Sixteen down, 16 to go.
The Riverhounds hit the midpoint of the 2021 USL Championship season where they want to be in the standings — first place in the Atlantic Division — and they move into the second half on their best run of form yet after a choppy start to the campaign.
With that in mind, we’ve gone through the best of the first three months of the regular season and have prepared our Midseason Team Awards.
From Best Goal to the Midseason MVP, we’re taking a look back at the highlights from the first 16 games and hoping there’s plenty more where these came from in the second half of the season.
Best Save — Danny Vitiello, June 25 vs. New York Red Bulls II
The reigning league Golden Glove winner has been excellent again this season, and his finest piece of shot stopping was a needed save in what ended as a 2-1 win.
The Hounds conceded a foul in dangerous free kick range in the 25th minute, and New York sent their ever-dangerous midfielder threat, Jeremy Rafanello, to stand over the ball.
Rafanello did just about everything correctly with the kick, getting it over the wall and curling the firm right-footed shot toward the upper left corner of the net, but Vitiello was equal to the task and made a diving stop to push the ball around the post and out for a corner.
Other contenders: Vitiello’s double save vs. Charlotte on May 22; Mekeil Williams’ goal-line clearance early in the 2-1 win at Tampa Bay on June 19.
Best Assist — Alex Dixon, May 28 at New York Red Bulls II
The top assist honor led to a Russell Cicerone strike that was considered for top goal of the first half, but the interplay between the two forwards was the biggest reason this one earned a USL Goal of the Week nomination.
In cold, heavy rain, the Hounds put a 3-0 win out of reach from Red Bulls II when Cicerone played a first-touch, square ball to Dixon near the top of the box. The pass was slightly behind Dixon, who let the ball roll across his body before hitting a no-look backheel pass that hit Cicerone in stride for a thumping finish in the 50th minute.
Other contenders: Albert Dikwa’s leaping layoff pass to Anthony Velarde, July 3 vs. Charlotte; Mekeil Williams’ curling left-footed cross to Alex Dixon, July 31 vs. Hartford
Best Goal — Tommy Williamson, July 7 at Charleston Battery
It was a game moved up because of a hurricane, but the Hounds’ rookie ended it with a thunderbolt.
Williamson entered the match in the 81st minute with the team trailing 1-0, and it took him less than four minutes to pull the Hounds level with a mix of opportunism and class on the strike.
After some good work in the corner to keep the ball alive, Williamson clipped a pass to Louis Pérez. Pérez attempted a cross that was blocked by a defender, but Williamson came storming through to hit the loose ball with full power and accuracy to pick out the top right corner of the net with an untouchable finish.
Apart from the quality of the goal, it came at a big moment, earning a 1-1 road draw for the Hounds and continuing what would end as an undefeated month of July at 4-0-1.
Other contenders: Alex Dixon’s go-ahead goal against Hartford on July 31; Todd Wharton’s opener vs. New York on June 25; Russell Cicerone’s finish of the “Best Assist” winner at New York on May 28
Best Offensive Player — Russell Cicerone
Sometimes, the numbers don’t lie, and that has been the case for the Hounds’ leading scorer at the midway point.
With seven goals and three assists in 16 matches, Cicerone has gotten things done in many ways for the Hounds. Among his goals are driven shots, pokes around the goalkeeper, one-touch redirects and even a headed (faced?) goal being in the right spot at the right time. On top of that, his seven goals have come in seven different matches, and the team is 5-0-2 in games in which Cicerone scores.
The Hounds have been seeking more consistent production across the board from the front line, and maybe that is starting to fall into place after closing the first half with consecutive winning, three-goal performances. But to this point, Cicerone certainly takes the honor as the man with the best finishing touch.
Other contenders: Alex Dixon, Kenardo Forbes
Best Defensive Player — Shane Wiedt
The Hounds’ back line has fluctuated more this season than in any of Bob Lilley’s four in charge, thanks to injuries and international duty, but Wiedt has been the steadiest of the rotating cast.
Second on the team in minutes behind Danny Griffin, the third-year pro out of Pitt has been a fixture among the three (or occasionally two) center backs for the Hounds. He leads the team with 62 clearances — more than the next two players combined — and is second on the team with 26 interceptions. He is third overall in aerial duels won with 38, but his 64.4 percent win rate is best on the team among players with more than 40 total aerial contests.
This season will be Wiedt’s longest in terms of games played at either the college or pro level, so the next challenge for the first-year Hounds defender is to not show signs of fatigue or decline as August and September roll along.
Other contenders: Dani Rovira, Todd Wharton, Mekeil Williams
Midseason MVP — Danny Griffin
The common thread with so many championship-winning teams is a box-to-box midfielder who can control the center of the park. In his second pro season, Griffin is emerging as that player in black and gold.
Playing all but 13 minutes of the first half of the season, Griffin has filled whatever role is needed — ball winner, distributor, twice a goal scorer — and has shown the motor needed to be an influential player on both ends.
His defensive credentials include 29 interceptions, 21 tackles won and 77 duels won, all among the top three on the team. Transitioning forward, he is the team leader in passes and passes completed, but he often picks out the right pass, as shown by his 72.2 percent completion rate on passes in the opponents half, also third on the team.
Though he has his highlights, like his opening goal in the road win at Tampa Bay, much of Griffin’s value is in lesser-appreciated plays. His recovery backward to break up what could have been a 2-on-1 situation for Charlotte’s Dane Kelly in a 1-0 win and his early sprint to block a shot from Hartford leading scorer Danny Barrera early in last week’s 3-1 win are both prime examples of why Griffin gets the Midseason MVP.
Other contenders: Russell Cicerone, Kenardo Forbes
Game of the Season (so far)
Riverhounds 3, Hartford Athletic 1 — Saturday, July 31
Forgive us if recency bias is a factor, but it’s hard not to go with a comeback win that cemented the team’s current first-place position.
Trailing 1-0 at the half, the Hounds tied the match shortly after the break before putting the game away with goals in the 83rd and 88th minute in front of a season-high crowd of 3,879.
Alex Dixon scored the first two goals for the Hounds, making him the first player with a multi-goal game this season, and Louis Pérez put the three points away with a clever turn-and-shoot strike in a crowded penalty area.
The other match considered for this honor was the team’s 2-1 win at Tampa Bay on June 19, and one can certainly point to that game as the one that really started the Hounds in the right direction (while also bringing the hot-starting Rowdies back to Earth). But for the comeback, the crowd and the momentum it gives the team going into the second half, last Saturday’s win takes the cake.
