The 2017 season was the Harrisburg City Islanders's 14th season of competitive soccer - its first in the second division of American soccer, and its seventh season in the United Soccer League.
This was the club's final season under its original name, with the club renamed Penn FC (in full, Penn Football Club) shortly after the end of the season.
Review For the 2017 season, the City Islanders played all their home matches at FNB Field rather than splitting time between Harrisburg and Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster. This decision was made to focus on marketing the team more intently in Harrisburg area.
The 2017 season marked the first time the City Islanders competed in the second division of American soccer after USL was granted provisional Division II status.
The season would also kick off under new majority ownership joined by George Altirs of Capelli Sports. The new ownership has intended to invest in the club to keep up with the growing league and keep the team in Harrisburg. Despite additional investment and club connections to Ghanaian club, International Allies F.C., the City Islanders failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
At the conclusion of the season, it was announced that the Harrisburg City Islanders would be re-branded as Penn FC for the 2018 season marking the end of the "City Islanders" name after 14 seasons.
Roster No.PositionNationPlayer Updated as of July 21, 2017.
Transfers
In DatePlayerNumberPositionPrevious clubFee/notesFebruary 23, 2017 Lee Nishanian 15 DF LA Galaxy II Free; 1-year contractFebruary 24, 2017 Chris Hill 20 DF Villanova Wildcats SignedMarch 1, 2017 Jonny Mendoza 9 MF Orlando City B SignedMarch 2, 2017 Travis Brent 4 DF Almere City FC SignedMarch 9, 2017 Brandon Miller 33 GK Orange County Blues SignedMarch 16, 2017 John Grosh 22 MF Drexel University SignedMarch 16, 2017 Mike Olla 13 FW Montclair State University SignedMarch 16, 2017 Jake Bond 16 DF Saint Louis FC SignedMarch 16, 2017 Griffin Libhart 2 DF West Virginia University SignedMarch 21, 2017 Manolo Sanchez 7 MF San Antonio FC SignedMarch 21, 2017 Rasheed Olabiyi 12 MF Houston Dynamo SignedMarch 23, 2017 Tiago Calvano 5 DF Minnesota United FC SignedMarch 23, 2017 Sean Lewis 21 GK Jacksonville Armada SignedApril 14, 2017 Pedro Ribeiro 30 FW Orlando City SC SignedJuly 21, 2017 Jason Plumhoff 6 FW Indy Eleven Signed
Out DatePlayerNumberPositionNew clubFee/notesNovember 12, 2016 Keasel Broome 30 GK Pittsburgh Riverhounds UndisclosedNovember 23, 2016 Shane Campbell 2 DF Pittsburgh Riverhounds UndisclosedDecember 5, 2016 Liam Doyle 16 DF Swope Park Rangers TransferJanuary 1, 2017 Craig Foster 22 FW FC Reno Free TransferJanuary 26, 2017 Jose Barril 8 MF Oklahoma City Energy FC TransferFebruary 20, 2017 Garret Pettis 9 FW RetiredFebruary 28, 2017 Cameron Vickers 77 FW Reno 1868 FC Undisclosed
Loan in DatePlayerNumberPositionLoaned fromFee/notesMarch 23, 2017 Abass Mohamed 18 DF International Allies F.C. SignedMarch 23, 2017 Ropapa Mensah 25 FW International Allies F.C. SignedMay 5, 2017 Fredrick Yamoah Opoku 60 FW International Allies F.C. Signed
Competitions
Preseason
USL
Standings (Eastern Conference)
Results All times in Eastern Time.
2017 Harrisburg City Islanders Regular Season Schedule
Results summary
U.S. Open Cup
The City Islanders competed in the 2017 edition of the U.S. Open Cup, entering the competition in the second round. They were eliminated in the fourth round to the Philadelphia Union for the second consecutive year.
All times in Eastern Time.
Statistics As of December 3, 2017. + Players included in matchday squadsNo.Pos.Nat.NameLeaguePlayoffsCupTotalDisciplineAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals2DFGriffin Libhart00001010004DFTravis Brent2100020230005DFTiago Calvano26100002611107FWManolo Sanchez1020010112008MFMouhamed Dabo2100030240609MFJonny Mendoza23200212531010MFPaul Wilson28300102933011FWAaron Wheeler14200101521012MFRasheed Olabiyi27100202914013FWMike Olla12000101300014MFDanny DiPrima23100312621015DFLee Nishanian25100302814116DFJake Bond14200321741017DFJamie Thomas20000302307118DFAbass Mohamed20000302307119MFCardel Benbow21100102212020DFChris Hill100000100022DFJohn Grosh21000202303023DFShawn McLaws27000303005025FWRopapa Mensah19700001976030FWPedro Ribeiro19300302235060FWFredrick Opoku150001016020 Total 31 71 2
Players with names struck through and marked left the club during the playing season. Players with names in italics were loaned players. Players with names marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Harrisburg. League denotes USL regular season Playoffs denotes USL playoffs
Goalkeepers
League Stats As of December 3, 2017. + Players included in matchday squadsNat.No.PlayerAppsStartsRecordGAGAASO 1 Nick Noble 1 1 0-1-0 3 3.000 1 0 21 Sean Lewis 6 6 2-3-1 9 1.502 0 0 33 Brandon Miller 25 25 9-11-5 35 1.40 7 1 1 Total 11–15–6 47 1.47 9 2 1 Record: W-L-D
U.S. Open Cup Stats As of June 24, 2017. + Players included in matchday squadsNat.No.PlayerAppsStartsRecordGAGAASO 1 Nick Noble 0 0 0-0-0 0 0.000 0 0 21 Sean Lewis 2 2 1-1-0 3 1.501 0 0 33 Brandon Miller 1 1 1-0-0 0 0.001 0 0 Total 2–1–0 3 1.00 0 0 0 Record: W-L-D
Honors
Week 9 Team of the Week: Honorable Mention M Rasheed Olabiyi Week 14 Team of the Week: Honorable Mention F Pedro Ribeiro Week 15 Player of the Week: F Pedro Ribeiro Week 17 Team of the Week: G Brandon Miller and M Mouhamed Dabo Honorable Mention M Ropapa Mensah Week 17 Goal of the Week: M Ropapa Mensah Week 18 Team of the Week: Honorable Mention G Brandon Miller
References