HARRISBURG, Penn. – Harrisburg City Islanders substitute Dominic Oppong tallied the game-winner in the 117th minute to defeat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday at Skyline Sports Complex.
The 1-0 win advanced Harrisburg to the quarterfinals, where they will face the victor of the D.C. United-Richmond Kickers game to be held on Wednesday evening.
Early on, New York, who played without dangerous striker Juan Pablo Angel, looked to control the game, as midfielder Brian Nielsen tried a long range strike five minutes in that was caught by Harrisburg and former Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero.
The City Islanders mounted a threat of their own in the 16th minute, when forward Geoff Bloes got free in the penalty box and headed a Jason Hotchkin delivery right at goalkeeper Greg Sutton.
On the other end, the Red Bulls had the best chance of the half to go ahead in the 22nd minute. After a New York free kick, the ball was swung in again and deflected by forward John Wolyniec to Mike Petke, whose volley on frame from 12 yards out was tipped away by Cepero. Four minutes later, Nielsen one-timed a 16-yard shot at Cepero.
In the second half, the City Islanders tested Sutton four minutes in, as Bloes was able to get space off a counterattack and slid a shot towards the left post that the goalkeeper went down to haul in.
The teams kept exchanging chances later in the period, with the City Islanders’ Sheanon Williams getting free from six yards and nodding a J.T. Noone cross just past the left post. Soon after, Chinn muscled past his defender into the box and found Wolyniec, who turned and shot it into the side netting.
With 20 minutes left in full time, Chinn forced Cepero into another acrobatic save after he first-timed a feed from Wolyniec, who made a darting run to the endline. Bloes had an additional chance on net three minutes after, getting some space on the right side of the penalty box and putting it past the left post.
Scoreless after 90 minutes, the game went into extra time, where the hosts had their best chance during the first 15 minutes after New York defender Roy Miller’s clearance went straight to Harrisburg substitute Vince Petrasso, whose one-time shot beat Sutton but slammed off the right post.
Oppong scored the eventual game-winner with three minutes left in the game. After Sutton went to block a shot, the rebound fell to Bloes, who forced the goalkeeper to push it away. The ball eventually came out to an open Oppong and he blasted it into the back of the net.
With the loss, New York are eliminated from USOC competition. Their next match will be against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on July 4.
Scoring Summary:
HAR: Dominic Oppong 1 (unassisted) 117’
New York Red Bulls – Greg Sutton (GK), Luke Sassano, Mike Petke, Andrew Boyens, Roy Miller, Irving Garcia (Austin da Luz 76’), Jeremy Hall, Brian Nielsen (Tim Ream 80’), Juan Agudelo (Tony Tchani 66’), Conor Chinn, John Wolyniec
Harrisburg City Islanders – Danny Cepero (GK), Tyler Ruthven, Dustin Bixler, Jerritt Thayer, Anthony Calvano, Jason Pelletier, J.T. Noone, Nate Jafta (Vince Petrasso 65’), Jason Hotchkin (Dominic Oppong 80’), Geoff Bloes, Sheanon Williams (Kai Kasiguran 101’)
Referee: Alex Prus
Referee’s Assistants: Ian Bongaart, Stan Nagle
4th Referee: John Barr
Attendance: 1,868
