As part of the recurring feature "10 Questions with…" here at Daddy’s Sugar Ball we will be interviewing sports figures and teams with connections to the local Central PA area. Please check out our past interviews here.

This week we are very grateful to have a discussion with Harrisburg City Islanders’ Head Coach Bill Becher.  Coach Becher has been a part of the Central PA soccer community since 1991 and has played for many MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League) teams including the Harrisburg Heat and the Hershey Impact.  Coach Becher has had a very successful stint as head coach of Harrisburg City since 2004.  Missing the playoffs just once and delivering a championship in 2007.  Read his full and extensive resume here.

              
                                                     Photo courtesy of Michael Fernandez, The Patriot-News

This interview took place yesterday afternoon just hours before the City Islanders took to the pitch against the MLS New England Revolution in a US Open Cup game in New Britain, Connecticut.  The City Islanders came from behind, down 1-nil, to beat the Revolution 2-1 in OT avenging a 2007 Open Cup loss in the quarterfinals.  As you will read in the interview this is the second upset for Coach Becher and the Islanders over a MLS powerhouse during the US Open Cup.

DSB: Your team is 7-3-2 and at the top of the standings…how do you feel about your record thus far in the season and has the team met your expectations?

Coach Becher (CB): Well we’re off to our best start ever here.  We’re pleased with the way things are going and happy to be at the top of the league but at the same time we know there are a lot of games left and we have to keep focused and working hard to make sure we stay on top.

DSB: What does your team need to do as you work through the second half of the season with five of your next six games at home?

CB: We’ve been very good at home this year.  We’ve been 5-0 and we’ve outscored teams 16 to 1.  We’ve made Skyline (Sports Complex) a tough place for teams to come in which is very important.  Anytime in any league you’re in if you want to make the playoffs and do well you have to take care of your home games.  This is the first year we’ve really done well at home and so far this year we’ve made it very difficult for visiting teams.

DSB: Your 2007 championship run has been attributed to having a stifling defense.  This year your team has scored three or more goals eight times.  Is this a team based on firepower and goal scoring and what acquisitions benefited in that shift?

CB: I think we have a little better balance.  I think potentially we’re very good.  Chase (Harrison) has done a great job in goal and so has Tomer (Chencinski) when’s he played.  Our back four has been very solid.  Unlike in 2007 where we did struggle at times to score goals, this year it hasn’t been an issue.  We have a handful of guys that can put the ball in the net and we’re not relying on just one or two guys to do it which I think is very important.  Our midfield play has also been very good and as a team we’re a little bit better than we were in 2007 but that doesn’t guarantee we get the same results as we did in 2007.  But I think our talent level is better right now.

We got Chad (Severs) back who was our leading scorer in 2005.  He’s come back and been scoring goals and that was a help.  T (Tiyiselani Shipalane) has come in as a young player and made an immediate impact in the league.  He’s got some unique abilities - he goes at people very well, he’s got good speed and quickness.  Not only is he scoring goals, but he’s setting goals up.  He’s been a big help and a big find.  I guess those two are the biggest guys that we’ve brought in that have helped us in the attack.

DSB: Chad Severs is the team’s leading goal scorer with 7.  Is Severs having an even better year than he did as a rookie for the Islanders and what has he done to improve his game since 2005?

CB: I don’t know if he’s been any better than he was that year.  But he’s pretty crafty around the goal.  He puts himself in good spots.  He has confidence in his teammates and knows that they’ll find him and he’s been able to put away chances.  In 2005, he was very good for us but he just had a lot work to do to get his goals with the team that year.  I just think he came back here and found his comfort level here in Harrisburg.

DSB: You are playing the New England Revolution tonight…what do you need to do to win this game as you hope to advance in the US Open Cup?  What is different in preparing to play the Revolution compared to your typical USL-2 foes?

