The Harrisburg City Islanders, a United Soccer Leagues (USL) PRO level affiliate of the Philadelphia Union, managed to overcome great odds to secure a place in the USL PRO Final, by beating the Rochester Rhinos in the National Division Final 2-1.

Stephen Basso scored in the sixth minute to give the Islanders an 1-0 lead, aided by a Rhino defender who deflected the shot. The goal was from between 25 and 35 yards out, based on conflicting reports from the USL Live Match Tracker and the Rhino's press release on the game.

Both teams went down to ten men, as the Islander's Andrew Marshall and the Rhinos Tony Donatelli were sent off in the 27th minute. The Islanders then took advantage of some poor defensive play, as David Schofield made room for himself in the box and deflected the ball off of the diving Neal Kitson to give Harrisburg City a 2-0 lead.

Shortly thereafter, Brian Ombiji saw red as well, putting the Islanders down to 9 men and allowing Rochester to pull within one on Isaac Kissi's 45th minute goal. Harrisburg City head coach Bill Becher was ejected during the half.

Despite being down a man, 10 to 9, the Islanders survived the second half and captured a birth in the USL Finals with a final score of 2-1 over Rochester. 

The first home game of the season for Reading United AC mirrored the Philadelphia Union's home opener this year, as the team won and was aided by the opposing team receiving a red card.

Using their man advantage, Reading United scored four goals against a hapless New Jersey Rangers squad. New Jersey defender Alex Brito went studs up into United forward Tyler Witmer during the first half, after the United had already scored one goal from the boot of David Rodriguez.

Beginning in the 50th minute, Reading went on a tear in the second half. Penn State transfer Hasani Sinclair assisted on Matt Baker's goal, along assisting on the other three that Reading scored against the Rangers. Christian Barrerio and Lasse Sohrweide finished off the scoring for Reading in the 55th and 71st minutes, respectively.

Last year the United beat the Rangers 7-0 away and 4-2 at home. The Rangers are currently on an 11 game losing streak and have been outscored 38-7 during it.

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Adding to an already locally impressive friendlies list that consists of the Philadelphia Union and fellow Union affiliate team the Harrisbug City Islanders, Reading United AC announced yesterday that the New York Cosmos and USMNT under-17 team will come to town.

The under-23 Cosmos joined the Player Development League for the 2012 season. It will be the first time in over 25 years that a Cosmos professional team will play a game. A Reading United team official who talked to the Brotherly Game about the friendly was excited to have the Cosmos as a possible new rival in the Northeast.

The other friendly will feature the USMNT under-17 side, which was recently the home of Union Home Grown Player Zach Pfeffer for a tournament in France. The Union managed a draw against the under-17s during their 2011 preseason tour.

For more on Reading United AC, visit the team's website by clicking the linked text here.

Princeton striker Matt Sanner did his best Sebastien Le Toux impersonation, as the young forward scored a hat trick to lead the Reading United AC,  the Philadelphia Union's Player Development League team,  to a 3-1 win over the Brooklyn Knights.

Here's information on the team's upcoming fixtures, per the team:

The United return home on Sunday, May 15th at 6:00pm for their home opener at Exeter's Don Thomas Stadium to face rival New Jersey Rangers. Later in the month, the United will then play a pair of professional friendlies against the USL PRO Harrisburg City Islanders and the Philadelphia Union of the MLS. Harrisburg visits on May 24th at 7:00pm, while Philadelphia takes a trip up the Turnpike on May 31st at 7:30pm.

For more about Reading United, head to www.readingunitedac.com.

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The Philadelphia Union's Player Development League affiliate team has spent plenty of time in the last couple of years near the top of the PDL standings. Now the Reading United AC looks to build upon their past successes with a boost by a strong 2011 recruiting class.

"The recruiting class brought in by Brendan Burke is absolutely top notch. We have enough talent on this team to field two superb PDL teams, let alone one," a team official told the Brotherly Game.

"We had four players drafted into the MLS last year, with another signed as a homegrown player. Philadelphia Union and Reading United fans can expect more of the same from the players we're bringing in for the 2011 season. We're talking quite a few 1st and 2nd round picks, and possibly a dozen of these players playing professionally."

Here's the list of this season's recruiting class: Matt Hedges, Raymon Gaddis, Kirk Urso, Brian Span, Sam Garza and Stephen Okai.

After the jump, more quotes from the team about the players that were brought in for this season...

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