Match Information
- New York Red Bulls II (6-6-4, 22 points) vs. Harrisburg City Islanders (5-5-4, 19 points)
- Red Bull Arena, Harrison, N.J.
- Sunday, July 12, 2015
- 7 p.m. EDT
- TICKETS: New York Red Bulls II vs. Harrisburg City Islanders
- WATCH: Live stream available on NewYorkRedBulls.com/Live
- #NYvHAR – Follow on Twitter: @NYRBII
New York Red Bulls II return home to Red Bull Arena after completing a six-game road trip. This weekend, NYRB II open up the first match of a home-and-home with Harrisburg City Islanders. The latter of the back-to-back matches against the Islanders will be played at Skyline Sports Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on July 18.
Sunday’s match marks the second fixture of the season between the clubs. In the first outing on May 9, the Islanders emerged as winners, 2-1, at Red Bull Arena.
Red Bulls II enter the game after a road loss, 3-0, against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The defeat ended a three-game winning streak and a four-match unbeaten run for NYRB II.
Red Bulls II welcomed a new teammate to the squad this week, Devon “Speedy” Williams. Williams, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, was a familiar face in training after trialing with the team. The midfielder played college soccer at Robert Morris University and has made appearances for the Jamaica national team and the Jamaica Under-20 national team.
READ: New York Red Bulls II sign Devon “Speedy” Williams
Derrick Etienne, NYRB II’s team leader in assists, has departed for University of Virginia and will not be available for the remainder of the 2015 USL season. Etienne appeared in 14 matches and started 10 this season with Red Bulls II, totaling three goals and three assists. The Red Bulls Academy product was named to the USL Team of the Week for Weeks 10 and 11.
New York Red Bulls II currently stand in sixth place of the Eastern Conference, just inside of the playoff picture. Meanwhile, Harrisburg City Islanders lie just beneath the red line in seventh place. As a result of their positions in the standings, the upcoming home-and-home between the clubs are six-pointers, and bear importance as the second half of the USL season begins to dwindle.
Harrisburg City Islanders are set to play their third match in nine days this Sunday, after claiming victory at home last weekend against Wilmington Hammerheads FC, 1-0, and dropping their midweek match against Charleston Battery, 4-0. The Islanders are 1-2-2 in their last five matches.
Harrisburg will be without their team leader in points, Jason Plumhoff, who was sent off in the match against Charleston on Wednesday. This means playmakers Enric Valles and Ken Tribbett will need to step up in his place. Valles, Harrisburg’s team leader in assists with five, assisted Jose Barril’s equalizer in the first match against NYRB II.
SUSPENDED: Jason Plumhoff, Harrisburg City Islanders.
SUSPENDED AFTER NEXT YELLOW CARD: Mike Da Fonte, NYRB II; Jose Barril, Harrisburg City Islanders.
