The Riverhounds are back on the road this week, as the team readies itself for its second trip of the season to MSU Soccer Park in Montclair, N.J. and the third meeting of the year with the New York Red Bulls II.
The Hounds got past Loudoun in their last match, 1-0, which was also a third meeting of the year. Those repeat meetings will become more frequent as the season rolls on, which means teams will be more familiar with the tactics and personnel of the group on the other side.
Just because the Hounds won each of the first two meetings doesn’t mean it will be an easy time in Jersey, and here are 3 Things to watch out for in Friday’s match on ESPN+.
1.) Pump the brakes
Just as with any matchup against a John Wolyniec-coached Red Bulls II team, the Hounds have been preparing for an opponent who wants to press and play at break-neck speed, especially on their home turf.
That has been a point of emphasis in practice this week, and as assistant coach Dan Visser pointed out after Wednesday’s training session, even the team’s 3-0 win on their previous trip to New Jersey wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline seemed. New York outshot the Hounds, 8-6, and the Baby Bulls generally made life difficult for the Hounds, chasing them into a season-low 61.1 percent passing accuracy.
If the Hounds are to be successful, they need to control the tempo of the game and not allow New York to turn it into a track meet.
2.) Communicate up front
Making hard, dynamic runs to get open in front of goal has been something the Hounds have done well, even if the finishing — or sometimes the delivery into the box — has lacked.
But while better crossing and shooting are physical corrections, the forward group needs to do a better job communicating and trusting each other to do their part.
In one particular second-half moment in the win over Loudoun, the Hounds created a great scoring chance with Dani Rovira and Kenardo Forbes moving the ball between themselves on the left flank. Rovira sent a dangerous cross into the box, and Albert Dikwa leaped for an overhead kick opportunity that didn’t come off correctly.
Clearly unknown to Dikwa, Alex Dixon was waiting alone at the back post and would have had a shot from inside of 10 yards had the ball been allowed to continue through. Even on the Hounds’ goal, Dikwa and Russell Cicerone made runs to the same space, though in that instance, the play worked out with Cicerone deflecting the ball into the net.
Better chatter between the forwards could lead to better chances, and against a team that has given up a league-worst 27 goals, those chances should be plentiful.
3.) Get it going early
It’s obvious and clichéd to say the Hounds want a strong start, but after a Loudoun win in which the only goal was scored in the sixth minute, the numbers are really reflecting how important that is for the team.
The Hounds now are 7-0-2 in matches in which they have scored first, and 7-0-1 when they lead at halftime. Naturally, the converse records are bad — 0-4-1 when conceding first and 0-4-1 when trailing at halftime — and while everyone loves an exciting comeback win, the Hounds and their coaches will be quite content to lead it all the way.
