Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2 faced two of its biggest tests of the season last week, drawing 0-0 against FC Buffalo on Wednesday, June 3, at F.N.B. Stadium, before traveling across state lines to play fellow newcomers Lorain County Leviathan FC on June 6, where they lost 3-2.
Riverhounds 2 0, FC Buffalo 0
Hounds 2 played their first scoreless match as they went 90 minutes deadlocked with FC Buffalo. While there were few chances in the first half, the best of the lot came from the New York side at the end of the half, when Ali Alomari won the ball at the top of the Hounds 2 box and narrowly put the ball wide left of the goal.
In the second half, Hounds 2 came out piling on pressure that wasn’t seen in the first half, but nothing resulted. Buffalo countered well out of Hounds 2 pressure, and in the 55th minute, forced an incredible double save out of Jack Moxom, stopping what looked like a certain goal.
The best chance of the game came to Hounds 2 in the 72nd minute when substitute Pablo Linzoain, the former Hounds First Team academy contract player, won the ball on a breakaway and put the ball in the back of the net, but a foul was called in the build-up, negating the strike.
“I just tried to bring energy off the bench,” Linzoain said. “(Buffalo) was getting tired, and it’s hot outside, so I just tried to press as hard as I could and make it as hard as I could for them.”
The remainder of the game was marked by half-chances and possession for Hounds 2, but the team couldn’t put one in the net. Moxom made three saves to register his third clean sheet of the season.
“In the second half, we made a slight adjustment, and we came out and controlled the second half,” Hounds 2 head coach Josh Kremers said. “To credit them, they had a couple of good chances in transition. They’re a tough team to play against. On the balance of the game, I was proud of us and disappointed not to come away with three points.”
Lorain County Leviathan FC 3, Hounds 2 2
Hounds 2 suffered its second defeat on a trip to the Cleveland suburbs.
Lorain County started the scoring early in the 13th minute after Dakota Jonke won the ball in the midfield and found a cross-field, curling pass to Sam Brittain, whose shot took a deflection over Moxom to put Hounds 2 down early. After the early shock, both sides settled into the game with Hounds 2 controlling more of the ball.
The next goal came from Pittsburgh as Adrian Biaggi found an incisive ball through the Leviathan’s low block to Nicholas Legendre, who burst through the backline and finished first time past the keeper. Hounds 2’s celebrations would be quickly cut short in the 38th minute, when the ball fell to Justin Shreffer at the top of the box off of a Lorain County corner, and he smashed the ball into the top left corner off a half-volley, giving the Ohio-based side a 2-1 halftime lead.
The Leviathan got its third in the 63rd minute, when Stefan Velickovic tapped home from close range after the rebound of a Moxom save fell to the forward in the box.
Hounds 2 dominated the remainder of the chances and possession, winning a handful of corners, but they couldn’t break through until the 87th minute when Daniel Firek won the ball in the attacking third and found Michael Lee, who played Legendre through for his second goal of the game and his team-leading fourth of the season.
Riverhounds 2 is back in action Wednesday, June 10, when they visit Steel City FC at 6 p.m.
