A week after the Pittsburgh Riverhounds [4-3-3] erased a three-goal deficit to come back and win 6-5 against the Harrisburg City Islanders [4-3-1], they would look to build on the success they have garnered within the past few weeks.
Today’s opponent, St. Louis FC, entered Highmark Stadium with a 3-3-3 record and is coming off of a game in which they tied 1-1 in a heartbreaker against Louisville City [4-1-5]. The Riverhounds would end up losing the lead late and draw with St. Louis, 1-1. This would snap a four-game win streak that includes games played in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The first half offered very little offense. The Riverhounds’ midfielder Kevin Kerr seemed to be playing in a class of his own in the first 45 minutes. While he was not able to find the back of the net, his ability to hold possession in and around the box gave the St. Louis defense a run for their money.
St. Louis found multiple chances to score against young Hounds’ keeper Ryan Hulings in pressuring the defense with their possession anytime they found themselves in the box.
Pittsburgh’s defense would show some muscle and show tenacity for the majority of the game. Turnovers continued to plague the defense, but in today’s game the Riverhounds’ defense adjusted and collapsed anytime the ball was given up.
The first half would end with no team taking advantage and both teams would go into the locker room 0-0
However, the second half would showcase much more offense, but leave the scoreboard virtually unchanged.
The Riverhounds had many opportunities to put the ball behind St. Louis FC’s keeper Mark Pais. The Hounds’ offense was able to break through defenders and volley balls around Pais but to no avail as balls seemed to have a little too much power behind them.
In the 68th minute midfielder Rob Vincent gave fans reason to believe he may have been trying out for a dance team as he used his soft feet to dance around St. Louis and come within striking distance of adding to his league leading eight goals and 20 points.
While that particular chance came up shy of a goal, in the 71st minute Vincent powered a ball past St. Louis’ Pais on a penalty kick to give the Riverhounds a late 1-0 advantage. The goal came on a second attempted shot by Vincent. The first attempt was a good goal, however, the referees called the Hounds for encroachment.
St. Louis, determined to capitalize on a Pittsburgh turnover, would do just that when in the 80th minute when forward Jermie Lynch scored his third goal of the season by way of a header from a cross. The athletic goal would bring the game to a tie, 1-1.
With 10 minutes left and three minutes of added time, the Riverhounds offense seemed to fatigue and could not find many more opportunities to score. St. Louis, in added time, found themselves with a corner kick and chances to steal the game, but the Hounds’ defense pressed and challenged St. Louis. Neither team would be able to find the game winner and the game would end with a final score of 1-1.
Although the game would end in a tie, Pittsburgh’s defense and offense played very well. The Riverhounds had plenty of chances to score, many coming from key players like Vincent and Kerr, but nothing would come of it.
The Riverhounds will briefly play on the road against the Charlotte Independence next Saturday at 7:00 p.m. before coming back home to play against MLS team, D.C. United. This highly anticipated game will be played on June 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Photo credit: Terry O’Neil/Riverhounds.com
