USL PRO Update: Riverhounds Clinch Playoff Place

August 12, 2013 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Pittsburgh Riverhounds clinched a place in the USL PRO Playoffs as they held on late to take a 3-2 victory against VSI Tampa Bay FC at Highmark Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Riverhounds' victory also assured the Los Angeles Blues of a place in the postseason, while Tampa Bay remained on the outside looking in requiring victory in its final game and a series of other results to earn the No. 8 seed.

Tampa Bay had the best opportunity to take the lead in the first half just before the half-hour mark as a poor defensive header put Andriy Budnyy in on goal. The Ukrainian forward passed to Sebastian Thuriere, whose shot was saved by Hunter Gilstrap as VSI was unable to take advantage.

Pittsburgh came close to taking the lead four minutes later as Jose Angulo was able to find space in the right side of the penalty area, but his cross was put wide by Mike Seth. Angulo also had a pair of opportunities in the final five minutes before halftime, but on both occasions his headers went wide of the mark.

The Riverhounds took the lead in the 53rd minute as Mike Seamon made a good run down the right, and his cross deflected off the arm of Tampa Bay defender Josh Rife. Angulo stepped up, and shot into the left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead from the spot.

Pittsburgh added to its lead six minutes later as Rob Vincent scored his second goal in as many games against Tampa Bay this season with an outstanding low strike from 30 yards into the bottom-left corner of the net. Darren Amoo made it 3-0 in the 68th minute as he put away a pass from Angulo.

Tampa Bay's comeback began moments later as second-half substitute Chad Burt tucked home a rebound from close range. The nerves began to jangle a little for the Riverhounds with five minutes to go as Andriy Budnyy scored a second for VSI, but Pittsburgh was able to hold on in front of a capacity crowd to clinch a place in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay's path to the playoffs is now reliant on outside forces, with VSI needing to claim victory in its final game of the season against Charlotte. VSI would also need the Wilmington Hammerheads to earn four points in its final two games against Pittsburgh and Antigua, and have the Dayton Dutch Lions fall to the Harrisburg City Islanders to earn a place in the postseason.

WEDNESDAY

CHARLOTTE 2 HARRISBURG 1: The Charlotte Eagles rallied from an early deficit to take a 2-1 victory against the Harrisburg City Islanders at Skyline Sports Complex. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Eagles, as goals by Christian Ramirez and Jorge Herrera earned victory after Christhian Hernandez had opened the scoring for the City Islanders.

ORLANDO 3, TAMPA BAY 2: Dennis Chin scored off a corner kick with 10 minutes to play as Orlando City took a dramatic 3-2 victory against VSI Tampa Bay FC at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Tampa Bay took the lead in the 26th minute through Chad Burt, but Renan Boufleur tied the game off a free kick six minutes later. Orlando then took the lead six minutes after the break as Cheyne Roberts scored an own goal, but Tampa Bay hit back with just more than 20 minutes to go through Shawn Chin's curling finish. Chin's goal in the 80th minute proved the decider, though, as Orlando swept the season series against its in-state rival.

THURSDAY

LOS ANGELES 2, CHARLESTON 1: Matt Fondy scored a pair of goals as the Los Angeles Blues took a 2-1 victory against the Charleston Battery at Anteater Stadium. Fondy's two tallies gave him nine goals in nine games since re-joining the Blues. Fondy scored twice in five minutes just past the half-hour mark to give the Blues a 2-0 lead at the break, and while Charleston was able to hit back with 10 minutes to go through Dane Kelly, the Blues held on to take victory.

FRIDAY

WILMINGTON 2, DAYTON 1: The Wilmington Hammerheads got a stoppage-time goal from Cody Arnoux to keep their playoff hopes alive with victory against the Dayton Dutch Lions at Legion Stadium.

Wilmington's Mickael Oliveira opened the scoring in the 31st minute off a volley after a good pass from Daniel Steres. The Dutch Lions were able to get back on even terms through Joey Madigan in the 68th minute, but Arnoux's late finish earned his side its third consecutive victory.

ROCHESTER 1, PITTSBURGH 0: Tam McManus' stoppage-time winner gave the Rochester Rhinos victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Sahlen's Stadium. The Rhinos' victory snapped the Riverhounds' four-game winning streak, and gave the Rhinos victory in their home finale.

SATURDAY

RICHMOND 5, DAYTON 2: Matt Delicate and Brian Ownby each scored a pair of goals as the Richmond Kickers moved back into sole possession of first place with a 5-2 victory against the Dayton Dutch Lions at City Stadium. Delicate opened the scoring in the sixth minute, and Ownby added a second in the 37th minute.

Dayton hit back a minute later as Eli Garner found the back of the net, but Delicate's second quickly restored the Kickers' lead less than a minute later to give Richmond a 3-1 halftime lead. Nate Robinson added a fourth early in the second half before an own goal by Henry Kalungi gave Dayton hope for a comeback, but Ownby's second wrapped up victory for the Kickers.

