The Pittsburgh Riverhounds Round 1 match of the Keystone Derby against rivals Harrisburg City Islanders had one point going to each team. The match, which was held before the fireworks show in Pittsburgh, finished with a scoreless draw.
However, the Riverhounds had plenty of chances, having nine shots the entire match. Six were on goal, but were saved by Islanders goalkeeper Nick Noble. As for the Riverhounds netminder, head coach Dave Brandt decided to switch it up again by putting Mauricio Vargas back in goal over Hunter Gilstrap, who started last weekend against the Rochester Rhinos.
Vargas said he hasn’t noticed the inconsistency with the starting lineup that much, besides his own position.
“At the end of the day, the coach is the one that pick the starters, so you should ask him about the situation,” Vargas said. “All I can tell you is that I want to play every game, that’s my goal. I work hard because I want to be the best. I want more. I’m hungry, and I’m not stopping until I get what I want.”
The defense had a switch, as well. Willie Hunt did not start the match and was replaced by Sergio Campbell. It was the first match all year that Hunt didn’t start.
“I believe in this team. Everyone is prepared to play,” Vargas said. “Either it is Willie or someone else. I’m sure they are going to do great.”
For Vargas himself, he had a successful night making four saves and helping the Riverhounds to their first clean sheet of the season.
“I’m really happy,” Vargas said. “The whole team did a great job on defense, in terms of keeping the ball far away from the goal. I’m really happy. Overall I’m happy with the clean sheet and with the way we defended the whole game. On the other hand, one point is not enough; we wanted the three points. Now it’s time to keep working hard and starting winning games.”
As for the defense, they had their positive moments. Karsten Smith had a game-saving clearance in the 35’ minute.
“[The defense] was like a wall,” Vargas said. “There were a few times I was expecting a shot and they came out of nowhere and protected me. In general, we all did great work.”
The Riverhounds had a bit of help in the match when Harrisburg lost a man when Dante Leverock was given a red card in the 84’ minute. However, the Riverhounds were not able to get any of their potential chances around goalkeeper Noble.
“It’s difficult, (because) they were putting eight or nine people in the box, and it’s hard for us to get good quality chances,” forward Corey Hertzog said after the match. “I mean, we had our opportunities in the first half. We just have to learn from this and have the positive part of having a clean sheet.”
“We had some good chances in the first half that were saved by the keeper. I guess it was just one of those nights,” Hertzog continued. “I think there’s only been two games we haven’t scored, so you’re going to have those nights where it’s just not going in and unfortunately that was tonight. Defensively we did well to keep the clean sheet.”
The Riverhounds continue their busy month of July against the Bethlehem Steel FC at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pa. on Sunday, July 10. The Riverhounds then have two matches only a few days apart from each other, starting on Thursday, July 14 against the Richmond Kickers at Highmark Stadium and against Harrisburg on Sunday, July 17. The match against Harrisburg on the July 17 is a makeup from early April’s canceled match due to inclement weather.
