(April 22, 2023) — A goal in each half sent Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC to only its second defeat of the season, a 2-0 loss to El Paso Locomotive FC tonight at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas.
Petar Petrovic and Luis Solignac scored, and Benny Diaz made four saves for the Locomotive (3-3-1), who are now unbeaten in their past four matches.
The Hounds (2-2-3) outshot their opponents 9-7 and had 51 percent of possession, but they were unable to create many quality chances in a choppy game with 32 fouls — 21 called against the Hounds.
First half
Though the first half played out slowly with each team feeling its way into the match, Solignac did get one dangerous chance early and pressed Hounds goalkeeper Jahmali Waite into a kick save at the near post.
The El Paso defense frustrated the visitors out wide, as the Hounds were able to get the ball down the flanks but hand numerous crosses blocked away before reaching a dangerous ares.
The Locomotive got their first goal in the 39th minute, when Denys Kostyshyn hit a long, diagonal ball from the midway line that picked out Petrovic in stride. The El Paso player took just two touches, firing quickly from just inside the box and picking out the bottom right corner of the net.
Second half
The Hounds were more dedicated going forward after the break, as in the first five minutes, Albert Dikwa recorded an contested header shot off target and put the ball in the net on a play ruled offside in the build-up.
Pat Hogan got into the box on a give-and-go from his center back position just a few minutes later, but the defender was unable to get enough on the shot to beat Diaz.
Though the Hounds had the better of territory, the Locomotive converted by hitting them on the counter attack. In the 69th minute, substitute defender Marc Navarro hit a long ball out of the back, and Solignac timed his run to get behind the defense. The bouncing ball left Waite in no-man’s land outside of his box, and the Locomotive striker was able to walk the ball into the goal.
The Hounds kept pressing, and Dikwa had a great chance getting behind his defender in the 85th minute, but he was stopped by a flailing Diaz at the top of the box, which snuffed out the last great chance of the match.
Heineken Man of the Match
Robbie Mertz returned from a one-match suspension and was strong on the ball working between the El Paso lines. Mertz completed 30 of 32 passes in the match for a team-leading 93.8 percent clip, while he also led the Hounds with four crosses and had three touches in the Locomotive box, tied for the team’s high.
What’s next?
The Hounds will finally kick their first ball in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as they host Maryland Bobcats FC of third-division NISA on Tuesday, April 25 at 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium. The Third Round matchup is a rematch of last year’s Second Round, when the Hounds defeated the Bobcats to advance, 2-0.
Riverhounds SC lineup (5-3-2) — Jahmali Waite; Nate Dossantos (Langston Blackstock 79’), Arturo Ordóñez, Joe Farrell, Pat Hogan (DZ Harmon 61’, Burke Fahling 79’), Luke Biasi (Trevor Zwetsloot 61’); Robbie Mertz, Marc Ybarra, Kenardo Forbes; Edward Kizza (Tola Showunmi 61’), Albert Dikwa
El Paso Locomotive FC lineup (4-4-2) — Benny Diaz; Éder Borelli (Nick Hinds 90+4’), Yuma, Bence Pávkovics, Miles Lyons; Petar Petrovic (Marc Navarro 58’), Eric Calvillo, Liam Rose, Denys Kostyshyn (Louis Herrera 72’); Luis Solignac, Ricardo Zacarias (Josué Gomez 72’)
Scoring summary
ELP — Petar Petrovic 39’ (Denys Kostyshyn)
ELP — Luis Solignac 69’ (Marc Navarro)
Discipline summary
PIT — Luke Biasi 11’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — DZ Harmon 63’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Joe Farrell 66’ (caution – tactical foul)
ELP — Denys Kostyshyn 80’ (caution – delaying restart)
ELP — Eric Calvillo 86’ (caution – reckless foul)
ELP — Luis Solignac 90’ (caution – dissent)
PIT — Arturo Ordóñez 90+2’ (caution – tactical foul)
ELP — Louis Herrera 90+4’ (caution – reckless foul)
