USL Pro: Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ Season On Brink After Splitting Road Trip

Pittsburgh defender Anthony Arena tries to prevent a Charleston attacker from getting by on Saturday, Aug. 30. The Riverhounds fell 4-0 to finish their weekend trip. (Photo: Riverhounds.com)

Although the Pittsburgh Riverhounds leaped into playoff position with their 1-0 victory at Charlotte on Friday, they dropped right back out with a 4-0 shutout loss Saturday in Charleston, S.C.

The Hounds, now 8-4 since the start of July, will have to get help if they want to make the USL Pro playoffs for the second consecutive season. Pittsburgh (9-13-5, 32 points) is in ninth place on the league table – the top eight qualify for the postseason – with only one match remaining, as Arizona United visits Highmark Stadium next Saturday.

The two clubs immediately ahead of the Hounds, Wilmington and Harrisburg, each have 34 points. Wilmington finishes with a three-game week, while Harrisburg closes with a pair next Friday and Saturday. Pittsburgh would top out at 35 points with a win in its finale.

There is an outside chance the Hounds can catch sixth-place Rochester, which has 35 points with only a meeting with Wilmington remaining on its schedule. Pittsburgh would hold the tiebreaker (most wins) if it can pull even with the Rhinos in the standings.

After Robert Morris University product Miro Cabrilo netted a dramatic second-half goal Friday, helping the Hounds to a 1-0 triumph at Charlotte, their playoff outlook was the brightest it’s been all summer. Pittsburgh was winless in its first 10 matches (0-6-4) before rallying back under interim coach Niko Katic in recent months.

However, Saturday’s match continued an unsavory pattern. The Riverhounds made a trio of two-game trips this season, and they finished 0-3 in the second game of such excursions, getting outscored 10-0 in the process.

Last year’s USL Pro scoring champion and MVP Jose Angulo had an opportunity to change the course of events in Charleston, but he was denied on a penalty kick with Pittsburgh down 1-0 late in the first half. The Hounds went on to concede three times in the second frame as the hometown Battery clinched a playoff spot.

For the next several days, all the Hounds can do is prepare for Arizona while keeping an eye on other league results.