HARRISBURG, Pa. — No team in our region has been waiting longer to return to action than the Harrisburg Heat.
It's been one thousand and nine days and counting since the MASL team competed on the soccer pitch.
That's a whopping 21 months.
Harrisburg was one game back of a playoff spot in March of 2020 when COVID ruined everything. Since then, the Heat players found ways to keep soccer in their lives, but finally getting the band back together for the team's 30th year is a welcome sight to see.
"A lot of us coach youth teams and hearing their stories about how much they wanted to play, it was tough over that stretch of time and it was the same exact thing for us," recalled Heat midfielder Danny DiPrima. "So we've had a bit of time off, which has been difficult, but now getting back into it has been a breath of fresh air."
Something different for the Heat this year is the move to the Equine Arena inside the Farm Show Complex. Fans will be closer to the action and players will feed off that and respond.
"It's a closer feel. It's going to be a high-energy-feel on Saturday night," said Heat defender Brad Kerstetter. "Crowd presence does so much for team energy and being able to push us. Say it's a close game in the fourth quarter, a good crowd presence makes all the difference."
Harrisburg's only home game in 2021 is this Saturday night against Utica City at 7:05PM. If you miss that one, you'll be waiting until the end of January 2022 to see the Heat back at home.