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(March 28, 2023) — In a game filled with chances, neither team was able to break the deadlock as Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC came away with a 0-0 draw against FC Tulsa in a rare Tuesday night match at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Okla.

Albert Dikwa came closest for the Hounds (1-0-3), having a first-half goal disallowed for a controversial foul call, while Moses Dyer thought he had put Tulsa (1-1-2) ahead in the second half, but the play was offside.

Jahmali Waite, playing 48 hours after starting for Jamaica in a road match at Mexico, only needed to make one save for his first clean sheet of the season, as the Hounds outshot Tulsa, 18-7.

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First half

The game’s flashpoint moment came on the game’s first chance in the 16th minute, when Dikwa was played in toward goal on a long ball from Arturo Ordóñez. Dikwa was first to the ball and headed it into the net before a vicious collision with goalkeeper Michael Nelson, but referee Melvis Rivas disallowed the goal and cautioned the striker, who was left in disbelief that he was denied his fourth of the season.

Nelson was unable to continue after the collision, and he was replaced by Austin Wormell, who was forced into three saves in 69 minutes of action.

The Hounds came close again when Tony Lopez got plenty of power on a Burke Fahling cross in the 40th minute, but Wormell was standing in just the right spot to make the standing save.

Waite’s lone save came in stoppage time, as he denied Dario Suarez with a leaping stop to his right.

Second half

The Hounds continued to look dangerous — despite having just 31 percent of possession in the game, they had more than double the touches of the ball in the opponent’s penalty area, 33-13.

Junior Etou forced the best save of the day from Wormell with a rising shot in the 61st minute that the Tulsa keeper could only tip over the bar.

Stoppage time in the second half — a whopping 13 minutes because of multiple injuries — ended with a frantic scramble in the Tulsa box, but the hosts kept too many bodies behind the ball, and neither Robbie Mertz, Marc Ybarra or Joe Farrell could turn it on goal in the traffic. In the end, Tulsa was held without a shot for the final 30 minutes, but the Hounds were unable to pounce for a winning goal.

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Heineken Man of the Match

Arturo Ordóñez was his usual stalwart self anchoring the Hounds’ back line in their first shutout of the season. The second-year defender and Pitt product led the team with four interceptions and three clearances, won both tackles he contested, and set up Dikwa’s disallowed goal with one of a team-high 39 passes completed.

What’s next?

With the Hounds advancing through the second round of the U.S. Open Cup via forfeit, the team misses out on a home game next week but also gets an unplanned 11-day gap until their next match. That will be a road trip to face the Colorado Springs Switchbacks (1-1-1) for the first time ever in a 8 p.m. match on Saturday, April 8.

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Riverhounds SC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Jahmali Waite; Nate Dossantos, Joe Farrell, Arturo Ordóñez, Luke Biasi; Junior Etou (Trevor Zwetsloot 90+13’), Kenardo Forbes (Marc Ybarra 67’); Tola Showunmi (DZ Harmon 67’), Tony Lopez (Edward Kizza 76’), Burke Fahling (Robbie Mertz 46’); Albert Dikwa

FC Tulsa lineup (4-2-3-1) — Michael Nelson (Austin Wormell 21’); Brett Levis, Jorge Corrales, Bradley Bourgeois, Justin Malou (Rashid Tetteh 46’); Blaine Ferri, Christopher Pearson (Collin Fernandez 62’); Marcus Epps, Rodrigo da Costa, Milo Yosef (Moses Dyer 62’); Dario Suarez (Siad Haji 87’)

Scoring summary

None

Discipline summary

PIT — Albert Dikwa 18’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Marc Ybarra 81’ (caution – tactical foul)
TUL — Jorge Corrales 84’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Junior Etou 89’ (caution – reckless foul)
TUL — Brett Levis 90+2’ (caution – tactical foul)

PITTSBURGH (March 24, 2023) — Burke Fahling scored a blistering left-footed half-volley in the 85th minute to secure a point for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC with a 1-1 draw tonight against Miami FC in the 2023 home opener at Highmark Stadium.

Fahling’s goal, his first since signing with the Hounds (1-0-2) as a free agent before the season, came near the end of a match in which the Hounds held 59 percent of possession and outshot the visitors, 11-3.

Miami (0-1-2) took the lead in the 23rd minute when Kyle Murphy put in the rebound of his own shot saved by Hounds goalkeeper Christian Garner, making his first professional start.

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First half

The Hounds came out holding more of possession from the early stages. Chances were scarce, however, and in some physical moments, both Edward Kizza and Arturo Ordóñez picked up yellow cards in the game’s first 30 minutes.

Miami was first on the board, somewhat against the run of play, when Ben Mines ran onto a ball flicked through the midfield. Mines was fouled by Ordóñez, but advantage was played as Murphy ran through to keep the ball. His initial shot was saved, but he outmuscled Dani Rovira to score on the second opportunity.

The Hounds continued to press forward, with the best chances coming on a pair of balls served into the penalty area by Robbie Mertz, but the Hounds ended the first half without a shot on goal.

Second half

Traffic continued to flow in the Hounds’ direction after halftime, but apart from a scuffle in the Miami box after Ordóñez hit the deck, the scoring chances didn’t come until the Hounds turned to their bench.

Joe Farrell, one of the Hounds’ substitutes, came close with a chance from the top of the box in the 84th minute, but a sliding Miami block sent the ball away for a corner kick.

From that corner kick by Mertz, Miami was unable to clear the ball away fully. That allowed Fahling, another of the substitutes, to step up and stab a powerfully hit shot into the top left corner of the net while striding over the 18-yard line atop the box.