CB: We have to come into the game and play with confidence.  We’re playing a team that’s in a higher division.  They’re supposed to be better than us.  I think we have to take it like another game just like we did against DC United in 2007. We have to go in there knowing that if we play well, we can win the game.  I think we’re going to have to be very sound defensively.  These kinds of teams can be tough to put 3-4 goals in the net.  I think the game is going to need to be 1-0 or 2-0.  I don’t think we’re going to get a ton of goals.

I don’t think there’s any difference in the preparation.  I think it’s more of a mental challenge.  Mentally challenging the guys and making them believe that they can win the game and that we’re good enough to compete at this level which we know we are.  It doesn’t take much for me to convince them of that.  This team is pretty confident.  I know that they are excited about this opportunity.

DSB: The Richmond Kickers (the team you beat in 2007 to take the USL-2 Championship) beat you guys 5-nil at the beginning of June.  You have a chance to exact revenge on July 26th.  Does this team represent a rivalry for the Islanders?

CB: I think we have developed somewhat of a rivalry with Richmond.  They’re a good team.  They came down from the First Division and won a Championship and then we knocked them out the next year in the Championship.  Before they beat us 5-0, we had gone 4 or 5 games in a row without losing to them.  I don’t think there’s any doubt there’s a bit of a rivalry there and they’ll continue to be one.  We obviously weren’t happy about losing 5-0 but it counts the same and didn’t hurt us anymore in the standings if we had lost 1-0.

DSB: Going back to the 2007 Championship game, what is it like going through 15 penalty kicks from the mark to settle a Championship Game like you did in 2007 against the Kickers?

CB: It was very, very nerve wracking.  Basically sitting on the bench helpless - well, I wasn’t sitting.  I was pacing the whole time just wishing, hoping, and praying that somehow we would come out with the win.  I thought that we had outplayed them and were deserving of the Championship.  You just don’t know with penalty kicks where anything can happen.  Fortunately for us, we were able to win that game.

DSB: Soccer is known for its rabidly devoted fans.  How has the fan support been for the Islanders as you progress through the season?

CB: It’s been very good and it has been since Day 1.  Each season it seems to be getting better.  There’s more of an awareness of us and I think to win the Championship and beat DC United have helped legitimize us a little bit and make people believers in us.

DSB: Over the past five years the Islanders have had two Quarterfinals and one Semifinals appearance to go along with your Championship win and have set the bar high.  Does that mean that anything short of a Championship this year would be an underachievement?

CB: That’s our goal obviously – to win the championship.  I wouldn’t say underachievement.  If we don’t win, I’ll be disappointed.  I think we have a team that is more than capable of winning it and if we’re healthy and play the way we’re capable of playing we feel like we’re going to win it.

DSB: A quick look at the roster shows that nine of your players are what I would call local talent especially given the international nature of professional soccer.  What does having players from this region do for your team and how does it help them transition to playing on a professional level?
 

CB: It’s great having players from the Harrisburg area on our roster.  One thing that’s great about this year is not only do we have players on the roster from the area, but we have four players that are starting and contributing greatly to the team.  That speaks volumes about the area and what professional soccer has meant to this area and the youth.  Kids are going on and playing in college and playing professionally.  The number of players who have played for the Impact, the Heat, the Wildcats, and the Islanders says a lot about the coaching we have in this area.

Needless to say we are very grateful to Coach Becher and also to the Front Office of the City Islanders for helping us arrange this interview.  Extra thanks to Coach for talking with us while he was in the final hours of preparation for the U.S. Open Cup game against the Revolution.  He answered all of our questions and was incredibly patient; we really can’t thank him enough. Congratulations on another big win and good luck in the second half of the season. 

Be sure to check out the City Islanders’ home page and if you are a soccer fan support your local pro team.  They have several home games coming up and this is a quality product that is being put on the field for a fair price. Tickets start at just $7 (Cheap!) and can be had via the team’s homepage or by calling (717) 441-GOAL. 

Thanks for coming and suckling on Daddy’s Sugar Ball...