PITTSBURGH (Aug. 27, 2021) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC makes its second trip of the season to Connecticut this weekend, as the Hounds face Hartford Athletic in a major Atlantic Division matchup at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dillon Stadium. The game will be televised live on 22 The Point and streamed on ESPN+.
The Hounds (11-6-4) have the division title race in mind, as they remain level on points — though still with fewer games remaining — with the Tampa Bay Rowdies atop the division. Hartford (8-7-3), meanwhile finds itself on the wrong end of tiebreakers in a three-way tie with Charlotte and Charleston for the fourth and final playoff spot, meaning every point over the final two months will be critical to their postseason hopes.
The Hounds are 5-1-1 all-time against Hartford, with a 2-0-1 record at Dillon Stadium that includes the teams’ 1-1 draw on May 15. The Hounds then won the return meeting in Pittsburgh, 3-1, on July 31 after Alex Dixon scored a pair of goals against his former team.
Coming off their first four-goal performance of the year, 4-1 over Atlanta United 2 on Sunday, the Hounds will look to keep things rolling on that end of the field. Russell Cicerone scored a hat trick, and the other goal came off the foot of Tommy Williamson, who netted his first professional assist setting up Cicerone in the team’s last trip to Hartford. With Albert Dikwa (groin) out until at least October, Cicerone, Williamson and Dixon again will be asked to lead the line for the Hounds.
Also ruled out for the Hounds along the back line are Jordan Dover and Jalen Robinson, both with lower-body injuries, though both are eyeing September returns.
For Hartford, which is just 1-4-1 in its past six matches and coming off a 2-0 loss at Miami, Danny Barrera remains the do-it-all player. The midfield captain leads the team in goals with five and is tied for the USL Championship lead in assists with eight.
Hartford does have a clean bill of health, mostly, with only lightly used defender Richie Schlentz (hamstring) and midfielder Luka Prpa (foot), who scored the tying goal in the teams’ first meeting, listed on their injury report.
For a glance at the areas where the teams’ third meeting will be won and lost, check out this week’s 3 Things feature. To see the complete 2021 schedule, visit https://www.riverhounds.com/game-schedule.
MATCH INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Aug. 28
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Dillon Stadium, Hartford, Conn.
TV: 22 The Point / WPNT-22
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live Updates: Twitter at @RiverhoundsSC and #HFDvPIT