The Hounds nearly stole the win after Fahling’s wonder goal, as Farrell tried his own luck on a volley. The defender’s effort was on target, but Miami goalkeeper Adrían Zendejas made an excellent diving stop to ensure the points were shared.

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Heineken Man of the Match

Burke Fahling endeared himself to the Pittsburgh crowd with his work rate and defensive effort through preseason and in the first two matches, but his highlight reel goal was what earned the honor to cap a 23-minute shift off the bench.

What’s next?

The Hounds face their first short turnaround of the season with a road match Tuesday, March 28 at 8 p.m. against FC Tulsa (0-1-1). Tulsa — which played Miami to a draw in their season opener — will also be on short rest with a home game tomorrow against Loudoun United FC.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Christian Garner; Nate Dossantos (Burke Fahling 67’), Patrick Hogan, Arturo Ordóñez, Dani Rovira (Langston Blackstock 77’); Kenardo Forbes (Tony Lopez 66’), Junior Etou (Joe Farrell 77’); Marc Ybarra, Robbie Mertz, Albert Dikwa; Edward Kizza (Tola Showunmi 66’) 

Miami FC lineup (5-3-2) — Adrían Zendejas; Paco Craig, Callum Chapman-Page, Curtis Thorn, Aedan Stanley, Moisés Hernandez; Bolu Akinyode, Florian Valot, Ben Mines (Mark Segbers 72’); Kyle Murphy (Benjamin Ofeimu 80’), Christian Sorto (Joaquin Rivas 72’)

Scoring summary

MIA — Kyle Murphy 23’
PIT — Burke Fahling 85’

Discipline summary

PIT — Edward Kizza 11’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Arturo Ordóñez 27’ (caution – reckless foul)
MIA — Benjamin Ofeimu 84’ (caution – reckless foul)
MIA — Callum Chapman-Page 89’ (caution – dissent)

(March 18, 2023) — Albert Dikwa scored his first career hat trick, and that was all the scoring Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC needed to secure a 3-1 win on the road this afternoon against Memphis 901 FC at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tenn.

Dikwa scored in the fifth, 39th and 71st minutes to achieve the 12th hat trick in the history of the Hounds — the first since Russell Cicerone on Aug. 22, 2021 against Atlanta — and only the fourth ever in a road game for the Hounds (1-0-1). Bruno Lapa scored in the seventh minute for Memphis (0-2-0).

“Dikwa had a very good game. He worked hard for his teammates, and we created some good chances early. It was nice to see him step up and finish calmly on the penalty, and the third goal might have been the best of all. … I just think he’s always working hard for the team, and today he finished well and got rewarded,” Riverhounds head coach Bob Lilley said.

The Hounds were dangerous on the break throughout the match, and they outshot Memphis 9-8 despite only having 36 percent of possession away from home.

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First half

The Hounds threatened from the game’s early moments, as Dikwa set up Marc Ybarra with a look at an open net after just four minutes, but the Memphis defense closed down Ybarra to prevent him from getting much on the shot from the right of goal.

Dikwa got his first moments later, when Robbie Mertz curled a free kick in from the left corner. Edward Kizza’s initial header was saved, but Pat Hogan kept the ball alive in the box and got his first assist with the Hounds when Dikwa hammered the ball from the crowd into the net. 

Memphis tied things two minutes later when Dylan Borczak hit a low, rolling cross into the box, and Lapa ran behind the first wave of attackers to hit a shot into the net from near the penalty spot.

Still tied 1-1 late in the half, Dani Rovira curled in a dangerous cross from the right side that was handled by Memphis defender Graham Smith. Referee Sergii Boiko pointed immediately to the penalty spot, and Dikwa scored his second of the game with a penalty kick into the bottom right corner of the net.

Second half

Physical play picked up with the game still in the balance; a total of six yellow cards — four to Memphis, two to the Hounds — were shown in the match.

Dikwa put things away in the 71st minute after goalkeeper Jahmali Waite restarted play with a long goal kick. Tola Showunmi, who entered the game only minutes earlier, received the ball and provided his first professional assist with his second touch, a ball played behind the defense and in stride for Dikwa to hit a one-touch strike.

Showunmi could have added to the lead moments later when Mertz played a dangerous ball across the box, but two Memphis players and the Hounds’ striker fanned on the ball, which rolled harmlessly out of play.

Waite needed to make only two saves in the match, but his second — a diving stop on an Aaron Molloy free kick in the 80th minute — preserved the two-goal lead and a comfortable road win.

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Heineken Man of the Match

Albert Dikwa showed off his finishing prowess from all areas with a poacher’s goal, a penalty finish and a well-placed strike while darting through the box to complete his hat trick. The three tallies give Dikwa 19 with the Hounds, which places him one away from being the 10th player in team history with 20.

What’s next?

The Hounds will play their 2023 home opener this Friday, March 24, when they host Miami FC at 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium. Miami FC drew 1-1 in their season opener against FC Tulsa last Saturday and were scheduled to play later today against New Mexico United.

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Riverhounds SC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Jahamli Waite; Nate Dossantos (Luke Biasi 63’), Pat Hogan, Arturo Ordóñez, Dani Rovira; Junior Etou, Kenardo Forbes (Joe Farrell 75’); Marc Ybarra, Albert Dikwa, Robbie Mertz (Burke Fahling 75’); Edward Kizza (Tola Showunmi 63’)

Memphis 901 FC lineup (4-3-3) — Drew Romig; