Riverhounds host Rising Saturday after posting USL Cup victory

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will host their first Western Conference USL opponent – the Phoenix Rising FC – at 7 p.m. Saturday at F.N.B. Stadium, formerly known as Highmark Stadium, on Pittsburgh’s South Shore.

The Rising are 2-2-3 on the season and are in sixth place in the Western Conference.  Ihsan Sacko is their leading scorer with five goals, which places him among the league leaders.  The Riverhounds are 3-3-1 in USL play and are currently in a four-way tie for third place in the Eastern Conference.

The Hounds returned to tournament play Saturday with a 3-0 first-round victory over the tier three Greenville Triumph SC in the Prinx Tires USL Cup at F.N.B. Stadium.

The Hounds struck quickly at the seven-minute mark when Eliot Goldthorp sent a cross from the left that Robbie Mertz headed across the goal.  Trevor Amann found himself free in front of the goal and tapped it home for a 1-0 lead.

Pittsburgh continued to apply pressure as Sam Bassett, Mertz and Amann all had excellent scoring chances, but was unable to beat the Triumph goalkeeper Seth Torman.

As the first half was about to end, Amann and Mertz again applied pressure in front of the Triumph’s goal. Torman made a diving save but was unable to handle the rebound, which went to an uncontested Max Viera, whose shot beat Torman to his right at the 42-minute mark.  Viera’s goal was the first of his career and made it a 2-0 Pittsburgh lead going into the break.

In the second half, no scoring occurred until the 62-minute mark when Pittsburgh’s Jackson Walti moved along the right side of the Triumph’s zone and his shot deflected off the back of a defender.  Amann dove toward the deflection and put a header past Torman for his brace (second goal of the game), making the score 3-0 in favor of the Hounds. 

Mike Sheridan received his first start as the Riverhounds’ goalkeeper and recorded one save and a clean sheet with the shutout.  Pittsburgh’s leading scorer, Albert Dikwa, did not play.

The Riverhounds outshot the Triumph 13-2, but Greenville won possession 51% to 48%.  The Riverhounds are now 1-0 in USL Cup Group 6 and have three games remaining in the Group Stage. The Group winners advance to the quarterfinals this summer.