Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Harrisburg City Islanders
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Skyline Sports Complex
7:05 p.m.
(Harrisburg, Pa., April 20, 2005) – The Harrisburg City Islanders host the arch rival Pittsburgh Riverhounds in their 2005 home opener this Saturday, April 23, with kickoff at Skyline Sports Complex set for 7:05 p.m. This latest installment in the Battle of the ‘Burgs is also a U.S. Open Cup qualifier for both teams.
The clubs met twice in the 2004 regular season: on May 8, Steve Fisher’s goal with two minutes left in regulation gave Harrisburg a 1-0 win, and John Lapore and J.T. Dorsey scored as the teams battled to a 2-2 tie on May 15 in Pittsburgh. Dave Kern was in goal for both games. The May 8 game, Harrisburg’s first ever at Skyline, was played in front of a sellout crowd of 2,832.
The Riverhounds then dominated the two-leg, aggregate score playoff series between the teams, winning the rain-shortened first game 4-0 at Skyline on August 20 and taking the second game 3-1 in Pittsburgh on August 21.
Several key players have departed from the Pittsburgh team that posted a league-best 17-2-1 record in 2004, including leading scorer Said Ali (now with Vancouver of the USL First Division) and defender and First Team All-League pick Tiest Sondaal (now with the Cincinnati Kings).
Returning are high-scoring forward David Flavius (13 goals, 32 points, Second Team All-League), defender Nathan Salsi (First Team All-League), and goalkeeper Chris Robinson (16-2-1, 0.87 goals against average, Second Team All-League).
Following this weekend, Harrisburg hits the road for games in Wilmington (Friday, April 29) and Charlotte (Saturday, April 30) before their next home game on Saturday, May 7 against the Charlotte Eagles (7:05 p.m.).
Season and group tickets are on sale now. Ticket prices remain the same as a season ago, with General Admission, Reserved, and Club Paradise packages available from $100 - $250 for adults and starting at just $50 for youth. Tickets are available by calling 717-441-GOAL and at www.cityislanders.com.
--- CITY ISLANDERS ---
