The Pittsburgh Riverhounds will face the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League at 7 p.m. this evening in the third round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The Riverhounds have never played a member of the NASL, which was founded in its current incarnation in 2011 and is the second tier of North American professional soccer. The Riverhounds play in the United Soccer League, which is one step below the NASL.
Each club has done well in league play through the early part of the season. Tampa Bay is 3-3-1 and in third place in the 11-member NASL, while the Riverhounds’ win on Saturday propelled them to 3-3-3 in the USL and currently sit in the sixth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
The Riverhounds have done even better on the turf at Highmark Stadium, posting a 2-1-2 record and outscoring their opponents 13-7 on the bank of the Monongahela River.
The winner of tonight’s match will be rewarded by hosting the D.C. United of Major Leagues Soccer in the fourth round of the tournament. The Riverhounds have played against MLS opponents four times previously in the US Open Cup, defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-0 at home in 2001 and losing to D.C. on the road in 2003 and the Chicago Fire on the road in 2001 and 2014.
The Riverhounds will be without their starting goalkeeper for the Open Cup match, as Ryan Thompson, who played through an injury in the team’s USL game at Richmond on Saturday, will be rested for tonight’s midweek contest. Thompson is expected to join the Jamaican National Team after this Saturday’s Keystone Derby against Harrisburg.
Backup goalkeeper Calle Brown, who had been sidelined with a knee injury, is expected to make his return. If not, 23-year old Ryan Hulings, who earned a clean sheet in last Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over the West Virginia Chaos in the second round, would be the starter.
Midfielder Seth C’deBaca is also expected to return from his knee injury, while forward Vini Dantas and defender Fejiro Okiomah are still sidelined. They could return as soon as Saturday.
