Coming off a narrow victory Saturday in their USL home opener, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds will switch gears and return to U.S. Open Cup action when the Virginia Dream FC visit Highmark Stadium Tuesday for a 7 p.m. match.
The Riverhounds defeated Steel City FC on March 25 to advance to the second round of the Cup tournament. Virginia Dream FC is another amateur squad from Falls Church, Va., which upset the Carolina Core FC, 2-1, in its first-round match.
Carolina Core plays in the Major League Soccer Next Pro League (third tier of American soccer), while Virgina Dream, like Steel City FC, plays in the fourth tier. The Dream, a member of the National Premier Soccer League, will now face the tier two Riverhounds in the single-elimination tournament.
The Riverhounds’ USL home opener was played in front of a large, energetic crowd that witnessed the unveiling of the Hounds’ 2025 championship banners and a match against Sporting Jacksonville FC.
Pittsburgh met the crowd’s enthusiasm with an early goal at the 6-minute mark. The Hounds’ Beto Ydrach dropped a pass into the Sporting Jax box that bound around in traffic. Pittsburgh’s Albert Dikwa gained possession, found space and with a turning maneuver, unleashed a shot to the upper right corner for a 1-0 Riverhounds lead.
At the 27-minute mark, the Riverhounds struck again as Sam Bassett moved through open space and into the Jacksonville zone and surprised the defense with a 30-yard shot to the left corner that beat Jax goalkeeper Christian Oliveras for a 2-0 Pittsburgh lead going into the break.
In the second half, the Hounds’ Bradley Sample moved into the Jacksonville box and was challenged by a sliding Dida Armstong. Armstrong was called for handling the ball, which resulted in a penalty kick by Dikwa, whose low shot beat Oliveras for a 3-0 Pittsburgh lead.
The Hounds, who were known for their defensive prowess last season, saw their early-season struggles this year continue, as a Jacksonville corner kick resulted in its first goal at the 58-minute mark. The corner kick led to a shot by Jax’s Jordan Rossiter that deflected off Mohamed Traore and past goalkeeper Nico Campuzano.
Pittsburgh held a 3-1 lead, but Harvey Neville’s pass into the Hounds zone was secured by Jacksonville’s Emil Jaaskelainen, who carried the ball into the Pittsburgh box. Jaaskelainen worked his way through the defense and beat Campuzano with a shot to the left of the goal, making the score 3-2 at the 58-minute mark. The Riverhounds were able settle down defensively and secured the 3-2 victory.
The win evened the Riverhounds’ USL record at 2-2, while Sporting Jax has yet to win in its expansion season and sits at 0-1-3.
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