(April 19, 2025) — The Pittsburgh Riverhounds battled back to tie the match, but they couldn’t hold on after being reduced to 10 men and fell 2-1 to a late goal on the road against Loudoun United FC this afternoon at Segra Field in Leesburg, Va.
Wesley Leggett scored in the first half for league-leading Loudoun (6-1-0), but Jorge Garcia came off the bench to answer for the Hounds (2-3-1) with a brilliant strike for his first professional goal.
But Luke Biasi was shown a red card for the Hounds in the 75th minute, and Abdellatif Aboukoura struck for Loudoun’s winning goal six minutes later against the shorthanded Hounds.
First half
The first half stood in stark contrast to a back-and-forth second half, as chances were scarce for both teams.
The Hounds had more of the ball — 60 percent in the half, including 73 percent in the opening 15 minutes — but it was Loudoun that struck first, somewhat against the run of play.
After clearing a Hounds corner kick, the hosts worked the ball down the left side to Zach Ryan, who struck a cross to the back post from the goal line. The pass was perfectly placed for Leggett to rise and head the ball into the net, scoring on Loudoun’s first shot of the game in the 33rd minute.
Second half
Loudoun applied more pressure to being the second half, and Florian Valot forced an early save from Hounds goalkeeper Eric Dick with a quickly taken shot in the box. The hosts took the first five shots of the second half, though Valot’s was the lone effort on goal, and the Hounds went to their bench to shake things up at the hour mark.
Garcia was one of the players to enter the match, and in the 71st minute, he made his mark in a big way. Biasi passed from the left flank to Garcia near the top of the box, and the first-year pro out of Villanova took a first touch to open toward goal before striking a powerful, curling shot that rippled the top right corner of the net.
But moments later, the Hounds were reduced to 10 players after Biasi was issued a red card after being the last defender and catching Loudoun substitute Ben Mines with a boot high near the head.
In the 81st minute, Loudoun made their numerical advantage pay off when Aboukoura, the USL Championship’s leading scorer on the young season, found room to shoot from 20 yards away, placing a shot off the inside of the right post to score his sixth of the season.
Modelo Man of the Match
Sean Suber was a stalwart in the middle of the defense, winning all nine duels he contested and posting a team-high four clearances. He also won three free kicks and connected on 59 of his team-high 72 passes, capably marshaling the back line even after going down a man.
What’s next?
The Hounds will get their first taste of the new USL Jägermeister Cup in rivalry fashion, as they go on the road to face Detroit City FC at 4 p.m. next Saturday, April 26. Detroit is off to a 4-2-1 start in the league, and it will be the first Jägermeister Cup match for both teams.
Riverhounds SC lineup (4-1-4-1) — Eric Dick; Luke Biasi (sent off 75’), Sean Suber, Illal Osumanu (Beto Ydrach 62’), Perrin Barnes (Aidan O’Toole 88’); Jackson Walti; Robbie Mertz (Pablo Linzoain 88’), Danny Griffin, Bradley Sample (Max Broughton 79’), Jason Bouregy (Jorge Garcia 62’); Augi Williams
Loudoun United FC lineup (5-3-2) — Hugo Fauroux; Kwame Awuah, Jacob Erlandson (Moses Nyeman 64’), Yanis Leerman, Pedro Santos (Ethan Pendleton 90+1’), Keegan Tingey; Abdellatif Aboukoura (Joshua Erlandson 90+1’), Tommy McCabe, Florian Valot; Zach Ryan (Riley Bidois 64’), Wesley Leggett (Ben Mines 68’)
Scoring summary
LDN — Wesley Leggett 33’ (Zach Ryan)
PIT — Jorge Garcia 71’ (Luke Biasi)
LDN — Abdellatif Aboukoura 81’ (Ben Mines)
Discipline summary
PIT — Luke Biasi 56’ (caution – tactical foul)
LDN — Wesley Leggett 68’ (caution – dissent)
PIT — Luke Biasi 75’ (sent off – serious foul play)
LDN — Kwame Awuah 78’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
PIT — Augi Williams 78’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
LDN — Pedro Santos 88’ (caution – reckless foul)
LDN — Riley Bidois 89’ (caution – reckless foul)
