This is Part 2 of a series counting down the Riverhounds’ top five moments of 2023. Click here to read No. 5 on the countdown.
From the start of the season, the Riverhounds counted down toward another milestone that is a testament to the club’s longevity in the U.S. Soccer landscape: 1,000 goals scored in competitive matches.
The team began the season with 967 goals. With only 33 needed in a 34-match schedule (in addition to cup matches and playoffs), it seemed the question wasn’t if the Hounds would reach the milestone, but when would they reach it, and who would be the player to score the 1,000th goal.
Things were humming along nicely toward the end of July, and the Hounds entered a road match at Charleston on July 22 riding a 13-match unbeaten streak in USL Championship play and with the goal count at 997. But the Battery handed the Hounds their first league loss since April by a 3-1 score, and four days later, the Hounds were again beaten 3-1, this time at home by Indy Eleven. With another key Eastern Conference home match against Memphis 901 FC looming on July 29, ending the team’s first losing streak of 2023 was now the team’s sole concern, and the makeshift goal counter hanging near the Steel Army’s seats on the East End of Highmark Stadium — now reading 999 — was an afterthought.
The mood went from bad to worse quickly against Memphis. Luiz Fernando and Rodrigo da Costa put the visitors ahead 2-0 after 35 minutes, and the Hounds were in danger of falling further behind in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The team needed a spark, and it got one just before halftime from an unexpected source.
Kenardo Forbes took a short corner kick to get the ball at the feet of Danny Griffin in front Paul Child Stand in the 41st minute. Griffin dribbled into the box and fired a pass to the front of goal, and mayhem ensued as Memphis failed to clear. Nate Dossantos had the first hack at the ball in front of goal, but the man who would lift the ball over the line was fellow defender Joe Farrell, scoring his first goal as a member of the Hounds.
Farrell had ensconced himself in Hounds history, but with the team trailing by a goal at halftime, there was more magic to come making the match one of the year’s top moments.
Less than four minutes after the break, the Hounds tied the match with a first Hounds goal to remember for fifth-year player Dani Rovira. The Colombian’s well-taken finish was long overdue — until that moment Rovira had played more career matches and had more assists than any field player without a goal — but the celebrations were going to keep going.
The goals kept coming from the Hounds, who took the lead six minutes later with the next scored by J.C. Obregón. The midseason signing’s tally was also his first for the team, making it the first time in Hounds history that three players scored their first goal for the club in the same match. Tola Showunmi ended the flurry in the 61st minute, giving the Hounds a 4-2 lead with the fourth goal in 20 minutes spanning halftime.
The match had an electric atmosphere with 5,466 in attendance, and the win proved crucial in the Hounds’ quest to eventually claim the Players’ Shield and the top spot in the Eastern Conference. By coming back from down 2-0, the match also holds the distinction of being the Hounds’ first comeback win after trailing by multiple goals since the Miracle on the Mon, the 6-5 win over Harrisburg on May 30, 2015.
Relive the full highlights of a special night at Highmark Stadium below: