Riverhounds Return Home and Down Eagles 3-1
June 21, 2010 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
Pittsburgh, PA- Mother Nature had its way, as a thunderstorm blew through Pittsburgh shortly before Kick-Off. Following Mother Nature's lead, the Riverhounds (2-3-5) dumped three goals on the Eagles (4-5-2) to secure their first home win in front of 651 loyal fans.
Pittsburgh wasted little time to jump on top of Charlotte, as Alex Weekes converted on a Tommy Gray pass in the 4th minute. Gray found himself deep inside of the Eagles defense and chipped a ball into the middle of the penalty area over an Eagle defender to find Weekes all alone in front of the goal. Weekes confidently slotted the ball past Eagle goal keeper, Brian Edwards to put the Riverhounds on top early.
The remainder of the first half was spent in the middle third of the field, with each team trying figure out the opposition's strategy of attack. Charlotte recorded the only corner in the half, with the Riverhounds just missing the final penetrating pass.
At the half, Coach Evans made a change to the line-up moving Gray to the forward position. The change paid dividend early in the half when Gray found the back of the net in the 47th minute. Captain, Travis MacKenzie slotted Gray a ball behind the Eagle' defense for a one-on-one with Edwards; Gray took a low driven strike to the right of Edwards and found the back of the net to put the Hounds up 2-0.
In the 54th minute the Riverhounds put together an array of passes to capitalize on their third goal of the game. Starting in the defensive third, Sterling Flunder cleaned up an Eagle pass to find Matt Tuttle on the left flank. Tuttle collected the pass and found an inside checking MacKenzie who slid a pass to an overlapping Flunder. The slotted pass allowed Flunder to out-pace his defender to the end line and serve a ball to Matt Baker at the back post. Baker's first touch was smooth and allowed him to find Weekes alone in front of the goal to tuck the ball past Edwards and put the Hounds up three.
The Riverhounds missed out on two other quality opportunities from the feet of Tuttle and Baker. A brilliant cross from Gray found Tuttle on the Eagles back post. Tuttle connected well on the full volley, but a diving defender deflected the ball wide of the goal. The second opportunity came off of Baker's right foot as his strike bent just wide of the upper left corner.
The Eagles fought to the last whistle and converted in added time. Gustavo Bentos scored on a left-to-right cross from Miguel Ferrer. The cross found Bentos alone inside the penalty area and striking a side-scissors into the back of the net.
The Riverhounds return to action next weekend at Edinboro University to cap off the PA West Soccer Tournament at Sox Harrison Stadium. The match against the Real Maryland Monarchs (3-3-5) is slated for an 8:00 p.m. Kick-Off. For ticket information contact the Riverhounds office at 412.539.1191.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 21, 2010
- Isles Host US Open Cup, $5 Tickets - Penn FC
- Change Comes to the Pioneers - Western Mass Pioneers
- Less Than 2 Weeks Left to Buy Discounted Bolton Tickets - Charlotte Eagles
- White Out at City Stadium Tuesday - Richmond Kickers
- Riverhounds Return Home and Down Eagles 3-1 - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
- Battery Faces RailHawks in Second Round of U.S. Open Cup - Charleston Battery
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