Pittsburgh Riverhounds open playoffs on the road in Orlando

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer club finished the month of August strong with a record of 3-2-1 in USL PRO action and unleashed a playoff berth.

The seventh-seeded Hounds (10-8-8, 38 points) will face the No. 2 seed Orlando City Lions (16-4-6, 54 points) in the first round of the USL PRO playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

In their two matches during the regular season, Pittsburgh fought to a 0-0 draw with Orlando City on July 17 at Highmark Stadium, then shut out the Lions 1-0 on the road back on Aug. 3.

Hounds’ goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap had seven saves in the 0-0 draw while Greg Blum had one save and midfielder Ryan Kinne had the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory.

On Saturday night, the Riverhounds will be hosting an official watch party for the Steel Army on the big screen at Highmark Stadium in Station Square.

Playoff Pairings: The No. 5 Charlotte Eagles (10-5-11, 41 points) will travel to Pennsylvania to take on the fourth-seeded Harrisburg City Islanders (14-10-2, 44 points) at 2 p.m. at the Skyline Sports Complex.

The No. 8 seed Dayton Dutch Lions (10-9-7, 37 points) will be on the the road to Virginia to do battle with the regular season champion Richmond Kickers (15-1-10, 55 points) at 7 p.m. at City Stadium.

The No. 6 Los Angeles Blues (11-8-7, 40 points) heads across the country to South Carolina for a match with the third-seeded and defending USL PRO champion Charleston Battery (13-7-6, 45 points) at 7:30 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium.

Riverhounds Reinforecements: On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ Rob Vincent was named to the USL PRO Team of the Week for the final week of the season. The midfielder’s assist on Jose Angulo’s goal helped the Hounds to stay even in their 1-1 draw with the Richmond Kickers. Vincent has three goals and one assist in 23 games played this season.

Angulo and defender Michael Green were on the honorable mention list for the final USL PRO team of the week of the regular season.

Angulo’s goal on Saturday allowed him to claim the USL PRO scoring title with 34 points. He also has the distinction of scoring the first goal in Highmark Stadium history, when the Hounds opened their new stadium along the Monongahela River in April.

Hailing from Barranquilla, Columbia, Angulo’s team-leading 15th goal tied him with Orlando City’s Dominic Dwyer for most goals scored and the sharing of the Golden Boot award. The 15 goals each scored by the duo also put them in a tie for a new league record for goals in a single season. Adding to his accomplishments, Angulo was the league’s shot leader with 73.

Also setting a new league record, midfielder Matt Dallman brought home the USL PRO assists title with 12 helpers in 2013. Dallman also scored two goals in 23 games.

Defender Andrew Marshall was the team leader in fouls with 37, and in games played with 26.

Goalkeeper Gilstrap had 67 saves in 21 games for the Hounds. He and Richmond’s Andrew Dykstra shared third place in the league for most ties during the season.