Pittsburgh Riverhounds run unbeaten streak to eight games
By Larry Snyder
On a pleasant Saturday night along the Monongahela River, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer club battled to a 1-1 draw with the defending USL Pro champions Charleston Battery in front of 3,464 strong of the Steel Army. The Hounds have gone 3-0-5 since the beginning of May.
The Battery (7-3-4) got on the scoreboard at Highmark Stadium in the 37th minute, when forward Jose Cuevas took control of the ball off a long diagonal pass from defender Emmaneul Adjetey, on the left flank. Cuevas was able to drive into the Hounds defensive third with speed, and bent his shot into the upper-right corner of the goal, just beyond the the reach of Riverhounds goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap.
After the halftime break, the Hounds increased their attack on Charleston that unleashed a flurry of chances on goal. In the 72nd minute, defender Matt Dallman fed the ball to a streaking Jose Angulo at the near post.
Angulo was able to flick the ball past Battery goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper into the back of the net. With the goal, Angulo raised his team-leading total to seven and Dallman raised his league-leading assist total to eight this season.
Pittsburgh finished the match with a 15-12 lead in shots on goal while both teams committed 10 fouls apiece.
On Friday, the Riverhounds (3-4-6 overall) will be on the road for the second half of the Keystone Derby as they take on the second-place City Islanders (9-3-1) in Harrisburg, Pa. The game is set for 7 p.m. at the Skyline Sports Complex. The City Islanders defeated the Hounds 2-1 when the two teams met April 13 for Pittsburgh’s home opener at Highmark Stadium.
The Riverhounds will be back in Station Square on Sunday at 3 p.m. as they host the Antigua Barracuda FC (0-13-0). In their previous matchup on May 24, the Hounds shut out the Barracuda 2-0 at Highmark Stadium.
Prior to Sunday’s game against Antigua, the Riverhounds will hold a 99-second moment of silence in honor of the team’s founder, Mr. Paul A. Heasley, who passed away at the age of 66 this past Saturday.
Riverhounds Reinforcements: On Tuesday, Riverhounds forward Jose Angulo was named to the USL PRO Team of the Week for Week 13 of the season. Angulo, who scored his seventh goal of the season, allowed the Hounds to earn a point with the Charleston Battery.
Pittsburgh midfielder Matt Dahlman and defender Sterling Flunder were on the honorable mention list for the USL PRO team of the week for Week 13.
Last week, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds announced plans for a four-team youth tournament which will take place at Highmark Stadium on August 10-11. It is the first event of the team’s new developmental partnership with Century United Soccer Club.
The Pathway to the Pros Academy Challenge will showcase some of the nation’s best Under-12 and Under-13 boys from D.C. United, Philadelphia Union, Columbus Crew and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
In a round-robin format, each team will compete in two matches on Saturday and one on Sunday, leading up to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds versus VSI Tampa Bay USL Pro match on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. The winning side from the Pathway to the Pros tournament, determined through total point accumulation and a tiebreaker format, will be honored at halftime of the Riverhounds game.