HARRISBURG, Penn. (Saturday, June 8, 2013) – Powered by a Kevin Harbottle hat trick, the Colorado Rapids Reserves defeated the Harrisburg City Islanders 3-1 at the Skyline Sports Complex in Pennsylvania on Saturday night. Harrisburg scored first, going up 1-0 in the first half from a Morgan Langley goal, but Harbottle responded with three unassisted goals in a 15-minute span to lead the Reserves to victory.
The Rapids had several chances in the first half, outshooting the hosts 7-2 by halftime, but gave up the lead in the 42nd minute when Langley headed in a cross from close range. In the second half, though, the floodgates opened for Harbottle who struck first in the 75th minute, driving in a ball from distance. He found the net again in the 85nd minute on a close-range rebound from Germán Mera’s shot, and then for the third time just four minutes later on a breakaway with the keeper, sending the Rapids home with a 3-1 victory.
Midfielder Jaime Castrillón entered the match for an injured Brenton Griffiths (right shoulder dislocation) in the 33rd minute, playing his first competitive minutes since undergoing knee surgery during the offseason. Goalkeeper Andrew Epstein also became the first Academy goalkeeper to play for the Rapids Reserves. The victory brought the reserves to a 2-4-1 record in the West division. Their next match is July 21 against Seattle Sounders FC at 2 p.m. at the Starfire Sports Complex.
COLORADO RAPIDS RESERVES 3:1 HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS
June 8, 2013 – Skyline Sports Complex, Harrisburg, Penn.
Scoring Summary: [None]
HCI – Morgan Langley (Tom Mellor) 42’
COL – Kevin Harbottle (unassisted) 75’
COL – Kevin Harbottle (unassisted) 85’
COL – Kevin Harbottle (unassisted) 89’
Rapids Reserves lineup: Andrew Epstein, Davy Armstrong (Alex Braman 82’), Germán Mera, Brenton Griffiths (Jaime Castrillón 33’), Kory Kindle, Tony Cascio (Bryan Windsor* 89’), Nick LaBrocca, Anthony Wallace, Kamani Hill (Ricardo Perez* 89’), Kevin Harbottle, Danny Mwanga.
Substitutes not used: Brad Holub
Head Coach: Wilmer Cabrera
Rapids Academy Player
Harrisburg City Islanders lineup: Nicholas Noble, Stephen Basso, Greg Jordan (Matthew Bahner 88’), Coady Andrews, Colin Zizzi, Jason Pelletier, Andrew Ribeiro, Yann Ekra (Jamiel Hardware 73’), Tom Mellor (Luckymore Mkosana 46’), Morgan Langley (James McLaughlin 82’), Sainey Touray.
Substitutes not used: Brian Sylvestre,Christhian Hernandez.
Head Coach: Bill Becher
Disciplinary Summary:
COL – Davy Armstrong (caution) 45’
COL – Danny Mwanga (caution) 90’
