Riverhounds eliminated from U.S. Cup, will host Detroit City Saturday in USL play

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC return to USL action with a home match against Detroit City FC at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at Highmark Stadium.

Detroit is in third place is the Eastern Division with a 3-1-1 record and is led by Darren Smith, who has a league-leading five goals. The Riverhounds are 2-1-3 and sit in eighth place in the division.  Albert Dikwa’s three goals lead the Hounds, and Sam Bassett is second with two goals.

Detroit was eliminated from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday with a loss to the Chicago Fire from Major League Soccer.  On the same evening, the Riverhounds were also eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup with a 3-1 loss to the MLS New York Red Bulls in a match at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J.

The Hounds, who are now 3-3 in their last six games against MLS opponents, struggled from the outset against the Red Bulls.  In the first half, New York scored first at the 25-minute mark when Emil Forsberg’s free kick curled above the Riverhounds’ defensive wall and snuck past goalkeeper Nico Campuzano on the right side for a 1-0 Red Bulls lead.

At the 28-minute mark, New York scored again as Neheum Benedetti fed a pass to Julian Hall, who scampered between defenders in the box and scored on a shot up the middle to extend the lead to 2-0.  The Hounds applied some pressure from the likes of Owen Mikoy and Robbie Mertz, but the score remained the same going into the break.

In the second half, Hall took a pass from Forsberg at the 47-minute mark and moved into the box on the right side.  Hall unleashed a shot to the opposite side of the goal, which was kicked by Campuzano, but not enough to stop the ball from finding its way into the goal, giving New York a 3-0 lead.  Hall, just 18 years old, has now scored seven goals in his last eight games.

Campuzano made several impressive saves to keep the Riverhounds in the game, but it wasn’t until the 79-minute mark that they found the goal.  Eliot Goldthorp’s free kick turned into the vicinity of the near post where Trevor Amann had a header that slipped under the cross bar, cutting the lead to 3-1.  In extra time, Dikwa applied some pressure in the box, but the Red Bulls hung on for the victory.

Though Pittsburgh has been eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup, another tournament — the USL Jägermeister Cup — will begin in several weeks in between USL matches.