WHO: Harrisburg City Islanders, 1-2-0, 3 points, 11th place Eastern Conference
WHAT: A USL match, Louisville’s 4th and Harrisburg’s 3rd of the season
WHERE: This is a legitimate question, because Harrisburg is actually calling two parks home this season, one being FNB Field, home of the Harrisburg Senators minor league baseball team on City Island in Harrisburg, and the other being Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster, PA, home of the Lancaster Barnstormers minor league baseball team. While some may make fun of Harrisburg for playing in not one but TWO baseball stadiums this season, no one will argue that no matter the set up, both fields will be a whoawhoawhoa MASSIVE upgrade over where they used to play. The Louisville City Turf Monster’s got nothing on the old Skyline Stadium turf, which is likely maintained by a family of very lazy goats.
WHEN: Today! Friday, April 22, 2016 7:00 PM EDT
WATCH: With us at Against the Grain at Slugger Field! It was a blast last time, you remember! So we’ll see you there, unless you get trapped under something very heavy, in which case you can pop open the YouTube app on your phone and watch it here:
WHO, AGAIN? Taylor Hamblin wrote a strong preview about the teams and how they should play yesterday, so go read that if you haven’t already. My honest opinion? Matt Fondy had a field day with these guys twice last year to the tune of seven goals between two matches against HCI, so Chandler Hoffman is probably licking his chops. I’m not expecting a barn burner of a game, which, assuming the Kings of the Dirty River are rolling, is just as fun to watch.
STATISTICAL COMPARISONS OF DUBIOUS VALIDITY: Harrisburg has taken seven shots on goal over three games. Seven. That’s an average of just over two per game. Louisville’s taken 21, good for just over five per game. Poor HCI.
PREDICTIONS: I’m going to try to be conservative here and say a 1-3 away victory for Louisville. The lone City Islanders goal will inevitably come off a set piece, but otherwise I expect Team Purple to rock FNB Field.
