Danté Leverock and his Harrisburg City Islanders team-mates breathed a collective sigh of relief after arresting their nine-game losing streak.

Harrisburg returned to winning ways for the first time since May 24 with a 2-1 victory against heated rivals Pittsburgh Riverhounds at the Highmark Stadium last weekend.

Leverock, who was named man of the match, scored his side’s opening goal with a far-post header from a corner kick in the 28th minute to give his side the lead.

The 24-year-old defender said his goal-scoring performance in his team’s much-needed victory had given him a real lift.

“It’s been tough,” Leverock said. “Not winning games is never a nice feeling so ending the winless streak is a big confidence boost for the team.

“It’s a confidence boost for the team and also for me. To score a goal and win man of the match has really given me the boost I needed.”

Leverock, who played for Bermuda in the Scotiabank Caribbean campaign, hopes the win against Riverhounds will be the catalyst Harrisburg need to turn their season around.

“We’re just taking one game at a time and trying to play well to pick up some points to finish the season on a good note,” he said.

“We’ve had to stay positive and keep working hard on the training ground and to get that win against our rivals was great.”

Having missed several games in the United Soccer Leagues Easter Conference while on Bermuda duty, Leverock lost his first-team place and had to wait patiently to regain his spot.

“I always want to represent my country and it’s always an honour to put on the Bermuda shirt,” Leverock said.

“However, travelling and missing so many games for my club team definitely affected my season.

“I’ve had to work hard to get my spot back and help the team where I can. Dealing with this has made me more of a mature player.

“My aim now is to help the team be successful and individually put in some more good performance until the end of the season.”

Harrisburg, who came close to reaching the play-offs last season, are twelfth in the table with ten games remaining.