Preview: Hounds at Hartford Athletic
June 13, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
Coming off a stout performance on the road to earn a scoreless draw in Charleston, the Hounds are back on the road again this weekend to face Hartford Athletic on Saturday night.
Coach Bob Lilley was largely pleased with the effort by his team to keep the USL Championship's second-highest scoring team off the board on their own field, and the Hounds had chances to steal a win, including Kenardo Forbes' late header that missed just left of the goal.
But while last week's clean sheet was a positive, the Hounds still are looking for answers on the offensive end with just two goals in the past four matches and only 11 on the season - tied for the fewest in the league with their opponent, Hartford. Kazaiah Sterling, Edward Kizza and Danny Griffin share the team lead with just three apiece, and the team has only scored multiple goals in a match once since the start of May.
Hartford's top scorer, Michee Ngalina, also sits at three goals in his first season in Connecticut. He arrived in Hartford along with new coach Brendan Burke, who Ngalina also played for with Bethlehem Steel and the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. Also new in a Hartford shirt are a pair of former Riverhounds players, Thomas Vancaeyezeele and Joe Farrell, both of whom signed as free agents in the offseason.
While offense has been a struggle for both sides, the Hounds seem to be settling in defensively, ranking sixth in the league with just 14 goals allowed. Hartford has given up considerably more at 23, but that number is skewed somewhat because of a lopsided 6-0 loss to Louisville.
The Hounds will hope history can repeat itself at Trinity Health Stadium, where Pittsburgh has a 5-0-1 record since Hartford joined the Championship in 2019. The last two visits have resulted in dramatic wins for the Hounds; Shane Wiedt scored in stoppage time for a 2-1 win in 2022, and J.C. Obregón fired a late winner to cap a wild 4-3 contest in the teams' most recent meeting, Aug. 23, 2023.
This week's match once again will be shown live on SportsNet Pittsburgh and streamed on ESPN+.
Match info
Riverhounds (3-5-5) at Hartford Athletic (4-7-1)
Date: Saturday, June 15
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Trinity Health Stadium, Hartford, Conn.
Odds: Hounds +120 / Draw +210 / Hartford +220 (FanDuel)
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #HFDvPIT and #HOUNDTAHN
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