LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2026) — A goal by substitute and former Hound Tola Showunmi broke a deadlock in extra time and ended the Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ season, giving Louisville City FC a 1-0 win the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals tonight at Lynn Family Stadium.
The fifth-seeded Hounds’ reign as the USL Championship title holders ends after the team earned its ninth consecutive winning record and ninth straight playoff berth in 2026. No. 4 Louisville advances to face eighth-seeded Miami FC, who upset the Tampa Bay Rowdies on penalty kicks.
First half
Both teams looked for their opportunities early in the match, with Louisville working best down the Hounds’ left and the Hounds countering with chances coming from the hosts’ right side.
Robbie Mertz pounced on an errant clearance in the 19th minute and sent a cross from the right to Charles Ahl at the back post. Ahl’s popped a header back across goal, but no teammates were able to get on the end of the chance.
Louisville had a good chance in the 35th minute when Amadou Dia received the ball in space in the left side of the box, but his shot across goal skipped wide of the post. In the final minute of the half, Chris Donavan rose for a header for Louisville, and his effort popped off the top of the crossbar and went over.
Second half
The Hounds’ golden opportunity came in the 54th minute through defensive work by Trevor Amann. The striker won the ball off Louisville defender Kyle Adams and made his way into the box before being knocked over fairly. Still, Amann was able to keep possession and send the ball across to Eliot Goldthorp, whose header at the back post was denied with diving save by Louisville goalkeeper Ryan Schewe.
Louisville had its own chances late in regulation, but Nico Campuzano came up with one of his four saves to deny Evan Davila in the 75th minute by parrying away a driven shot.
Extra time
Campuzano again made a big save to block a shot from Jansen Wilson two minutes into the extra time period, and just before halftime of extras, he made his biggest stop to push away a point-blank effort by Ray Serrano.
But in the added minute before the halftime break, Louisville found the breakthrough. Dia split defenders to get into the box on the left side, and then he kept possession knocking Mertz to the ground. He sent a low pass to the front of goal, where Showunmi was waiting to tap the ball into the net. The Hounds protested that Dia’s challenge in the back of Mertz was a foul, but the goal stood as the teams went to the break.
Despite throwing numbers forward late in the second half of extra time, including on a pair of free kicks in the waning minutes, neither of the Hounds’ two shots in the final 15 could find the target.
Modelo Man of the Match
Victor Souza put in a valiant 120 minutes along the Hounds’ back line by winning 6 of 9 duels, making three recoveries and leading the team with nine clearances. He was also a sold 71 of 84 passing (84.5 percent) on the night.
Riverhounds SC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Nico Campuzano; Beto Ydrach, Owen Mikoy, Victor Souza, Perrin Barnes (Lasse Kelp 91’); Jackson Walti (Yu Tsukanome 108’), Danny Griffin; Charles Ahl (Junior Etou 91’), Sam Bassett (Eliot Goldthorp 46’), Robbie Mertz; Trevor Amann (Albert Dikwa 83’)
Louisville City FC lineup (3-4-3) — Ryan Schewe; Kyle Adams, Kevon Lambert, Aiden McFadden; Amadou Dia, Babacar Niang (Zach Duncan 46’), Taylor Davila, Manny Perez (Brandon Dayes 91’); Ray Serrano, Chris Donovan (Tola Showunmi 99’), Evan Davila (Jansen Wilson 79’)
Scoring summary
LOU — Tola Showunmi 105+1’ (Amadou Dia)
Discipline summary
LOU — Babacar Niang 16’ (caution – reckless foul)
LOU — Kevon Lambert 79’ (caution – reckless foul)
LOU — Aiden McFadden 89’ (caution – dissent)
PIT — Eliot Goldthorp 90+4’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Lasse Kelp 113’ (caution – tactical foul)
