Who: Toronto FC (4-11-4 16pts) vs. Harrisburg City Islanders (4-11-2 14pts)
When: Sunday July 10th, 6:00
Where: Skyline Sports Complex, Harrisburg, PA
Livestream: tfc2.ca
Toronto FC II head to the Keystone State to take on Harrisburg City Islanders on Sunday evening.
A combination of injuries and call-ups to the parent MLS club have seen the TFC II roster slighlty below strenght in recent weeks, but The Young Reds claimed their fourth win of the season on Wednesday evening, beating Bethlehem Steel 3-2. Goals from Luca Uccello, Bubacarr Jobe, and Liam Fraser secured the three points and that win took them above Harrisburg in the table.
The win and subsequent positive shift in the playoff picture will likely have the bus ride south feeling shorter than usual. Aidan Daniels will be in high spirits as well, as his good form throughout the season has seen him rewarded with a USL contract. The 17 year old is the 10th Kia Toronto FC Academy Graduate to sign a professional contract with TFC II.
The last time these two teams met Harrisburg won the game 2-1 with goals from Aaron Wheeler and Paul Wilson, but Toronto head coach Jason Bent will be confident of reversing that result. Harrisburg tied their last game 1-1 with Pittsburgh, extending their winless streak to 7 games and the schedule is against the City Islanders. They face Richmond Kickers on Friday night for the second of their three games this week, and TFC II will hope to score early and replicate the early knockings of the Bethlehem game.
The close proximity of the Richmond game makes it a difficult task to predict the Islanders line-up, but expect Dante Leverock will have to sit out Friday's game through suspension after receiving two yellow cards in the Pittsburgh game. Jose Barril and Paul Wilson continue to be the stand out players, both of them contributing in the assists and goals column throughout the year.
Players to watch
Bobby Warshaw: People will likely be familiar with the Harrisburg captain through his extensive media work as he's a regular on soccer podcasts throughout North America. His intelligent insights draw on his vast playing experience, which includes time with FC Dallas in MLS and several years in Sweden and Norway. He brings that intelligence to the heart of the Islanders midfield, dictating play and always looking for ball and he's knocked in three goals this year.
Aaron Wheeler: The 6' 4” Maryland native has had his own soccer journey that includes a stint with the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency PDL team, a season with KTP in Finland, and time spent with Philadlphia Union in MLS. He's the current lead scorer on this Harrisburg team with 5 goals scored thus far. He's had a dry spell of late, having a run of seven appearances without troubling the scorekeeper, so will no doubt be eager to hit the back of the net on Sunday night.
