick save. Mike Apple was trailing the play and collected the rebound but his shot was cleared off the line by defender J. T. Dorsey in the 34th minute of play.
Jason Kutney was not to be outdone as beat the defense with a nice little heal flick move, but his effort soared high in the 37th minute.
Harrisburg had two chances to tie the game up in the last five minutes of the half, as Matt Tanzini's shot had to be punched away by Pittsburgh goalie Terry McNelis in the 40th minute and again when the ball was loose in the box during the last minute of play. No Islander could get his foot on it though and play ended.
The second half started off with the Islanders pushing forward trying to get an early equalizer, but all they seemed to be able to manage was a weak shot in the 48th minute and Jonel Mitchell's shot over the net in the 52nd.
I thought the game might get a little rough in the 60th minute when words exchanged between players ended up in a few pushes and shoves, but no cards were issued and the refs seemed to maintain control.
After that it was all Hounds. I don't believe Harrisburg even managed to get a shot on net during the last half hour of play as Pittsburgh's defense played their best game of the season so far. Shutting down the passing lanes and controlling the midfield.
In the 70th minute Pittsburgh was awarded a free kick from 25 yards out. Instead of taking the shot, the ball was slid past the wall to a breaking Dan Hartung who was stoned at point blank range by the Islanders goalie Dave Kern from 6 yards out. The shot was so hard that I was left with an impression of the ball.
The Hounds put the game away 3 minutes later when Jason Kutney scored from twenty yards out. Leon Browne earned the assist.
Harrisburg picked up the tempo in the last 6 minutes of the game or so but really had no true chances as the Hounds defense was superb.
After the game David Flavius, mentioned that it was his daughters birthday, and that July 1 was his other daughters birthday. So he needed to score a goal for each one of them.
