Harrisburg City Islanders News Release - www.cityislanders.com
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
HARRISBURG, PA -- The Harrisburg City Islanders are excited to announce three new additions to the roster. Chase Harrison and Phil Buffington have signed on to join the 2009 squad. Also, the City Islanders have announced that defender Ryan Pierce has been traded to Crystal Palace Baltimore for Brandon Swartzendruber. All players are pending USL and USSF approval.
An established USL First Division keeper, Chase Harrison was selected in the third round of the 2006 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft by Real Salt Lake. After spending the majority of the 2006 season on loan with USL First Division Virginia Beach Mariners, Harrison joined the Rochester Rhinos in 2007. He started 18 games, with a 1.28 goals against average. After being traded to the Portland Timbers, he recorded 1.76 goals against average over six games.
Before beginning his professional career, Harrison tended the net for the Virginia Tech Hokies, breaking several records in the process. He finished his Hokie career in 2005 with 24 career shutouts. He played in over 7,000 minutes and averaged 1.12 goals against for his career. In a nod to his alma mater, Harrison will wear number 32 this year in honor of the 32 students killed at Virginia Tech in 2007.
Phillip Buffington, will begin his USL professional career as a City Islander. Scouted by the coaches at the USL combine, Buffington brings an impressive resume into his rookie season. In his first season with USL's PDL Mississippi Brilla, he finished second on the team in scoring. During the 2008 season, he doubled his goal production, leading the team with eight goals on the year.
Prior to his PDL success, Buffington excelled at Mississippi College. A three-time All-Conference First Team and All-Region Second team pick, Buffington set a school record and tied the conference's all-time mark by scoring 54 goals over three seasons. He will look to transfer his past scoring success into goals on the Island.
Though a rookie to the USL-2, Brandon Swartzendruber is a natural goal scorer. He proved his scoring ability during two impressive seasons with the USL's PDL Thunder Bay Chill. During the 2007 season, he scored 16 goals and recorded four assists, finishing second in the PDL for both goals and points. He continued his scoring success in 2008, scoring 13 goals and adding eight assists, leading the Chill to the PDL Championship. A five-time PDL team of the week selection over two seasons, Swartzendruber was selected to the PDL All-Central Conference team for the 2008 season.
Collegiately, Swartzendruber spent two seasons with Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Scoring 38 goals and 16 assists, he was a two-time First Team All-Region I and Second Team All-American. After transferring to Midwestern State University, Swartzendruber scored 26 goals and 18 assists over two seasons. He was named to the First Team All-Southwest South Conference, Southwest South Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and to the All-Midwest Region First Team.
Though the Islanders will miss Pierce's presence on the backline, the addition of Harrison in net and the scoring threats of Buffington and Swartzendruber, there is no doubt the Islanders will be on a quest for their second championship in 2009.
