LANCASTER, Pa. – In the first meeting between the two Pennsylvania-based sides, Aaron Wheeler tallied his first two goals of the season to lead the Harrisburg City Islanders to a 3-1 victory against expansion Bethlehem Steel FC on Sunday at Clipper Magazine Stadium. Bobby Warshaw added his first goal for the City Islanders, whose three goals are a season-high in a match this year. The Steel’s first-half tally was a Harrisburg own goal. Harrisburg ended a three-game winless streak to improve to 3-5-1 (10 points) overall, while Bethlehem saw its five-game unbeaten streak (2-0-3) come to a close. The Steel are now 3-3-3 (12 points) overall as this game was the start of an eight-game stretch featuring seven road matches.

Scoring:
14’ – HAR – Aaron Wheeler (Shawn McLaws)
15’ – HAR – Aaron Wheeler (James Thomas)
17’ – BST – Own Goal (Matthew Bolduc)
63’ – HAR – Bobby Warshaw

Three Things That Mattered:

• 1. Aaron Wheeler had an impressive first-half stretch for the City Islanders to lead an offense that hasn’t had a standout goal-scorer, but has seen several players step up in moments this season. It was Wheeler’s turn Sunday. In the 14th minute, the City Islanders worked the ball from left to right, Shawn McLaws crossed back in and Wheeler got inside position against Steel goalkeeper John McCarthy and slotted home. Then in the 15th minute, James Thomas delivered a beautiful left-footed cross from the left side and Wheeler split two defenders on his run and headed to the lower left corner – leaving McCarthy frozen – to take a 2-0 lead.

• 2. Though the defense had a letdown with Matthew Buldock’s own goal off of a Leo Fernandes free kick, the City Islanders did what they needed to in making up for that moment. There was a bit of a lull from both teams to open the second half, but Harrisburg’s persistence was greater than Bethlehem’s in the 63rrd minute. The Steel had broken up the City Islanders’ attack, but the ball sat for a moment just outside the six and Bobby Warshaw cleaned up for his first goal of the year.

• 3. The Philadelphia Union loaned defender Ken Tribbett to the Steel heading into the match. Tribbett was a finalist for 2015 USL Rookie of the Year in his season with the City Islanders, appearing in all 28 regular-season games and scoring three goals. Tribbett had a 30th-minute scoring opportunity but his header just missed the frame.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Aaron Wheeler, Harrisburg City Islanders – Wheeler did the early damage and had multiple chances early on for a hat trick to lead a Harrisburg attack that generated 11 shots in the opening half.

Upcoming Games:
May 24: Toronto FC II at Harrisburg City Islanders; 7 p.m. ET, Clipper Magazine Stadium
May 28: Bethlehem Steel FC at Rochester Rhinos; 6:05 p.m. ET, Rhinos Stadium