The Pittsburgh Riverhounds matched up against Louisville City F.C. on Sunday evening in a match in which both teams were searching for their second win of the season.
Neither side would find a way to get a win and the match ended in a 1-1 tie. Pittsburgh came just short of taking three points and moving ahead of Louisville in the Eastern Conference standings.
The first half was filled with back and forth entertainment with neither team able to grab much momentum. The Hounds were able to constantly bring pressure to Louisville City F.C.’s goalie Scott Goodwin, who played a fantastic game and kept up with the fast Pittsburgh offense.
In the 37th minute, Pittsburgh scored the first goal of the game when central defender Fejiro Okiomah headed a free kick from midfielder Rob Vincent. There was some argument by Louisville City’s goalie and several other defenders who believed that Okiomah was offside.
Fortunately enough for the Riverhounds, there was no call and Louisville City F.C. would trail in a game for the first time this season.
Just moments later, on a corner kick from midfielder Danny Earls, Okiomah came ever so close in generating his second goal of the game when the ball came flying through the box and was kicked just wide of the goal.
The Hounds’ defense would continue to pressure shooters and give goalie Ryan Thompson the ability to make solid plays on the ball when threatening the net. At the half, the Riverhounds led 1-0.
Both the Riverhounds and Louisville came out in the second half with a lot of energy. The Hounds had several opportunities in this half to add to their lead but failed to convert on any of their chances.
The Riverhounds’ Thompson played an outstanding game, all the way up to the closing minutes. His great hustle and ability to play the ball would be seen in the 85th minute when Thompson batted away two balls, both coming off of a penalty kick from Louisville forward Matt Fondy.
Just before the late goal, @godda01 made a fantastic double PK save. Not a bad way to start #SoccerSunday! #PGHvLOU pic.twitter.com/JWbLaiMF8a
— USL (@USL) April 19, 2015
Thompson anchored his defense in striking away balls that came anywhere near his net, however, he and the defense collapsed in the three minutes of added time and gave up a win.
Just over a minute into added time, Louisville City F.C. began to showcase great agility, speed, and ball handling. In just the blink of an eye Louisville City’s midfielder Kadeem Dacres charged and unleashed a wicked shot that was plastered in the back right corner of the net. The shot froze both Thompson and the defense, giving Louisville City F.C. an equalizing goal and end the game in a 1-1 tie.
Final Whistle: @loucityfc gets a late equalizer from @kdeem0891, and stays unbeaten thru 4 games. #PGHvLOU pic.twitter.com/8IHyyuKAnD
— USL (@USL) April 19, 2015
“It feels like a loss,” said Riverhounds assistant coach Josh Rife in a postgame interview. “We played well enough to get the win and two points have slipped away.”
After this heartbreaking tie, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds will host Toronto F.C. II at Highmark Stadium this Saturday at 7:00 P.M. EST.
Photo credit: USL Soccer
