Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2 suffered its first loss in a 2-0 defeat against Steel City last Wednesday, May 27, at F.N.B. Stadium, but the team also came away victorious from their first road trip on Saturday, May 30, when they defeated the Cleveland Force, 4-3.
Steel City FC 2, Riverhounds 2 0
The first meeting between the two nearby sides started as a tightly contested battle, with the first half ending scoreless, despite good chances from each side, with likely the best falling to Steel City’s Nathan Prex, who saw his header in the 19th minute acrobatically saved by Hounds 2 goalkeeper Jack Moxom.
Steel City, the reigning Great Forest Division champions, took more control in the second half. Jaxon Ervin scored the opener in the 55th minute with a back-post header after Jake Lane dribbled past two defenders and found an incisive cross. Two minutes later, Steel City found a quick second goal after the ball was played through the middle of the field, narrowly missing the outstretched foot of Brady McGlone, with Ervin placing it past Moxom.
The final 30 minutes came to a standstill with neither side able to generate many dangerous chances as Hounds 2 took their first loss of the summer.
“We need to get in tomorrow into training and doing what we’ve been doing the entire summer,” Moxom said after the match. “Which is just working hard and playing as hard as you can. The beauty of the USL is that we have a game on Saturday now, so it’s a quick turnaround.”
Riverhounds 2 4, Cleveland Force 3
Hounds 2 went to Cleveland for their first away game of the season, looking to do the double over the Force after beating the side 5-0 in the team’s season opener.
Michael Lee opened the scoring in the 36th minute after a deflection and ensuing chaos in the box, tallying his second of the season. Lee added an assist just before the end of the half, putting in a cross off a corner, which found the head of McGlone and beat the oncoming Cleveland keeper, making it 2-0 at the half.
“The team’s first performance away from home was strong,” Hounds 2 head coach Josh Kremers said. “We came out a little slow but found our feet.
Cleveland came out hot in the second half, scoring in the 48th minute after a free kick from Elliot Miller into the box found the head of Nicolas Vagujhelyi to make it 2-1.
Despite the setback early into the second half, the Hounds struck back quickly when Max Haberman put in a cross, which found the scoring touch of Nicholas Legendre in the 55th minute. Legendre quickly added another a few minutes later, tapping in a cross from Lee, making it a goal and two assists for the Kentucky forward on the evening.
The Force’s Vagujhelyi continued to trouble the Hounds’ defense, tapping in a second goal in the 66th minute. Cleveland added a consolation goal deep into stoppage time courtesy of Anderson Gardner.
“In the second half, we started on the back foot but quickly found our footing and grabbed two more goals before making a few mistakes that made the end of the game more interesting than it should’ve been,” Kremers said. “Credit to Cleveland for fighting the full 90 and making our lives very difficult.”
Hounds 2 remains atop the Great Forest Division, but Steel City and FC Buffalo have a chance to overtake the side, with both teams holding a game in hand.
“Winning on the road is always tough, but the group is very deep, and we were able to rotate the squad and get a few guys big minutes,” said Kremers. “We dug deep and got back to winning ways.”
Hounds 2 returns to home F.N.B. Stadium on Wednesday, June 3 at 6 p.m. when they will take on FC Buffalo.
