Harrisburg downs Reading 5-1
HARRISBURG, PA -- Five different players found the net and Dave Kern made seven saves as the Harrisburg City Islanders recorded the most lopsided victory of their brief existence, defeating the Reading Rage 5-1 on Saturday night at Skyline Sports Complex.
Only a goal from Reading’s Chad Severs, who caught Kern off guard with a 25-yard chip from the left wing in the 15th minute, did anything to mar the thorough win for Harrisburg, now 3-2-2 (11 points) on the season.
Severs’ score came five minutes after Derek Potteiger scored his first goal of the season, taking a low centering pass from Steve Fisher and slotting the ball past losing keeper Adam Edwards (three saves).
Matt Tanzini, who played perhaps his best game of the season before leaving in the 52nd minute, answered Severs’ score in the 17th minute with a skipping rocket from nearly 30 yards out on the left wing. Seamus Donnelly created a 3-1 halftime lead for Harrisburg in the 41st minute, weaving through the defense into the goalmouth before applying a left-footed finish.
The persistent Rage kept coming, forcing Kern to make five saves after intermission, though few were exceptionally challenging. The Islanders exploited Reading’s aggression with constant counterattacks, and it was one such counter that led to a penalty kick in the 63rd minute. After Kevin Coleman yanked down Donnelly in the penalty area, Keith Costigan accounted for his second PK of the season, sending the ball low to Edwards’ right to make it 4-1.
Harrisburg crowned the victory in the 87th minute, when Matt Shealer and Aleks Radovic patiently worked a give-and-go which sprung Radovic inside the area, and he coolly slid the ball past Edwards for the 5-1 final score.
Notes: The four-goal margin of victory for Harrisburg tops the team’s 5-2 triumph over Northern Virginia on April 17…Radovic has now scored five points (two goals, assist) in 91 minutes of action this season… Fisher recorded the first multiple-assist game in team history with two, and leads the team in scoring with two goals and seven points…Harrisburg returns to action next Saturday, June 5, at home against the Western Mass Pioneers. Game time at Skyline is 7:35 p.m.
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