Harrisburg City Islanders News Release - www.cityislanders.com

Friday, April 17, 2015

HARRISBURG, Pa. - On Saturday night, the Harrisburg City Islanders (0-2-0) will host FC Montreal (0-2-0) at Skyline Sports Complex. The home crowd will welcome the Islanders back to City Island for the first time since the Isles’ magical run to the 2014 USL Championship Game.

The City Islanders are off to a rocky start after falling 5-2 to their in-state rival the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the first leg of the Keystone Derby in their opening game of the season, before mustering just one shot on goal in a shutout loss to the Charleston Battery last week.

FC Montreal, one of eight new teams to the USL this season is comprised of the top young players from Major League Soccer's Montreal Impact. The match on Saturday will be the side's first and only trip to Skyline Sports Complex this season.

FC Montreal will hit the road for the first time this season after dropping a pair of decisions on their home turf—the first a 2-0 loss to fellow Canadian side Toronto FC II followed by a 3-0 defeat to the Rochester Rhinos. The biggest question mark for Montreal is whether they can develop more scoring chances, where they have only challenged the goalkeeper twice this season after failing to put a shot on goal against Toronto.

The Islanders failed to score in a 1-0 loss at Montreal last season, though this will be their first meeting as league foes as FC Montreal joined USL as an expansion club. Nick Noble, the Islanders veteran goalkeeper, will be key in getting the defense back on track; while midfielder Yann Ekra, who has produced half of the Islanders’ scoring output this season, will be determined to create opportunities for the home side.

“After playing twice on the road and not getting the results we wanted we are looking forward to playing our first home match this Saturday. “ Islanders Head Coach, Bill Becher added, “Montreal will be a great opponent, but we are ready and excited to get a big win in front of an even bigger crowd on the Island.”

This USL showdown will kick off Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET. The gates at the  Skyline Sports Complex will open at 5:30 p.m. ET, when fans will help honor former Islander, Jason Pelletier and enjoy a Capital Blue Cross schedule magnet giveaway to the first 1,000 fans.

Additionally, stop by the Beer Garden for Happy Hour from 5:30 p.m. until kickoff! Enjoy Coors Light and Heineken for $3 ($4 at kickoff) and Blue Moon for $4 ($5 at kickoff).

Faulkner Subaru will be hosting the Islanders first “Bark in the Park” featuring the Speranza Animal Rescue and kids can enjoy the FREE Tiki’s Kids Cover where they can get their face painted and jump on Tiki’s Jumping Jungle sponsored by Walter’s Services.

Finally, don’t forget to join us post game at the Federal Taphouse (234 N. 2nd Street Downtown Harrisburg) and meet the Islanders coaches and players shortly after the match.

2015 Season ticket packages are on sale now. Call 717-441-4625 to speak with a City Islanders ticket representative, email us at tickets@cityislanders.com, or visit cityislanders.com for ticket package information.