While the Chicago Fire PDL team is in Madison Tuesday night
for a second round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup clash with the NPSL’s Madison
56ers, the Fire first team will watch intently to find out their third round
opponent Tuesday night as USL Pro sides Harrisburg City Islanders and Rochester
Rhinos clash at Skyline Sports Complex in Harrisburg, PA at 6pm CT.
If the hosts win, the Fire will welcome the City Islanders
to Toyota Park next Tuesday, June 28. If Rochester comes away from the match
victorious, the Fire will travel to upstate New York for the third round
encounter on the same day.
Ties to the Fire
Harrisburg has former Fire draftees, midfielder Drew Yates
(2010) and striker Jason Herrick (2011), while another striker Jordan Seabrook
was also in preseason training camp with the Fire this year.
Rochester striker JC Banks (son of 1990 U.S. World Cup
player Jimmy Banks) was a member of the 2010 Fire PDL roster.
Matchups
Tuesday night’s all USL-PRO second round matchup features
the top two team’s in the league’s National Division. Visiting Rochester sits
on top of the six-team group with a 6-4-3 record (21 points) while hosts
Harrisburg are four points behind (5-4-2; 17 points) with two games in hand on
the division leaders.
The match is the third meeting between the two sides this
season, with both teams taking 1-0 victories in their home matches: Harrisburg
on May 10, Rochester on June 5.
Harrisburg is paced by leading scorer, Colombian striker
Jose Angulo, whose six goals is good enough for third place in the USL-Pro goal
scoring table, while Rochester has done a much better job of spreading the goal
scoring duties around as 24-year-old striker Andrew Hoxie leads the team with
just three goals.
A possible Toyota Park fixture next Tuesday would be the
first meeting between the Fire and Harrisburg City Islanders since the side
joined USL in 2004.
In the case of a Rochester victory, a trip to upstate New
York next Tuesday would be the fourth meeting between the Fire and Rhinos since
the teams first met in Rochester’s 1999 upset run to the title. The Rhinos
defeated the Fire 1-0 in the Round of 16 that year and are 1-0-2 against the
MLS side all-time, in results that include a 1-1 friendly draw in 2004 and a
5-4 Fire Open Cup shootout win in 2005.
A video stream of Tuesday night’s match will be available
via www.usllive.com beginning at 6pm CT.
Jeff Crandall is the
Team Writer for the Chicago Fire. Follow him on Twitter @JefeCrandall.
