Riverhounds battle Rowdies to a tie, visit Miami FC Saturday
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds will play their second consecutive match against a Florida opponent when they travel to Miami to take on Miami FC at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5.
In their first meeting of the season, the Hounds defeated Miami 2-0 on May 30 in Pittsburgh. Miami sits in the middle of the pack – eighth place -- in the USL Eastern Conference with a 5-10-7 record, but the team’s leading scorer, J. Locadia, is tied for fifth in the league in goals with eight.
In comparison, the Riverhounds’ leading scorers are Albert Dikwa and Trevor Amann, each with six goals on the season and tied for seventh in the USL.
It’s never an easy task to play back-to-back games against first-place teams, but the Hounds experienced such a scenario and weathered the storm. Last Wednesday, Pittsburgh battled the El Paso Locomotives, the Western Conference leader, and came within minutes of pulling out a draw.
A late goal by El Paso in stoppage time took away the effort in a 2-1 loss. This past Saturday, Pittsburgh was faced with the task of playing against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who are not only the Eastern Conference leader, but also the top team in the USL. The Hounds fought their way to 0-0 draw and earned a point in the process.
The first half was filled with physical play and some offensive opportunities on both sides. Eliot Goldthorp almost put the Hounds on the board at the five-minute mark when he had a good opportunity within the box that was headed away at the last second by Rowdies defender Ethan Bartlow.
On the other end, goalkeeper Nico Campuzano made a good save on a shot by former Hound Nate Dossantos, which was one of only two shots that he faced in the evening. Goldthorp had another chance to open the scoring late in the first half, but his attempt careened over the net and the match was still scoreless at the break.
The second half continued to be physical with infractions on both sides. Pittsburgh coach Rob Vincent was ejected from the match by leaving the technical area to protest a challenge. The best scoring chance on both sides was by the Hounds’ Amann off a corner kick from Sam Bassett, but his shot hit the side of the netting. The Hounds’ Charles Ahl also had an excellent opportunity to score, but his curling shot sailed over the net.
Campuzano finished with a clean sheet, his ninth of the season. Tampa goalkeeper Jahmali White, another former Riverhound, also earned a clean sheet. The Riverhounds outshot the Rowdies 8-2, but Tampa held possession 60% to 40%.
Pittsburgh is now 10-9-4 for the season and sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind third-place Detroit City and three points behind second-place Charleston.
Dikwa, one of Pittsburgh’s leading scorers, missed his third consecutive match with an injury. Tampa Bay’s record is now 13-3-6 for the season.
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