PITTSBURGH (Aug. 22, 2021) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC got back in the win column after a three-game winless stretch, defeating Atlanta United 2 by a 4-1 score at Highmark Stadium.
Russell Cicerone scored his first career hat trick, and Tommy Williamson also scored as the Hounds (11-6-4) had their highest scoring total of the year. Darwin Matheus scored to tie things up for Atlanta (6-8-7) in the 15th minute, but the Hounds scored twice more before the break to take a 3-1 lead into halftime.
Cicerone ended the scoring and completed his hat trick — the first hat trick for the Hounds since Neco Brett in the 2019 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals — in the 66th minute.
First Half
After failing to score in their previous two matches, the Hounds were on the attack early.
In the second minute, the Hounds were awarded a penalty kick after a foul by Atlanta’s Aiden McFadden, who pulled Cicerone down off the ball. Cicerone sent the ensuing penalty shot toward the bottom-left corner, only to be denied by goalie Rocco Rios Novo.
Cicerone made amends in the fourth minute, when Alex Dixon played a ball through between defenders. Rios Novo came off his line to challenge the shot, but Cicerone sent the ball past him into the bottom left corner.
In the 15th minute, Atlanta tied the match when McFadden sent a high cross from the right to Matheus in the center of the penalty box. Matheus controlled the ball and sent a hard shot over Danny Vitiello‘s shoulder to even things up.
The scoring continued in the 26th minute. After a corner kick, Kenardo Forbes received a long, diagonal ball along the goal line on the right side. Forbes then hit Williamson with a low pass in front of goal, and Williamson put the shot away with one touch for his fourth goal of the season.
Just five minutes later, Cicerone found his second goal of the match, putting on a slew of 1-on-1 moves to create space from Atlanta’s Bryce Washington before sending the shot into the bottom-right corner.
Second Half
Although the second half didn’t feature as many goals, there were still some good opportunities for the Hounds.
In the 53rd minute, Dixon had space in the right side of the box, but the following shot was just high of the goal. Then, in the 63rd minute, Dixon tried to find Cicerone outside the six-yard box, but his diving header attempt went wide of the mark.
But those two connected to complete the hat trick in the 67th minute, as Cicerone tapped in a low Dixon feed from three yards out for his 11th goal of the season and third of the game.
Hounds Man of the Match
Russell Cicerone earns the honor tonight, tallying the first Hounds hat trick since Brett’s four-goal performance in the 7-0 rout of Birmingham Legion in the 2019 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. He had a total of four shots on target, the only miss being when Rios Novo saved his penalty kick in the third minute.
What’s next?
After playing five matches in 16 days, the Hounds get almost a full week before their next match, a meeting with Hartford Athletic at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Dillon Stadium. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in their first trip to Dillon Stadium back on May 15, while the Hounds won their first meeting in Pittsburgh, 3-1, on July 31.
Riverhounds SC lineup (3-4-3) — Danny Vitiello; Preston Kilwien, Shane Wiedt, Mekeil Williams; Louis Perez (Dani Rovira 59’), Todd Wharton, Danny Griffin, Alex Dixon (Anthony Velarde 72’); Tommy Williamson (Tom Judge 59’), Kenardo Forbes (Jelani Peters 83’), Russell Cicerone (Wyatt Borso 83’)
Atlanta United 2 lineup (4-3-3) — Rocco Rios Novo; Aiden McFadden, Bryce Washington (Bradley Kamdem Fewo 45’), Josh Bauer, Caleb Wiley; Robbie Mertz, Ajani Fortune (Phillip Goodrum 45’), Abdoulaye Diop (Matias Benitez 72’); Jackson Conway (Connor Stanley 79’), Darwin Matheus, Machop Chol (Amadou Diop 68’)
Scoring summary
PIT — Russell Cicerone 4’ (Alex Dixon)
ATL — Darwin Matheus 15’ (Aiden McFadden)
PIT — Tommy Williamson 26’ (Kenardo Forbes)
PIT — Russell Cicerone 31’ (Danny Griffin)
PIT — Russell Cicerone 66’ (Alex Dixon)
Discipline summary
PIT — Louis Perez 54’ (caution – persistent infringement)
ATL — Phillip Goodrum 71’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
ATL — Josh Bauer 76’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
PIT — Dani Rovira 84’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
ATL — Matias Benitez 88’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
PIT — Todd Wharton 90+2’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
