They’re called the Harrisburg City Islanders, but when they host D.C. United tonight in the U.S. Open Cup, the nation’s oldest soccer tournament, they’ll be playing much closer to Lancaster, some 30 miles and plenty of farmland away.
“It’s about 40 minutes from where I’m from and 25 minutes from Harrisburg,” said D.C. United midfielder Josh Gros, who hails from Mechanicsburg, just west of the Pennsylvania capital. “It’s all the same up there. It’s God’s country.”
The Islanders, who play in the lower of two tiers in the United Soccer Leagues (USL-2), have chosen to host their first-ever U.S. Open Cup third round match at Hempfield High, a school that boasts both an artificial playing surface and potential to host nearly 10,000 fans.
In a lineup consisting mostly of reserves, goalkeeper Jay Nolly, who gave up two goals in a loss to Real Salt Lake in his first start of the season, has been handed the task of manning the nets for the duration of United’s advancement in the tournament.
“He’s made a lot of progress. I don’t think he came into the season fit, and we challenged him,” said United head coach Tom Soehn. “I think he’s done a good job of getting himself there. I expect good things from him.”
D.C. has beaten Harrisburg in exhibition matches in each of the past two seasons. The Islanders have billed the rivalry’s latest installment, “Clash of the Capitals III: This time it’s for real.”
Copa America reflections
With Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen and Bobby Boswell back in training, D.C. United’s roster was complete for the first time in nearly three weeks.
“All I’ve heard is that it was quiet while we were gone,” said Boswell. “They just said it wasn’t that noisy, and I don’t know if that’s an insult or what, but I came back today and started running my mouth as usual, just joking around with the guys, making sure we’re having a good time.”
Moreno, who won’t play tonight against Harrisburg, said he was disappointed with Bolivia’s results at Copa America but enjoyed his form, including two goals.
“The press, they were very hard on me, saying that I was too old. I had to shut them down,” said Moreno with a smile.
