PITTSBURGH (Aug. 8, 2026) — The Pittsburgh Riverhounds came out all square in a cross-conference battle by playing Sacramento Republic FC to a 0-0 draw tonight at F.N.B. Stadium.
Nico Campuzano made four saves to record his second straight shutout in net for the Hounds (8-8-3), while Danny Vitiello, the former Golden Glove winner with the Hounds, matched that number with four stops for Sacramento (7-5-6).
The match was attended by 5,251 fans, marking the sixth sellout in the past eight Hounds matches at F.N.B.
First half
The visitors came out grabbing the match’s first chances, starting with a shot curled wide in the fifth minute by Mayele Malongo. Malongo forced the first of Campuzano’s saves in the 14th minute with a headed attempt, but the Hounds’ goalkeeper stretched to his left to make the leaping catch.
The Hounds’ first good chance came when Danny Griffin slipped a pass between defenders for Albert Dikwa, but Vitiello cut off the angle and smothered Dikwa’s attempt in the 21st minute.
Trevor Amann forced Vitiello’s biggest save of the match in the 34th minute when he won a header off a curling cross lifted in by Eliot Goldthorp, but Vitiello moved to his left to push the shot away.
Malango tried another curling shot in the 39th minute that skimmed the outside of Campuzano’s right post, and a minute later, Dikwa had open net to aim for when he headed a Charles Ahl cross, but the striker was bumped just before winning the ball, putting his effort off the mark.
Second half
Chances were scarce after halftime, but the Republic’s Memo Rodriguez had a good one with a nifty turn in the box, only to power his shot wide of the net just past the hour mark.
Perrin Barnes set up Dikwa for another good chance in the 77th minute, but Dikwa couldn’t cleanly control Barnes’ pass toward the penalty spot. Dikwa kept the ball alive, however, and Griffin chipped it toward the back post, but Yu Tsukanome couldn’t put the contested header on target.
The bulk of Sacramento’s chances came from set pieces, including seven corner kicks in the match, and a long, late free kick into the box found the head of Jared Timmer, but he couldn’t put his header on frame.
Modelo Man of the Match
Victor Souza had strong game in the middle of the Hounds’ back four, contributing eight clearances, an interception and 7 of 8 aerial duels won. He also connected on 43 of 53 passes, an 81.1 percent passing rate that was second amongst Hounds starters.
What’s next?
The Hounds stay at home for a big Eastern Conference clash when they host longtime rivals the Charleston Battery (10-6-3) on Saturday, Aug. 15. The Battery are holding on to second place in the East after a 1-0 win tonight at Loudoun United FC.
Riverhounds SC lineup (4-4-2) — Nico Campuzano; Lasse Kelp, Owen Mikoy, Victor Souza, Max Viera (Perrin Barnes 61’); Charles Ahl (Sam Bassett 61’), Jackson Walti, Danny Griffin, Eliot Goldthorp (Robbie Mertz 74’); Albert Dikwa, Trevor Amann (Yu Tsukanome 74’)
Sacramento Republic FC (4-3-3) — Danny Vitiello; Tim Leibold (Chibuke Ukaegbu 67’), Lee Desmond, Jared Timmer, Jack Gurr; Danny Crisostomo, Pep Casas (Aaron Essel 87’), Blake Willey (Arturo Rodriguez 78’); Mayele Malango (Tyler Wolff 78’), Memo Rodriguez, Forster Ajago (Kyle Edwards 67’)
Scoring summary
None
Discipline summary
None
