Wilmington Hammerheads take bite out of Pittsburgh Riverhounds
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer club could not contain the Wilmington Hammerheads offense in the second half on a rainy Wednesday night as the Hounds lost 4-1 at Legion Stadium in North Carolina.
Justin Evans’ squad got on the scoreboard first in the 13th minute when forward Jose Angulo scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season off an assist from defender and captain Rich Costanzo.
The Hammerheads fought back and brought the game even in the 32nd minute, when forward Kyle Greig headed the ball into the top corner of the net from the penalty area off a high cross from midfielder Shawn Nicklaw.
Wilmington’s assault on the scoreboard started in the second half , when in the 76th minute substitute forward Cody Arnoux found fellow substitute forward Steven Perry open in the middle of the penalty area and Perry scored his first goal of the regular season for Wilmington.
The scoring continued in the 82nd minute as midfielder Bryce Taylor scored his first goal of the regular season for the Hammerheads off an assist from defender Gareth Evans.
The final goal of the game came only three minutes later in the 85th minute when Arnoux put the ball past Hounds goalkeeper Greg Blum off a pass in front of the net from Perry.
Pittsburgh’s Blum had two saves while Wilmington’s Philip Tuttle had one save on the evening. Wilmington also led on the scoresheet with 16 shots on goal to the Hounds six.
Up Next: The final regular season game will see the Riverhounds (10-8-7, 37 points) hosting the first-place Richmond Kickers (15-1-9, 54 points) at Highmark Stadium in Station Square at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game will be played in front of a sold-out crowd.
Pittsburgh and Richmond battled to a 0-0 draw at City Stadium in Virginia during Week 1 of the 2013 season back on April 6.
The Kickers secured the best record in the league and the 2013 USL PRO regular season championship on Wednesday night when they shut out Orlando City 2-0. Richmond will have home-field advantage through the playoffs.