June 5, 2012
SHUT OUT OF OPEN CUP
Harrisburg eliminates Red Bulls, 3-1

Connor Lade scored the Red Bulls' lone goal in their U.S. Open Cup loss to the Harrisburg City Islanders. Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images

HARRISBURG, Pa. – So much for Lamar Hunt/U.S. Open Cup honors this season.

The Red Bulls saw their hopes for a trophy and their first piece of hardware go down the drain on Tuesday night. Despite coming back from a 1-0 deficit, the Red Bulls lost to the Harrisburg City Islanders, 3-1, in an extra time defeat at Skyline Sports Complex in the fourth round.

Red Bulls rookie Connor Lade tallied his second goal in the competition.

The loss and elimination hit the Red Bulls hard.

"It wasn't good enough from our part," forward Jhonny Arteaga said. "We're really disappointed, for sure."

Midfielder Jan Gunnar Solli agreed and elaborated.

"We played with all our heart," he said. "Its one of those losses that's really hard to swallow. It shouldn't happen, but unfortunately it did. EVerybody is really disappointed now. A lot of fans came out to support us. We were hoping the outcome would be different."



The hosts took the early 1-0 lead on a goal from forward Sainey Touray. Touray received a pass from Brian Ombiji and slipped one past Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara in the 13th minute.

Arteaga nearly scored the equalizer in the 24th minute courtesy of a feed from midfielder Jan Gunnar Solli. Arteaga’s left-footed shot just went wide of the net.

"I had a couple of chances," Arteaga said. "I think one I should have put into the far post. I tried to do it one time. When you're in the box you don't have too much time. Really disappointed, for sure."

The City Islanders enjoyed a 1-0 halftime lead.

"We weren't panicking at halftime down a goal," Lade said. "We knew there was a lot game left to play. We were confident that we were able to get back into the game."

In the second half, Harrisburg pressured the Red Bulls early, but it was the Red Bulls who turned things around quickly and reversed action up the pitch. In the 60th minute, the effort paid off, as Lade ripped one on goal past goalkeeper Nick Noble to level the score.

"I opened up wide when Markus [Holgersson] got on the ball," Lade said. "He drove out. There was bit of a miscommunication between their centerback and right back. The ball kind of bobbled between them and just landed for me and I just put it in."

The Red Bulls kept their foot on the pedal in the second half and Dax McCarty and Brandon Barklage each nearly scored go-ahead goals inside the 65th and 66th minutes with shots barely missing the mark. In the 70th minute, it was McCarty again who unleashed a rocket that bounced off the post and out of play.

Solli said the Red Bulls controlled the match, but could not put the ball away.

"We weren't too effective in front of the box," he said.

There were other problems as well.

"We had a lot of space," Solli said. "We didn;t find each other out we. I felt we were a little too static in our play. Maybe when I come one against one, I have a bit little more time than sometimes I take and play on the first move, instead of just waiting and holding the ball."

During second-half stoppage time, the City Islanders broke in on on goal and came within a Meara save of walking away with a win. But the former Fordham University product got a hand on the shot and sent it over the crossbar and out to keep the sides level heading into extra time.

In the 94th minute, Harrisburg’s Garret Pettis sent a floater into the Red Bulls’ defensive zone that was met by Touray, who chipped one over a diving Meara to give the City Islanders a 2-1 lead.

"This team shows a lot of heart and they can run," Solli said. It went into overtime. It can go either way. Some of the goals we let in was too easy for them because we were dictating the game. When we had to chase, that killed us."

"We were disappointed on how we came out in extratime," Lade said. "They came out a bit shaprer than we did and they were fortunate enough to get on the board first and from there it was an uphill to try to get back in. Unfortunately, we did not get in and we were not able to do that."

The Red Bulls raced for their second goal of the game. Shortly into the second half of extra time, Barklage connected with McCarty on a free kick into the box that was headed on goal, but the ball was caught by Noble. It was McCarty again in the 113th minute looking to score the equalizer on a left-footed rocket that was just barely tipped by Noble. New York appealed for a penalty kick soon after, as Jason Pelletier seemed to have handled a cross in the box, but the referee let play go on.

The final goal of the match came off the foot of Harrisburg’s Lucky Mkosana, who fired one past Meara from the right side in the 118th minute to secure the win.

"When they first scored and we had to chase," Solli said. "It's 2-1 and we had to chase again, and that's not a smart thing in these cup games. It gives the oppotnent the extra spirit. We were controlling the game, passing the ball pretty decent. Chasing in cup games is just not good enough."

The Red Bulls return to action Sunday, June 17, when they head off to Chicago for a 5 p.m. ET match against the Fire at Toyota Park.

Scoring Summary:

HAR: Sainey Touray (Brian Ombiji) 13’
NY: Connor Lade 2 (unassisted) 59’
HAR: Sainey Touray 2 (Garret Pettis) 94’
HAR: Lucky Mkosana (Yann Ekra) 118’

Disciplinary Summary:
HAR: Bilal Duckett (caution) 29’
HAR: Andrew Welker (caution) 38’
HAR: Jason Pelletier (caution) 87’
HAR: Stephen Basso (caution) 90’
NY: Jhonny Arteaga (caution) 90’
NY: Markus Holgersson (caution) 120’

New York Red Bulls – Ryan Meara, Brandon Barklage (Jonathan Borrajo 115’), Markus Holgersson, Wilman Conde, Heath Pearce, Jan Gunnar Solli, Dax McCarty (Stephen Keel 117’), Mehdi Ballouchy, Connor Lade, Jhonny Arteaga, Kenny Cooper

Substitutes Not Used: Jeremy Vuolo, Ryan Maduro

Harrisburg City Islanders – Nick Noble (GK), Stephen Basso, Tom Brandt, Andrew Marshall, Bilal Duckett, Jason Pelletier, Andrew Welker (Yann Ekra 45’), Joseph Noone, Morgan Langley (Lucky Mkosana 69’), Brian Ombiji (Tom Mellor 89’), Sainey Touray

Substitutes Not Used: Colin Zizzi, Garret Pettis, Drew Yates, Bryan Holt

Referee: Robert Sibiga
Referee’s Assistants: Kevin Klinger, JT Zablonski
4th Referee: Brandon Smith
Attendance: 1,477