The Pittsburgh Riverhounds found a way to get a ‘W’ back in the win-loss column. After a disastrous loss against FC Montreal on Wednesday, the Riverhounds (4-14-4) hosted the Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday night, tallying a 2-1 win.
And the Riverhounds did it with a new goalkeeper in net. Mauricio Vargas, the consistent starter for the Hounds, was listed with a back injury and didn’t dress for the match. Pittsburgh got help from their loan partners, the Columbus Crew of the MLS. The Crew sent down Zack Steffen, who started the match, barely knowing his new teammates’ names.
“It’s tough,” Steffen said post-game. “You don’t know the names very well or how they play. You learn throughout the game. I tell them what I like, and they tell me what they like. We try to learn as soon as possible. It’s nice to come in here and be part of a team that wants to help. We always want to help out the group. Getting a win is always fun. The group is great.”
Steffen had a big night for the Riverhounds, making six saves and only letting a single ball go by him. The Steel’s goalkeeper, Samir Badr, also had a busy night, making five saves. Dressing behind Steffen on Pittsburgh’s bench was veteran goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap.
The Riverhounds got on the board first. Forward Corey Hertzog scored his fourth goal in four games with a header in the 18’ minute that was assisted by midfielder Danny Earls.
The Steel then got on the board when Cory Burke intercepted a pass and drove it past Steffen in the 28’ minute. However, Riverhounds team captain Kevin Kerr didn’t let the match stay equal for long, as he scored his goal 62’ minute (which was assisted by Hertzog).
“Kevin owed me that goal; I’ve seen him score that goal on tape before I got here like eight times,” head coach Dave Brandt said post-game. “He’s scored for me before, but not that goal. We missed Kevin badly on Wednesday in Montreal — not only his play, but also his presence.”
Hertzog acknowledged working with Kerr is easy because of their chemistry.
“Our chemistry on and off the field is great,” Hertzog said. “When you have that connection off the field, it really connects to on the field as you could see tonight. We had a great finish.”
The Riverhounds only had two yellow cards handed out to them; the Steel had three. Earls earned the first yellow card in the 23’ minute, while Hertzog earned one in extra time of the second half. Bethlehem’s recipients were Ryan Richter (37’), James Chambers (66’) and Anderson Conceicao (90’+).
The one downside to the Riverhounds match was the injuries of two key players — defender Ryan Adeleye and forward Nick Thompson went down in the second half. According to the Riverhounds, Adeleye and Thompson’s status remain unclear as of now.
The Riverhounds have another tough test coming up. They’ll travel to face the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday, Aug. 20. Pittsburgh’s next home match will be Wednesday, Aug. 24, against the Wilmington Hammerheads.
