First Career Goals Bring Excitement, Memories

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Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

First Career Goals Bring Excitement, Memories

September 11, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release


Firsts are always memorable, from words and steps as a baby to the first day of school or a new job.

For soccer players when they hit the pro ranks, that remains true. And while a debut as a pro player is a special moment, nothing brings out the instant joy and embeds a memory like a first professional goal.

Bradley Sample was the latest Hounds player to experience that feeling with his Goal of the Week-nominated header Saturday in the win over Rhode Island, and after the match, he was still all smiles thinking about it.

"I was trying to put something on goal, but I didn't expect it to go in. When I turned around and saw the keeper moving forward, I thought that can't be good for him," Sample said.

"I don't score a lot of goals, so that was cool. For all the guys to run over to me immediately... I was looking at Robbie (Mertz) like, 'What do I do now?' He was like, 'Go! Go celebrate!' And all the fans, hearing them cheer and be loud and having some friends at the game. ... It's a dream come true. It's awesome."

Sample is the fourth Hounds player to get that first-goal feeling this season, and he did it the quickest as a first-year pro. Sean Suber, Langston Blackstock and Jackson Walti - all second-year pro players - each scored their first pro goal in 2024, with Suber and Blackstock accomplishing it in the same match, the 5-0 win over Oakland on July 13.

But not every player gets to celebrate that moment so early - if at all - in their career. In the case of Dani Rovira, who served the pass to set up Sample's goal, it was five years in the making.

Rovira joined the Hounds out of college in 2019, and went from a seldom-used player in his first year to a regular on the lineup sheet. By the middle of 2023, his fifth season, Rovira was closing in on his 100th appearance for the club, and the team's career leader in assists by a defender had done nearly everything for the Hounds... except score a goal.

That all changed at a critical moment last season, with the Hounds trailing 2-1 against Memphis on July 29.

"It was a special moment. We went back in the locker room for halftime talking about a way to get us back in the game," Rovira recalled. "It was a cross from Kenny (Kenardo Forbes) from the other post. I continued coming and was just trying to time it and hit it first time. That feeling, as soon as it went in, was amazing. It's something I won't forget, and we came back and won the game, so I'll cherish that for a long time."

Rovira's moment of joy came in his 98th match for the Hounds - the most with the team before scoring a first goal - and his strike sent the team on its way to a 4-2 win that proved critical toward claiming the 2023 Players' Shield.

Coincidentally, the goals by Rovira and all four first-timers in 2024 came at Highmark Stadium, adding an extra element of excitement to their big moment. The same can be said about the Hounds player with arguably the most memorable first pro goal amongst the current squad, Illal Osumanu, whose stoppage-time header on June 24, 2023 secured a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Loyal.

"It's a great moment for the team, but especially for them. They worked hard throughout the whole year, and for them to be able to enjoy that moment at home, you feel so happy for them. It's not only exciting, but it's pushing us to win a game," Rovira said.

Even for guys no longer lacing up the boots, the first goal leaves an indelible impression.

Assistant coach Rob Vincent scored goals for both the Hounds and D.C. United as a pro player, but he had little difficulty thinking back to the Hounds' match against Antigua Barracuda FC on June 23, 2013.

"I do remember the goal, it was probably 10 to 12 games into the season. The goal itself, I got the ball deep on the left side of the field and played a big switch out to (Matt) Dallman, which turned out to be the go-to tactic that year," Vincent said. "Dallman beat his man and cut inside, and I had traveled forward maybe 50, 60 yards. He pulled it back to me on the top of the box, and I tried to curl it, but it took a wicked deflection and looped over the goalkeeper."

Deflection or not, when the ball hits the net, the skill gives way and the emotion takes over.

"A little bit of luck involved with the first one, but I was happy getting off the mark. The first pro goal, it's a very special feeling, like a lot of years and dreams have gone into that moment," Vincent said.

Yet as special as the first goal can be, it's just one of many moments for some. Forbes can look back on a championship in Rochester and involvement in 73 goals (18 goals, 55 assists) in Pittsburgh, and that only covers the past decade of the 36-year-old's career.

His career began back in his native Jamaica as a teenager in 2006, and when asked for details of his first goal, the most tenured Hound took a long pause before an honest answer.

"No idea. It's been too long," Forbes said with a laugh. "But it is special for those guys. It's good to see. It's your first goal at the professional level."

Of course, Forbes added, the guys scoring their first now have a specific advantage over the era when he netted his first pro goal.

"At the end of the day, it's on camera for them! It's not like me; I can't go back and pull it up. The guys will always be able to pull that up, and hopefully Suber goes and gets another one, Brad gets another one, Jackson gets another one, and they keep it going."

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