It has been a busy week for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who learned their opponent for the second round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, announced an exciting national team call up and brought in some reinforcements in the form of a European signing.
Hounds barking at chance to win U.S. Open Cup: What has already been an exciting season for the Riverhounds got even more exciting this past week when the team learned that Pittsburgh would be hosting a game in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Cup. The Riverhounds will be matched up against the West Virginia Chaos, the reigning Premier Development League’s South Atlantic Division champions.
The U.S. Open Cup is the oldest tournament in American soccer and pits local senior and semi-professional clubs against fully professional sides from all three North American pro soccer leagues. The senior amateur and semi-pro teams entered the contest in Round One.
The Chaos has already won its first round game, which took place this week, with a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh-based Fort Pitt Regiment of the National Premier Soccer League.
Pittsburgh will battle West Virginia this Wednesday, May 20, in Highmark Stadium at 7:00 p.m. If the Riverhounds win, they will host the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the Tier-II North American Soccer League in the third round of the tournament on June 3.
Movin’ on up: More exciting news came out of the Riverhounds club this week as it was learned that goalkeeper Ryan Thompson will be called up by the Jamaican Reggae Boyz, Jamaica’s national team, to play in the upcoming Copa America International Tournament.
Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens said, “It’s always exciting to have someone representing their national team. We hope Ryan has a great experience and ends up establishing himself as Jamaica’s No. 1.”
In his time this year in Pittsburgh, Thompson has played very well. Not only is he posting a 1.86 goals allowed but he has also been the only goal keeper in the net for the Riverhounds all season. Thompson has proved himself and is well deserving of the honor of playing for his home country.
Thompson has been able to keep himself in contention for the starting role by showing off his amazing athletic ability. This includes an amazing double save from a game against Louisville City which may have saved the game for the Hounds.
With his success there have also been failures. One in particular this season was in the closing minutes against Louisville City where Kadeem Dacres drove a shot past Thompson freezing him in his place. This match was one of his most heartbreaking, considering he had not let a goal up until the very last minute of added time.
Regardless of Thompson’s failures, he is a vocal leader, something that the Hounds need. Hopefully the bid to be the top goalie for the Jamaican Reggae Boyz will help him grow more as a leader and become one of the Hounds’ biggest assets.
New Blood: It was announced on Thursday that the Riverhounds and Serbian midfielder Boris Zivanovic had come to terms for the remainder of the 2015 season.
Zivanovic, a native of Belgrade, Serbia, started his career with F.L. Zemun, a local team not too far away from home. Recently, Zivanovic has spent the past two seasons playing for Budapest Honved in Hungary’s most acclaimed division.
In Zivanovic’s professional career with the Budapest Honved, he has tallied five goals in thirty six appearances. It will be very exciting to see what he can do for the Hounds as he will be joining the team for tonight’s match against the Richmond Kickers.
“We’ve scouted Boris heavily and he’s a very smart soccer player,” said Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens. “He’s played at a high level and he knows how to get in behind a defense.”
Zivanovic seems to be a great fit for an offense that scores the ball on hard rushes to the box and with the ability to outflank the defense. His speed and agility could be the difference maker.
Tonight’s Preview: Tonight the Pittsburgh Riverhounds [2-3-2] will face the Richmond Kickers. The Riverhounds are coming off of two straight losses and hope that a game in front of their home crowd will be the jolt they need to come out on top. Pittsburgh allowed three goals while only scoring three during the two game span, something that needs to change if the Hounds want a chance to win tonight/
The Kickers [4-1-3] suffered their first loss, 3-0, against the Charlotte Independence last week. Richmond currently sits in third place and will look to rebound against the Riverhounds. The Kickers are 17-7-8 all-time against the Hounds and won their previous meeting last June, 3-1.
As of late, Rob Vincent and Kevin Kerr have been playing in their own league. While failing to record a goal or assist in their last game, Vincent and Kerr have been the dynamic duo that the Hounds need if they want offense to be the name of their game. The Riverhounds must score multiple goals if they want to defeat a team that is looking to redeem themselves after a disheartening loss. Kerr and Vincent must have an impact in some way for the offense to spark and find rhythm.
Defensively, if Pittsburgh can pressure shooters and not allow the Kickers to do what they have been able to do all season long, this could wind up being a very competitive match. However, it will not be easy if the Kickers manage to find themselves up early.
The Riverhounds have been playing solid defensively but have coughed up turnovers or made bad decisions that have led to easy scoring chances by the opposing team. If the Riverhounds can tighten up defensively, they could find themselves right back in the thick of things in this early season.
Tonight’s game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.
Photo credit: Pittsburgh Riverhounds
