PITTSBURGH (February 26, 2020) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC tied Loudoun United FC, 1-1, on Wednesday at Highmark Stadium in preseason play.
Lukas Fernandes scored a first-half goal for the Hounds before Loudoun converted a second-half penalty kick to ultimately knot the score at its final. Pittsburgh now holds a 2-1-3 record this preseason.
“I thought we did a pretty good job staying patient, holding on to the ball,” head coach Bob Lilley said. “Some of the things we worked on were better. I think the second half we let the game get into a bit of a track meet, and I thought they were pretty good in a wide-open game. We had some good chances to get the second goal, and it’s disappointing we didn’t get out with the result again. Definitely better overall as a performance.”
Fernandes scored his team-leading third goal of the preseason in the 24th minute. Collecting a hard pass across the penalty box from Robbie Mertz, the rookie pounded home a shot right below the crossbar to put the Hounds up 1-0.
In the 70th minute, Loudoun converted on a penalty kick to draw even. The squad placed the shot into the bottom-right corner.
Riverhounds SC continues preseason action with a road match against Columbus Crew SC. This match will kick off at 1 p.m. on Monday, and venue is to be determined.
Riverhounds SC Lineups:
First Half: Tomas Gomez – Ryan James, Hunter Ashworth, Patrick Bunk-Andersen, Jordan Dover – Kenardo Forbes, Robbie Mertz – Anthony Velarde, Danny Griffin, Lukas Fernandes – Steevan Dos Santos
Second Half: Danny Vitiello – Ryan James (Dani Rovira), Hunter Ashworth (Jerry Wiltshire), Patrick Bunk-Andersen (Skylar Thomas), Jordan Dover (Xhelil Asani) – Kenardo Forbes (Tony Walls), Robbie Mertz (Sean MacLeod) – Anthony Velarde (Aydan Bowers), Danny Griffin (Devin Boyce), Lukas Fernandes (Osagi Bascome) – Steevan Dos Santos (Mark Forrest)
Scoring Summary:
PIT – Lukas Fernandes 24’ (Robbie Mertz)
LDN – 70’ (penalty kick)
