Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (8-3-8) put on a scoring display in its 4-2 victory against Hartford Athletic (3-15-4) this past Saturday at Dillon Stadium. The Black and Gold’s scoring came from up and down the roster, as three different players registered a goal. Another tally came via a Hartford own goal. Here’s how the club put up four on the scoreboard this past weekend.
13’ Steevan Dos Santos assisted by Anthony Velarde
Anthony Velarde set up the first goal of the match.
Fielding a ball from Ryan James (orange arrow), Velarde (yellow arrow) takes the sphere deeper into the attacking third. Then with a cross, he finds the head of Steevan Dos Santos (green arrow), who places it by the goalkeeper to put the Hounds ahead 1-0.
As the ball enters the penalty box, Dos Santos makes a calculated run to gain position in front of a Hartford defender, ultimately allowing him to get off a clean shot on target.
37’ Anthony Velarde
After setting up the first goal, Velarde potted the second tally.
Stemming from a throw-in, three Hounds outnumber two Hartford defenders (red arrows). Dos Santos (orange arrow) begins the buildup with a ball sent deep into the attacking third. Christian Volesky (yellow arrow) runs it down and plays it across to Velarde (green arrow), who waits at the center of the penalty area.
Both Hartford defenders have a chance to clear the dangerous pass, but both whiff on the opportunity. After the second defender cannot clear, Velarde sends a left-footed shot into the net to give the Hounds the 2-0 lead.
38’ Kyle Curinga (own goal)
Kenardo Forbes (yellow arrow) spots Dos Santos (green arrow) even with the Hartford backline and places a pinpoint accurate through-ball up to the striker.
Chasing the ball down inside of the 18-yard box, Dos Santos is cut off by the Athletic’s Kyle Curinga (red arrow), who sprints in from the left flank. Attempting to clear the ball, Curinga misplays it and the sphere heads into the goalmouth to provide the Hounds with the 3-0 advantage.
76’ Neco Brett
After fielding an aerial ball from James inside of the penalty area, Neco Brett went to work.
With nifty footwork, the striker alludes two Hartford defenders and freezes the opposing goalkeeper, all of which can be seen below.
Brett’s goal made the score 4-1 at the time, helping give the Hounds enough buffer to seal the win. Furthermore, this tally gives the striker 51 career points with Pittsburgh and makes him just the 11th player all-time to hit the 50-point plateau with the club.
Tale of the Tape
The Hounds jumped out to a 3-0 lead at the half, being propelled by a 7-to-0 shots on goal advantage after the first-45 minutes.
In the second half, Hartford flipped this script and held a 4-to-2 takes on target advantage. However, this could not make up for the early deficit.
Also of note, Pittsburgh found much of its success attacking down the right flank. In the attacking third, 43 percent of the team’s possession came from down the right side of the pitch.
