Rob Vincent has an enormous right leg, and on Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, he used it to send the Pittsburgh Riverhounds into the fourth round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 1-0 victory.
The Riverhounds will now host the MLS side D.C. United in the fourth round of the tournament at Highmark Stadium on June 17, 2015.
“We heard about it (ahead of time), but we didn’t want to get too carried away,” said Riverhounds midfielder Kevin Kerr on the prospect of playing an MLS team at home. “It was a massive job. (Tampa) is second in the NASL and they’re flying high. We knew it was going to be a tough game.
“It’s great for the organization but also great for us. We want to play against the best players we can and we’ll be waiting for them with a lot of confidence.”
The Riverhounds dominated possession against the Rowdies, who play in the Tier-II North American Soccer League, one step above the Riverhounds’ Tier-III United Soccer League.
Despite all the possession, the Riverhounds had a hard time locating the goal. They earned seven first-half corner kicks, but the closest they came to scoring was a Kerr drive off the post to the right of Tampa goalkeeper Matt Pickens in the 40th minute.
In the second half, the Riverhounds again took the play to the Rowdies, but were again stymied by their lack of finish around the goal. They finished with 11 corner kicks and were awarded an indirect free kick in the 70th minute to the right of the Tampa net, but were unable to find the target.
In the 84th minute, Anthony Virgara, who was a second-half substitution for Miro Cabrilo, was wide open on the left side of the box, but a sliding tackle from a Tampa defender prevented him from pulling the trigger on a shot.
Just moments after the officials indicated that there would be 3 minutes of added time, Vincent took a feed from left back Tyler Pasher and took off through the center of the Tampa defense.
He was nearly tripped at the center stripe, but maintained his balance, settled the ball on his right foot, and unleashed a bullet of a strike that bounded past Pickens and into the lower left corner of the net.
Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens then subbed in Sterling Flunder as an extra defender and the Hounds were able to hold off the Rowdies attack to the final whistle.
Defensively, the Hounds back line of Pasher, Willie Hunt, Stephen Okai and Michael Green stymied the Rowdies aerial attack all night, leaving only three balls for goalkeeper Ryan Hulings.
Hulings, who was starting just his second game this year, stopped them all for his second consecutive clean sheet, both of which came in U.S. Open Cup competition.
“The whole back four was very organized the whole game,” Hulings said. “I think we pride ourselves on that. There’s a lot of communication that goes into a result like that. My back four did a fantastic job tonight. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
With Riverhounds starting goalkeeper Ryan Thompson scheduled to depart for the Jamaican national team after Saturday’s game, there may be more playing time available for Hulings, a 23-year old from Dayton, Ohio, who is in his third year with the organization.
“We’ve known all along that Ryan (Hulings) is a good keeper,” said Steffens. “He’s just waited for his opportunity. He’s been working really hard and it seems like every practice our goalkeeper coach said he’s ready.”
“I’ve been here my whole career,” Hulings said. “It’s always been my goal to be number one. Obviously, Ryan (Thompson) is a fantastic goalkeeper and I’m very happy that he’s going with the Jamaican National Team. If coach calls my number and wants me to be in the lead, that’s what I’m here to do.”
With a 2-0 record and no goals against in two Open Cup matches, Hulings has made a case to be the starter when the United come to town with a hot start.
“I think for a guy that hasn’t played much, it’s really huge,” said Steffens on Hulings performance when called upon. “He’s showed that he’s capable two games in a row. The first game, he didn’t have a lot of action, but he made some really big saves in this one. I’m really proud and happy for him.”
The Riverhounds were forced to play with a limited roster due to injuries and international player restrictions. Cabilo and Pasher are both Canadian, which do not count as imports for USL play, do count as imports for the Open Cup. In addition, American players Matt Dallman, Fejiro Okiomah and Seth C’deBaca were unavailable due to injury.
That forced the Hounds to scratch Serbian midfielder Boris Zivanovic and Brazilian forward Vini Dantas. Taking their place on the roster were Pittsburgh-native Nick Kolarac and the Riverhounds academy coach Josh Rife.
The Riverhounds (3-3-3) will return to USL play on Saturday when they host the Harrisburg City Islanders (4-2-1) in the second leg of the Keystone Derby at Highmark Stadium.