A piece of USL PRO history was also made, as Richmond brothers Vaughn and Evan Fowler both made their debuts and became the first academy players to appear in a USL PRO contest.

HARRISBURG 3, TAMPA BAY 1: Lucky Mkosana had his second hat trick of the season as the Harrisburg City Islanders solidified their third-place position with a 3-1 victory against VSI Tampa Bay FC at Skyline Sports Complex. Mkosana opened the scoring with five minutes to go in the first half, but Tampa Bay hit back through Mauricio Salles just past the hour-mark. Mkosana quickly restored the lead, however, and completed his hat trick with eight minutes to go to seal victory.

CHARLOTTE 5, ANTIGUA 0: The Charlotte Eagles took their second consecutive victory, and booked a place in the USL PRO Playoffs, as Jorge Herrera had a pair of goals in their 5-0 win against Antigua Barracuda. Drew Yates also had a goal and two assists to send the Eagles to the postseason for the first time since 2009.

Herrera opened the scoring in the 12th minute, and Stephen Okai added a second goal eight minutes later before Yates notched a third with seven minutes to go before halftime that gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead. Herrera added a second 10 minutes into the second half before Paul Islas rounded out the victory with two minutes to go.

CHARLESTON 1, PHOENIX 0: The Charleston Battery secured their return to the playoffs, and maintained fourth place in the USL PRO standings, with a 1-0 victory against Phoenix FC at Reach 11 Stadium. An own goal by Darren Mackie proved the only goal of the game as the Battery took one win from two games on their west-coast trip.

SUNDAY

ORLANDO 2, SEATTLE RESERVES 0: Orlando City took got a pair of first-half goals as it defeated the Seattle Sounders Reserves 2-0 on Sunday night in front of an Orlando regular-season record attendance of 10,697 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Kevin Molino opened the scoring in the first minute, and Rob Valentino added another at the half-hour mark, as the Lions moved into a tie with the Richmond Kickers for first place in the USL PRO standings ahead of Wednesday night's top-of-the-table showdown in Virginia.

The Lions' victory also capped the 26-game MLS Reserves-USL PRO interleague series for the season, with USL PRO clubs going 11W-6L-9D against their MLS Reserves counterparts. Orlando, Charleston, Charlotte and Wilmington each took a pair of victories in their home-and-home series this season.

STANDINGS (Through August 11)

Team GP W L T GF GA GD Points

p-Richmond 24 14 1 9 48 23 +25 51

p-Orlando 24 15 3 6 53 24 +29 51

p-Harrisburg 25 14 9 2 54 26 +18 44

p-Charleston 25 12 7 6 45 29 +16 42

p-Charlotte 24 10 4 10 41 35 +6 40

p-Los Angeles 25 10 8 7 50 36 +14 37

p-Pittsburgh 24 10 7 7 34 28 +6 37

Dayton 25 9 9 7 40 45 -5 34

Tampa Bay 25 9 12 4 38 36 +2 31

Wilmington (-1) 24 9 11 4 27 37 -10 30

x-Rochester 24 5 9 10 20 34 -14 25

x-Phoenix 25 5 13 7 25 37 -12 22

x-Antigua 24 0 24 0 10 84 -74 0

p - clinched place in playoffs

x - eliminated from playoff contention

RESULTS

Wednesday, August 7

Charlotte 2, Harrisburg 1

Orlando 3, Tampa Bay 2

Thursday, August 8

Los Angeles 2, Charleston 1

Friday, August 9

Wilmington 2, Dayton 1

Rochester 1, Pittsburgh 0

Saturday, August 10

Charlotte 5, Antigua 0

Harrisburg 3, Tampa Bay 1

Richmond 5, Dayton 2

Charleston 1, Phoenix 0

Sunday, August 11

Pittsburgh 3, Tampa Bay 2

Orlando 2, Seattle Reserves 0

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, August 14

Orlando at Richmond, 7 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh at Wilmington, 7:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, August 15

Antigua at Charleston, 7:30 p.m. ET

Friday, August 16

Charlotte at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. ET

Rochester at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, August 17

Richmond at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. ET

Harrisburg at Dayton, 7:30 p.m. ET

Charlotte at Orlando, 7:30 p.m. ET

Antigua at Wilmington, 7:30 p.m. ET

Rochester at Los Angeles, 11 p.m. ET

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 12, 2013

• Championship Implications Prove Main Storyline Wednesday Night - Orlando City SC
• Wilmington Hosts Pittsburgh Wednesday - Wilmington Hammerheads FC
• VSI fall in back to back road matches - VSI Tampa Bay FC
• USL PRO Update: Riverhounds Clinch Playoff Place - USL

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