Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (15-4-14) battled Atlanta United 2 (6-17-10) to a 1-1 draw in its first-ever trip to Coolray Field. Supplying the goal for the Hounds, Thomas Vancaeyezeele posted a go-ahead tally in the first half. Here’s how the rookie recorded his second goal of the season this past Wednesday.
27’ Thomas Vancaeyezeele assisted by Christiano François
Drawing a foul from about 30 yards out, the Hounds had a golden opportunity to strike first.
Lining up to take the free kick, Christiano François (orange arrow) booted a ball into the 18-yard box. Vancaeyezeele (yellow arrow) would come up from his backline position to make a play on the ball.
Seen above, Vancaeyezeele times his run well and breaks free of any Atlanta defenders. With no one directly locked onto him, the rookie has an uncontested header, which he placed into the bottom left-hand corner of the net to provide Pittsburgh with a 1-0 advantage at the time.
The Other Side
After being shutout during the first half of action, Atlanta found its way onto the scoresheet soon in the second stage.
The USL newcomer struck first stemming from crosses into the penalty area. Originally placing a cross into the 18-yard box, wingback Jon Gallagher connected with Laurent Kissiedou, whose shot was saved by Pittsburgh goalkeeper Dan Lynd. Although just one minute later, Kissiedou would field another cross in the penalty box and this time beat Lynd to the bottom left-hand corner in the 52nd minute.
Tale of the Tape
The Hounds barraged the Atlanta goal throughout the whole match. With 13 first-half total shots in addition to 14 second-half total takes, Pittsburgh recorded a season-high 27 total shots.
Of these 27 shots, nine found their way on frame. Atlanta goalkeeper Alec Kann played well throughout the entirety of the game to help neutralize this total and logged six saves. Kann was on his toes for much of the match, as 36 percent of it was played within the Black and Gold’s attacking third.
On the other hand, Atlanta registered 10 total shots and three takes on target – one of which beat Lynd to draw the score even at its 1-1 result.
