Pittsburgh Riverhounds in playoff position after two-win weekend
By Larry Snyder
On an overcast Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer club (9-6-7, 34 points) came away with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against the second-place Orlando City SC Lions (12-3-6, 42 points) at Fifth Third Bank Field at the Florida Citrus Bowl.
The three points from the victory moved the Hounds into sole possesion of eight place in the standings which is the final playoff spot in the USL PRO league. The victory was the Hounds’ fourth in a row, with the last three wins coming on the road.
Pittsburgh got on the scoreboard in the 52nd minute, when a ball played in by midfielder
Stefan Lundberg found midfielder Ryan Kinne, who headed it past Lions’ goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo for the 1-0 advantage.
Goalkeeper Gregory Blum picked up his second win of the season for the Hounds. Pittsburgh out shot Orlando City 13-8 on the evening.
There are just four games remaining on the 2013 regular season schedule. On Friday, the Riverhounds visit Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester, New York to take on the Rhinos (4-9-10). Pittsburgh shut out Rochester 3-0 in their last meeting on Saturday, June 1.
The Hounds are back in action at Highmark Stadium in Station Square on Sunday, August 11, when they take on VSI Tampa Bay FC.
Riverhounds In The Sunshine State: The Hounds also picked up three crucial points in the playoff chase on Friday night when they downed VSI Tampa Bay FC 2-1 at Plant City Stadium.
In the midst of heavy traffic, midfielder Tony Donatelli got VSI Tampa Bay (9-8-4) on the scoreboard in the 36th minute by finishing low into the corner.
Pittsburgh unleashed a relentless attack in the second half that saw midfielder Rob Vincent score in the 54th minute bringing the game even at 1-1.
The Hounds took the lead four minutes later when defender Rich Costanzo took a pass in stride on the right flank and found the lower right corner to give Pittsburgh the 2-1 victory.
Riverhounds goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap had four saves on the night while Tampa’s Alexander Horwath checked in with three saves.