FENTON, Mo. (August 19, 2017) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (7-8-9) captured their second straight win on the road, defeating Saint Louis FC (7-10-5) in a wild 2-1 affair at World Wide Technology Soccer Park.
Capturing back-to-back wins on the road for the first time since August 2013, the Hounds stormed back to victory after being down 1-0 at the half thanks to two tallies from Corey Hertzog (47’ and 73’). The latter and go-ahead goal came by way of a penalty only minutes after goalkeeper Trey Mitchell kept Saint Louis off the board with a penalty take of its own in the 66th minute.
Action opened at a breakneck pace with Hertzog nearly cashing in on two golden opportunities within the first 20 minutes of the match. On both occasions, takes from the left side of the box, Saint Louis goalkeeper Adam Grinwis was there to keep the Hounds off the board.
Despite holding an 8-to-3 shot advantage after the first 45 minutes of play, Pittsburgh would head into the break down a goal after Seth Rudolph tallied in the 44th minute. On the receiving end of a pretty passing display from the hosts, including a no-look back-heel feed from Christian Volesky into the box, Rudolph beat Mitchell to the bottom right of the frame with a right-footed take.
The lead for Saint Louis proved to be short-lived after Romeo Parkes won a free kick for the Hounds off a dangerous run into the host’s defensive third in the 46th minute. Lining up alongside Parkes on the set piece from about 30 yards out was Hertzog, who placed a beautiful, pinpoint shot into the upper-left corner of the goal.
Pittsburgh continued to pour on the pressure, including a near-goal from Chevaughn Walsh only moments later. Unable to breakthrough though even with the consistent pressure, a penalty awarded to Saint Louis appeared to head the match toward a disastrous result for the Hounds in the 65th minute. The whistle fell on Mitchell, as he was forced to come off his line to play Tony Walls after the defender found himself all alone in the box.
Lining up the penalty kick for Saint Louis was Milan Petosevic, who entered the match minutes before as a second half substitution. Petosevic put forth a strong strike ticketed for the right side of the goal only to see Mitchell make an incredible, diving effort to keep the match level.
The Hounds keeper, only four games removed from missing time with a shoulder injury, remained down after the play, as he appeared to land awkwardly following the save. Checked on by the training staff during a stoppage in action, Mitchell recovered to play the remainder of the match.
Appearing to be sparked from Mitchell’s gutsy showing, the Hounds were handed a penalty kick of their own in the 72nd minute. In a nearly identical sequence to the Saint Louis penalty, Grinwis was forced to come off his line to challenge and eventually foul an unmarked Hertzog in the box.
The Hounds forward wasted no time putting the Hounds ahead, calmly ticketing his penalty take in the center of goal for his second tally of the half. For Hertzog, the goal, his ninth on the season, marked his fourth career multi-tally effort in Black and Gold, as well as upped his career total with the Hounds to 22 – good enough for sixth all-time in club history.
Along with keeping the Hounds very much in the playoff hunt – only one point removed from the eighth seed in the East – the victory marked the second time this season the club has come back after trailing at the half (2-5-1).
Pittsburgh now returns home in hopes of finishing the month of August unbeaten (2-0-1), welcoming Bethlehem Steel FC (10-9-3) to Highmark Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 26. Set to kick off at 7 p.m., tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting www.riverhounds.com.
Lineups:
Riverhounds – Trey Mitchell – Taylor Washington, Tobi Adewole, Jamal Jack, Ritchie Duffie – Romeo Parkes, Stephen Okai, Victor Souto, Kevin Kerr – Chevaughn Walsh (Ryan Adeleye 88’), Corey Hertzog
Subs not used: Matt Perrella, Kay Banjo, Danny Earls, Shannon Gomez, Kenroy Howell, Jack Thompson
Saint Louis FC – Adam Grinwis – Wesley Charpie, Konrad Plewa, Tony Walls, Austin Ledbetter – Seth Rudolph (Mats Bjurman 74’), Ivan Mirkovic, Dragan Stojkov, Emmanuel Appiah – Daniel Jackson (Christian Volesky 32’), Tyler David (Milan Petosevic 60’)
Subs not used: Devala Gorrick, Emir Alihodzic, Cabalceta, Aeden Stanley
Scoring Summary:
STL – Seth Rudolph (Christian Volesky) – 44’
PGH – Corey Hertzog – 47’
PGH – Corey Hertzog (penalty) – 73’
Misconduct Summary:
PGH – Tobi Adewole (Caution) – 45+’
STL – Christian Volesky (Caution) – 45+’
PGH – Victor Souto (Caution) – 50’
PGH – Trey Mitchell (Caution) – 65’
STL – Adam Grinwis (Caution) – 72’
STL – Tony Walls (Caution) – 79’
PGH – Jamal Jack (Caution) – 85’
PGH – Corey Hertzog (Caution) 90+’
