The Pittsburgh Riverhounds will return home to Highmark Stadium to face the Charlotte Independence on Saturday for a match with huge USL Eastern Conference playoff implications.
The Riverhounds, in the thick of the battle for one of the final playoff spots, got some help on Wednesday, as Louisville City beat seventh-place Harrisburg 5-1 and Charlotte tied with the New York Red Bulls II.
That means that the Hounds remain in the sixth and final playoff position, but are just two points out of fourth place, which would earn the team a home playoff game. Pittsburgh is three points clear of archrivals Harrisburg for the final position.
With a win, the Riverhounds would jump into at least fifth place. The Red Bulls are off this weekend, while Richmond visits Toronto.
“This is really a key game for us and all the guys know it,” said head coach Mark Steffens said in the team’s weekly release. “We won’t have to pump them up too much for this one.
“Charlotte is a very good team when they put it together, but like us, they have lacked consistency. We’ll need to put a really good performance together to beat them.”
This will be the second time the Riverhounds have faced the Independence this season, and it will be the expansion club’s first visit to Pittsburgh. The Riverhounds lost to the Independence on their home ground by a 2-1 score on June 13.
Midfielder Lebo Moloto scored the Hounds’ only goal in that match. Moloto was named to the USL Team of the Week for his goal and pair of assists last Saturday against Toronto.
Saturday’s match is the first of a home-and-home set between the Riverhounds and Independence. The teams will meet again the following Saturday, August 22, in Charlotte.
Goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez, who started and earned the win the last weekend, was returned to his MLS side, FC Dallas. Calle Brown is expected to start if Ryan Thompson’s knee doesn’t allow him to dress.
Fellow MLS loanee Conor Donvan (Orlando City) will have his loan cancelled after tearing his ACL in his MLS debut last week.
Tough ticket: With a crucially important match anticipated, Riverhounds fans have responded, snapping up over 4,000 tickets as of noon on Thursday. Limited seating remains available.
“This is the most defining game of our season,” said Riverhounds president Richard Nightingale.
A win would put the Riverhounds in the driver’s seat for a home playoff game, a stated goal of the club this offseason.
Golden Boot race heats up: Riverhounds midfielder Rob Vincent walked off the field last Saturday as the USL’s scoring leader after his 11th-minute strike gave him 17 goals on the season.
His lead didn’t last very long, as Oklahoma City forward Danni Konig scored a hat trick later that evening to vault over Vincent for the scoring lead with 19.
Not to be outdone, Louisville City forward Matt Fondy scored four goals in their thrashing of Harrisburg on Wednesday to give him 16 on the season and put himself right in the thick of the race.
Louisville and Pittsburgh each have one more game remaining than Oklahoma City.
Riverhounds midfielder Kevin Kerr’s helper last Saturday gave him nine assists on the season, which has him in first place in the USL. Los Angeles’s Raul Mendiola is second with eight, and Moloto leads a group of three players tied with seven.
It isn’t surprising that the Riverhounds have so many players up for individual scoring honors. The Hounds lead the league in points (127), goals (45) and assists (37).
Photo credit: Brian Mitchell
