Riverhounds blank Loudon in USL Cup play, visit Jacksonville Wednesday
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will take part in a nationally televised match against host Sporting Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 15, in Florida.
The match will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Sporting Jax, led by Kieran Sadlier with seven goals, will be looking for its first victory of the season as it enters the match with a 0-11-4 record. Pittsburgh enters play with a 6-5-2 record.
The Hounds will be without leading scorer Albert Dikwa, who will be serving a one-match suspension due to a skirmish against Brooklyn on July 4. The Riverhounds won the first match against Jacksonville 3-2 on March 28.
The Riverhounds continued play in the Prinx Tires USL Cup at FNB Stadium on July 11, as they posted a 2-0 victory over Loudon United FC in a final Group Stage match.
The Hounds started rookie Mitch Budler as goalkeeper and used several other reserves in the starting lineup. Pittsburgh went on the attack early as Dikwa produced a couple of opportunities, but it was a tripping penalty on Loudon’s Salvatore Mezzaferro that led to the game’s first goal.
Mezzaferro tripped Pittsburgh’s Trevor Amann as he entered the Loudon box, resulting in a penalty kick. Amann’s penalty kick slid easily into the left of the net, beating goalkeeper Ethan Bandre for a 1-0 Riverhounds lead at the 19-minute mark.
Amann scored a second goal later in the half, but an offside flag negated the goal. Budler made a couple of nice saves to keep Loudon off the board, and the Hounds led 1-0 at the break.
The Hounds continued their offensive pressure in the second half as Charles Ahl created the offense, eventually resulting in Pittsburgh’s second goal. At the 66-minute mark, Ahl sent a crossing pass toward the right side of the Loudon net that found an open Dikwa, who scored on a one-touch shot to the right side for a 2-0 lead. Budler continued to thwart Loudon and finished with a clean sheet in the 2-0 Pittsburgh win.
The win completed the Hounds’ USL Cup competition for the season with a 2-0-2 record. Though undefeated, they will not advance to the next round of the tournament, due to the results of the other matches in the Group. Each team finished with nine shots, but Loudon won possession with 69%. Loudon has also been eliminated from the USL Cup competition.
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