Matthew Nelson

2008 Third Round: Who needs wings? Crystal Palace Baltimore stuns Red Bulls

July 1, 2008 by

Crystal Palace Baltimore pulled off the surprise of the Third Round, ousting the New York Red Bulls 2-0 at Lawrence E. Knight Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

Palace netted their first goal of the evening after seventeen minutes. A Bryan Harkin corner kick was headed in by Andrew Marshall past goalkeeper Zach Thornton to give the underdogs a 1-0 lead. The Red Bulls had a seemingly easy opportunity to tie the game shortly after. New York was awarded a free kick from seven yards out when CPB goalkeeper Matt Nelson handled a back pass. Mike Magee took the free kick, but his shot was blocked by one of the many Baltimore players defending the play.

Palace were forced to play the final 56 minutes with ten men, when Ibrahim Kante was shown a straight red for a dangerous two-footed tackle on Chris Megaloudis in the 34th minute. In all, six yellows and two red cards were issued by referee Andrew Chapin.

After Matthew Mbuta nearly doubled Palace’s lead with a shot that struck the goalpost, Gary Brooks sealed the Red Bulls’ fate in the 75th minute. Brooks put in a low cross from Paul Robson to give the home side a 2-0 lead and it would be enough to book them a trip to the Quarterfinals.

Palace will visit defending US Open Champions New England Revolution in New Britain, Conn. next Tuesday, as Palace attempt to replicate their parent club’s run to the FA Cup Final in 1990.

Lineups

Crystal Palace Baltimore — Matt Nelson, Shintaro Harada, Ibrahim Kante, Paul Robson, Andrew Marshall, Pat Healey, Bryan Harkin (Mike Lookingland 60), Dan Lader, Larry Mark (Sergio Flores 88), Gary Brooks (Val Teixeira 79), Matthew Mbuta.

Substitutes Not Used: David Feazell, Cecil Lewis, Carlos Morales, Brian Rowland

New York Red Bulls — Zach Thornton, Chris Leitch (Sinisa Ubiparipovic 46), Kevin Goldthwaite, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, John Gilkerson (Andrew Boyens 46), Luke Sassano, Gordon Kljestan (John Wolyniec 46), Mike Magee, Danleigh Borman (David Roth 63), Chris Megaloudis,

Substitutes Not Used: Hunter Freeman, Caleb Patterson-Sewell, Ricky Schramm

New York Red Bulls Crystal Palace Baltimore
total shots: 6 (Mike Magee 2) 5 (Gary Brooks 3)
shots on goal: 0 3 (3 tied with 1)
fouls: 2 (Danleigh Borman 1,
Kevin Goldthwaite 1) 5 (Gary Brooks 2)
offsides: 0 1 (Gary Brooks 1)
corner kicks: 2 (Danleigh Borman 2) 1 (Andrew Marshall 1)
saves: 1 (Zach Thornton 1) 0

Misconduct Summary:
BAL — Larry Mark (caution; Reckless Foul) 21
BAL — Bryan Harkin (caution; Dissent) 26
NY — Mike Magee (caution; Dissent) 26
BAL — Gary Brooks (caution; Dissent) 30
BAL — Ibrahim Kante (caution; Dissent) 30
BAL — Ibrahim Kante (ejection; Serious Foul Play) 34
BAL — Matthew Mbuta (caution; Delaying a Restart) 44
NY — Mike Magee (ejection; Second Caution) 92+

referee: Andrew Chapin
Referee’s Assistants: Bryan Roland; Rod Harnage
4th official: Jim Sadowsi
time of game: 1:54
attendance: 1,654
weather: Cloudy -and- 78 degrees

2008 Second Round: Matt Nelson knocks out old team as Crystal Palace tops Harrisburg in shootout

June 24, 2008 by

Former City Islander goalkeeper Matt Nelson came back to haunt his old club, saving three of Harrisburg’s four penalty kicks in the shootout tiebreaker to advance Crystal Palace Baltimore to the Third Round of the US Open Cup.

