PITTSBURGH (Aug. 15, 2026) — Trevor Amann, Danny Griffin and Victor Souza found the net, and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds jumped out to an early lead to win a top-five Eastern Conference matchup with the Charleston Battery, 3-1, tonight at F.N.B. Stadium.
The Hounds (9-8-3) had a 2-0 lead just 16 minutes into the match and made that stand up to end a run of five matches without a victory against the Battery (10-7-3). Douglas Martinez scored for Charleston, but he would later be sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 81st minute.
After the result, only three points separates the teams in second through fifth in the Eastern Conference, setting up a tight finish with 10 weeks remaining in the season.
First half
The sellout crowd of 6,020 hadn’t fully reached their seats before Amann got the scoring started in the second minute. Finding space off the left side of the center back, Amann got room to receive a pass from Jackson Walti and fired a shot from 20 yards out into the net. It was Amann’s team-leading 10th goal of the season across all competitions, and his sixth in league play.
Minutes later, Amann flicked a pass into the path of Eliot Goldthorp entering the box, but his touch was just long enough to allow Battery goalkeeper and former Hound Luis Zamudio make a play on the ball.
Amann got his assist in the 16th minute when the Hounds broke on the counter attack. He led the break toward the Battery goal before sending a soft pass to Griffin on the right side. Griffin carried the ball into the box and slid to poke it around Zamudio for his 20th goal as a member of the Hounds.
The Battery bounced back quickly on a dangerous ball from Nathan Messer on the left side. The pass made it all the way through the box to the right side, where Martinez arrived on time and unmarked to fire the ball into the Hounds’ goal.
Second half
The Battery got forward more to begin the second half, but a shot from distance by Emilio Ycaza in the 53rd minute was their only effort that forced a save by Nico Campuzano.
The Hounds responded by getting the ball deep in the Battery half and winning a series of corner kicks, and it was the third of those that reestablished the two-goal lead. Sam Bassett delivered a ball to the center of goal, and Souza rose to head the ball just inside the right post in the 61st minute. It was the center back’s first goal with the Hounds and first since 2023 in MLS Next Pro with New England Revolution II.
Play got more physical as the Battery tried to battle back, and six yellow cards were shown after the break. The most consequential were the ones received by Martinez, who was booked in the 78th minute for a reckless foul in front of the benches. Three minutes later, Junior Etou got around Martinez with pace and was about the enter the penalty area when he was tripped by Martinez, leading to the Battery man being dismissed for his second yellow card.
Reduced to 10 men, the Battery mustered only two more shots in the match, one blocked and one off target.
Modelo Man of the Match
Trevor Amann flashed his knack for rapid-fire scoring once again, recording a goal and an assist in the first 16 minutes of the match. The assist was one of two chances created in the match, and he shared the team lead with four touches in the opponent’s penalty area.
What’s next?
The Hounds head back on the road for the next two, the first coming next Saturday, August. 22, when they will make their first visit to face Brooklyn FC (3-10-4). Brooklyn snagged a 2-0 win in the teams’ first-ever meeting back on July 4 in Pittsburgh.
Riverhounds SC lineup (4-4-2) — Nico Campuzano; Lasse Kelp, Owen Mikoy, Victor Souza, Max Viera (Perrin Barnes 61’); Sam Bassett, Jackson Walti, Danny Griffin (Robbie Mertz 74’), Eliot Goldthorp (Charles Ahl 74’); Trevor Amann (Yu Tsukanome 61’), Albert Dikwa (Junior Etou 66’)
Charleston Battery lineup (4-2-3-1) — Luis Zamudio; Nathan Messer (Nanan Houssou 64’), Joey Akpunonu (Wilmer Cabrera 74’), Graham Smith, Sean Suber; Douglas Martinez (sent off 81’), Jeremy Kelly; Laurent Kissiedou (Kirill Pakhomov 64’), Emilio Ycaza, Maalique Foster (Miguel Berry 46’); Colton Swan (Alec Hughes 64’)
Scoring summary
PIT — Trevor Amann 2’ (Jackson Walti)
PIT — Danny Griffin 16’ (Trevor Amann)
CHS — Douglas Martinez 18’ (Nathan Messer)
PIT — Victor Souza 61’ (Sam Bassett)
Discipline summary
CHS — Emilio Ycaza 36’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Trevor Amann 50’ (caution – reckless foul)
CHS — Miguel Berry 60’ (caution – dissent)
PIT — Owen Mikoy 67’ (caution – tactical foul)
CHS — Douglas Martinez 78’ (caution – reckless foul)
CHS — Douglas Martinez 81’ (caution – tactical foul)
CHS — Douglas Martinez 81’ (sent off – second yellow card)
PIT — Robbie Mertz 88’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Yu Tsukanome 90’ (caution – preventing goalkeeper distribution)
