Even with a change at goalkeeper, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds could not find their first win of the season against FC Cincinnati.
In the first meeting between the two USL teams, Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens elected to start Mauricio Vargas, the Costa Rican international, in goal over Hunter Gilstrap. Gilstrap dressed, but was on the bench for the entire match, as Vargas earned his first ever appearance and start for the Riverhounds.
Vargas had a strong match, despite letting a goal from Jimmy McLaughlin in the 27’ minute go by him. Vargas had eight saves for the Riverhounds in total.
The Riverhounds played around with the starting lineup, switching players around. Normally on defense, Drew Russell slid into a midfield role while Marshall Hollingsworth moved down to the defense. However, Hollingsworth would leave the game in the 30’ minute, after taking two hits to the head with the ball. He would be replaced by defender Isaiah Schafer.
Hollingsworth’s absence wasn’t the only noticeable absence. The Riverhounds had trouble on the attacking front, as the team is now without Romeo Parkes, who was their highest goal scorer, after terminating his contract last Sunday.
The Riverhounds were looking to depend on forward Corey Hertzog, who has one goal on the season, to pick up the load with Parkes being gone. However, captain Kevin Kerr had plenty of attacks to fill the void. But none of his attempts could get behind FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt.
The match, which was held in Cincinnati, was physical. Stephen Okai, Lebo Moloto and Sergio Campbell all received yellow cards on the Riverhounds side, while FC Cincinnati’s Pat McMahon also earned a yellow card.
The Riverhounds will return home to Highmark Stadium on Saturday, May 21, to try and earn their first win against Toronto FC II. The Riverhounds and Toronto FC II have already met up this season in Week 2, and they had a 2-2 draw, with goals from Parkes and Conor Branson.
