Pittsburgh Riverhounds Battle Back To Defeat LA Galaxy II At Highmark Stadium

After conceding an early goal, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds responded with a commanding performance, defeating the LA Galaxy II, 3-1, at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night to remain in the hunt for a USL PRO league playoff berth.

Trailing 1-0, and with their leading scorer, Jose Angulo out of the lineup nursing a high ankle sprain, Joseph Ngwenya, Danny Earls and Kevin Kerr tallied goals to help the Riverhounds earn their fifth win in their last seven matches.

“Everyone knows how good Jose is. We can’t replace him with any one player. Each one of us knew we had to step up a little bit. And tonight, three goals, three different scorers. It was a great result for us,” said Kerr.

The Riverhounds found themselves in hole early in a match that saw both sides trading attacking chances.

In the 18th minute, Riverhounds goalkeeper Mike Lisch came out of the goal as Galaxy’s Jose Villarreal was streaking down the right side. Villarreal swiftly sent a left footed chip over Lisch, and despite defender Andrew Marshall’s best last ditch clearance effort, the ball bounced across the goal line to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead.

Like much of the season, the Riverhounds backs were against the wall.

“It’s that part of the season where everything’s make or break. We know that if we don’t put forth the effort, it could be the end. We had to keep coming at them,” said Kerr.

The Riverhounds responded in the 30th minute, as Kerr delivered a cross from the deep on the right corner, connecting with Jason Johnson by the near post.

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Johnson, who started in place of Angulo at forward, sent a shot that was knocked away by Galaxy II’s Laurendi, but as it bounced out, Ngwenya was right there for the equalizer.

With the momentum on their side, the Riverhounds continued to push forward. In the 39th minute, Kerr drew a foul about 30 yards from the right side of the goal, setting up a free kick opportunity.

Earls sent a low, bending left-footed ball that sailed untouched toward the far post, curling into the goal to pull the Hounds into the lead.

Pittsburgh continued to control possession into the second half of a match filled with a lot of physical play, as the teams combined for 31 total fouls (LA had the edge 16-15).

Kerr had a hand in the match’s final goal in the 77th minute. He found a wide-open Matt Dallman on the right side. Dallman, last season’s USL PRO assist leader, sent a well-placed ball toward the near post for Kerr who gave the Hounds a 3-1 lead.

“Everyone knows how good his (Dallman’s) delivery is, I wanted to make sure I was there,” said Kerr.

Riverhounds starting eleven included Mike Lisch (GK), Matt Dallman, Andrew Marshall, Anthony Arena, Sterling Flunder, Rob Vincent, Kevin Kerr, Danny Earls, Mike Green, Joseph Ngwenya and Jason Johnson.

Making their debut for the Riverhounds in the second half were new acquisitions, Mackenzie Pridham and Andrew Ribiero, who came on for Johnson and Green. Seth C’dbaca and Jhonny Arteaga entered the match in the late stages for Flunder and Ngwenya.

The start of the match was delayed about a half hour by severe weather that passed through the Pittsburgh area.

Angulo will be re-evaluated Monday and hopes to resume to light training on Tuesday.

LA dropped both games this week by a count of 3-1, to Harrisburg on Wednesday, and tonight, to drop to a 11-7-4 record overall.
With a 6-11-5 record, the Hounds have inched closer to the final remaining USL PRO playoff spot, with six games remaining.

“After the start we had to the season, we want to make amends, and hope it’s not too late,” said Kerr.

“If we can keep these points coming in, and keep in form, we still believe we can make the playoffs.”

The Riverhounds will get an opportunity to pull closer to one of those teams they are trying to catch, the Orange County Blues FC, on Friday, August 8th with a 7:00pm match at Highmark Stadium.

Game Report Courtesy Of The Pittsburgh Riverhounds