Crystal Palace jumped to an early 1-0 lead on Kevin King’s 10th minute goal, but the lead did not last long. Anthony Calvano leveled the contest a 1-1 in the 24th minute thanks to a David Schofield assist. Just a few moments later, the City Islanders gained a man advantage when King was sent off for striking Calvano. The match remained at 1-1 through halftime, and in the second half, two more red cards were issued. The first was to Baltimore co-Manager Pete Medd, who was dismissed in the 56th minute. Shortly after, the numbers on the playing field were evened when Harrisburg’s Brian Ombiji was sent off for stepping on a Palace defender in the 63rd minute.

In extra time, Baltimore took the lead once again as the first extra session was coming to an end with Matthew Mbuta scoring on a Val Teixeira assist. Just as the game looked to finish a 2-1, Harrisburg was awarded a penalty in the final minute of extra time. Yu Hoshide stepped up and converted the spot kick to send the match to penalties.

Once in the penalty shootout, it was Nelson’s turn to shine. After Harrisburg counterpart Brian Pope saved Michael Lookingland’s penalty attempt, Nelson gained revenge on Hoshide by saving his shot. After Ibrahim Kante (CPB) and Brian Devlin (HCI) converted the next round of shots, fortunes seemed to turn Harrisburg’s way when Cecil Lewis missed his chance. Nelson came to the rescue again as he saved Brett Wiesner’s shot to keep the PK score 1-1. After Patrick Healey scored for Palace. Nelson stepped up again with a save on Adam Clay’s shot. Val Teixeira put the nail in the coffin with the final penalty, putting the result out of reach for Harrisburg.

Crystal Palace will host the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer next Tuesday in the Third Round.

2007 US Open Cup Quarterfinals: Revolution survive late scare, hold off City Islanders 2-1

August 8, 2007 by Josh Hakala

Taylor Twellman of the New England Revolution scores a 17th minute goal past Harrisburg City Islanders goalkeeper Matt Nelson in a 2007 US Open Cup Quarterfinal match at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Photo: Tony Biscaia

The New England Revolution returned to the US Open Cup Semifinals for the first time since 2001 with a 2-1 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders.

Andy Dorman and Taylor Twellman each scored early first half goals, but the underdogs from the USL Second Division would make it interesting in the final 15 minutes.

Bucking the trend of past years, the Revolution came out with a first rate lineup and it showed early in the game. Shalrie Joseph’s pass found Dorman in the box at close range, and he gave the home side the 1-0 lead just four minutes into the contest.

Less than 15 minutes later, Pat Noonan’s cross found the foot of Twellman to double their lead. New England controlled the majority of the play, but Harrisburg kept it close and refused to allow a third goal.

The Revs missed a handful of chances, including a Twellman header that was destined for the back of the net, but Harrisburg midfielder David Schofield cleared the ball off the line.

The Revolution, in front of a rather scarse crowd at Gillette Stadium (officially announced as 1,512), seemed to put the game into cruise control until the 78th minute. Matt Tanzini came off the bench as a second half substitute for the City Islanders and launched a 30-yard free kick into the upper corner of the goal, leaving New England goalkeeper Matt Reis with no chance of making the save.

However, any momentum that shifted toward the underdogs for the final 12 minutes was dashed in the 90th when Harrisburg’s Anthony Calvano was shown a straight red card for recklessly colliding with Reis. After that, the Revs were able to kill the clock and close out the game.

The Revolution will move on to the Semifinals where they will host the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division on Sept. 4. The last time New England reached the final four was in 2001 when they finished as the tournament runner-up, falling to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the championship game.

Scoring Summary
NER – Andy Dorman (Joseph) – 4th
NER – Taylor Twellman (Noonan) – 17th
HAR – Matt Tanzini (unassisted) – 78th

2007 Third Round: City Islanders upset DC United in ‘Clash of the Capitals’

July 11, 2007 by

Steve Fisher will go down in the annals of Harrisburg City Islanders history as the man who gave the club their first victory over a Major League Soccer club. His goal in the 44th minute off a David Schofield corner kick that was the difference in Harrisburg’s 1-0 victory over DC United at Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pa. It was the first time that DC United had fallen to a Second Division side in the Open Cup, and only the third time that they have lost to a USL club at any level.

The 1996 US Open Cup champions fought valiantly in the second half, but a stalwart defense and the sure hands of Matt Nelson protected the lead and moved the City Islanders into the Quarterfinals in their first Open Cup appearance.

