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Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Preview: Hounds vs. Miami FC

May 2, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release


PITTSBURGH - With back-to-back wins under their belt, the Hounds will look to make it three in a row when they welcome Miami FC to Highmark Stadium on Saturday night.

The Hounds are riding a four match unbeaten streak overall, putting the team back into the middle of the Eastern Conference pack, and despite the slow start to the season, they aren't far off the pace at which they began last year's Players' Shield-winning campaign. In fact, with a win Saturday, the Hounds will have more points through eight games (11) than they did a season ago (10), when they began the year with a 2-2-4 league record.

Scoring has picked up with five goals in the past two matches, including a pair last week starting from dead ball situations to hand Detroit its first loss. While not technically a set piece goal, Pat Hogan's headed finish from a recycled ball into the box opened the scoring (and helped earn Hogan Team of the Week honors), and Danny Griffin took care of business from the spot after Junior Etou won a penalty kick with his stellar solo run into the box.

Roster management becomes a concern for the first time starting this week, as the Hounds are entering a stretch of three matches in eight days that includes their U.S. Open Cup debut for 2024 against FC Tulsa on Tuesday. But with momentum on the team's side, head coach Bob Lilley is unlikely to make too many changes to the formula that worked in a 2-0-2 month of April.

On the Miami side, things were looking bleak with a four-match losing streak until last Saturday, when the Floridians mounted a comeback to hand San Antonio only its second loss of the season, 2-1.

Allen Gavilanes leads the visitors with four goals on the season, and scoring hasn't been the issue for Miami with 11 goals thus far. Miami's larger struggles have been at the back, where they have conceded 15 goals, the third-most allowed in the league behind only Indy (17) and Las Vegas (16). It is also just the third road match of the year for Miami, whose other two outings away from home were a 2-2 draw at Orange County and a 3-2 loss at Hartford.

In the stadium, Saturday will be the annual Mascot Mania match, where Hounds mascot Amo will be joined by 20 of his friends, including Iceburgh from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Steely McBeam from the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Duquesne Duke and many more.

The start of a new month also brings new food specials to the train grill on the East End and Nacho Junction. May's specials are the Pineapple Express Burger - topped with pineapple and a teriyaki glaze - and Carne Asada Nachos. Food options in the Tailgate Zone, which opens at 5 p.m., feature the trucks from Pgh Crepes and Galaxy Donuts.

Saturday's match will air live on KDKA+ with a replay of the game scheduled to air at 1 p.m. Sunday. The game will also be the second to be streamed live and for free as part of USL Championship coverage on the CBS Sports Golazo Network - simply visit their website or download the CBS Sports app to watch.

Tickets for the match are still available with the team coming off a regular-season record crowd of 6,099 for the win last Saturday over Detroit. Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster, by calling 412-865-GOAL or by visiting the Highmark Stadium Box Office.

Match info

Riverhounds (2-3-2) vs. Miami FC (2-5-1)

Date: Saturday, May 4

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Highmark Stadium

Tickets: Ticketmaster

Odds: Hounds -145 / Draw +290 / Miami +330 (FanDuel)

TV: KDKA+

Streaming: CBS Sports Golazo Network

Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center

Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter

Match hashtags: #PITvMIA and #HOUNDTAHN

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