The match was the third meeting between the two clubs, but the first one that counted. United won the previous two games that were both exhibitions (billed as “The Clash of the Capitals”).

Their reward for the win is a road match with the New England Revolution. The good news is that they won’t have to travel all the way to Foxboro, because the Revs are hosting the next round at Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Mass. — the home of the Western Mass Pioneers.

2007 Second Round: City Islanders survive wild night at The Beach House, edge PDL Barons 2-1

June 26, 2007 by

When the final whistle blew, nearly all of the 1,019 fans in attendance at Carey Stadium (“The Beach House”) were on their feet, paying tribute to one of the most entertaining games in club history. In the end, the Ocean City Barons fell short, 2-1 to the USL Second Division’s Harrisburg City Islanders in an exciting US Open Cup match featuring end-to-end play and exceptional goalkeeping. David Schofield scored the game-winning goal just after halftime and the City Islander defense survived a frantic second half to secure a home game against DC United of Major League Soccer in the Third Round.

Both goalkeepers came up big for their respective teams. Former Baron Matt Nelson made seven saves for Harrisburg, including a jaw-dropping diving save in the 64th minute to secure the win. Adam Edwards made 15 stops for the home side in the losing effort.

Both teams created several near chances in the first half, but it would be the Barons to strike first. The Barons were on the move up the left wing, and the ball found it’s way toward the middle of the field. The pass was played across to a streaking Leon Brown, who fired a shot on goal which was saved by Nelson. However, the goalkeeper batted the ball into the air, deflecting it off the under side of the cross bar and down into the goal.

The fans were still celebrating when Harrisburg raced back into Baron territory to earn a corner kick. After the ball was cleared by the back line, Brian Ombiji sent the ball back into the fray and Chad Severs received the pass in the box, then turned and slipped it past Edwards to pull the game level at 1-1.

Harrisburg nearly added a second goal before the break when Anthony Calvano sent in a cross from the left wing which found Ombiji at the far post. Ombiji connected, but Edwards was quick to cover, making a kick save to keep the game level.

After the halftime break, Harrisburg carried on the momentum, moving the play up the left wing. Ombijii and Severs showed some nice combination play in the left corner, but it was Severs who dribbled toward the middle and played a ball across to Schofield who buried it to put the City Islanders up 2-1.

The Barons saw their best chance of the game pass them by in the 64th minute. One minute earlier, Lee Catchpole entered the game, replacing Kyle Evans on the left wing. Rob Youhill, who made his first start of the season, created space along the touch line, broke into the box and found Catchpole all by himself at the far post, six yards from goal. The pass came across the mouth of the goal, and Nelson sprinted from one post to the other and dove down to the ground and got just enough of a hand on the ball to push it past the post for a corner kick.

On the ensuing corner kick, Sean Boyle delivered a ball into the center of the box which was cleared out to the top of the 18. It was there when Adam Sternberger blasted a volley, much like Benny Feilhaber’s goal for the United States against Mexico in the Gold Cup Final, except he pushed the shot inches over the crossbar.

A few minutes later, the Barons threatened again with a corner kick from Boyle, delivering it to the far post where the ball was brought down and shot from close range, only to be saved off the line by Schofield. In the 70th minute, another Barons free kick was delivered into the penalty area and the ball found its way to Catchpole in nearly the same position, but he was denied again, this time by a defender in front who cleared it off the line.

Two minutes later, Brown nearly equalized. Sternberger fed the ball to Byron Carmichael in the middle of the field who hit a one-time pass to the right wing where Brown was streaking in just like he did for the opening goal, but this time Nelson came off his line to cut off the angle and made the save.

The Barons saved a ball of their own off the line when Harrisburg earned a corner kick in the 81st minute. Sternberger was positioned at the far post, when the ball was sent into the center of the penalty area and headed toward goal. The Rutgers player stood his ground and kept it off the line, giving Edwards a chance to secure it.

The Barons would continue to threaten to the very end, but the City Islanders’ defense would hold strong and punch their ticket to the Third Round.

Scoring
(OCB) Leon Brown 42’
(HCI) Chad Severs 44’
(HCI) David Schofield 48’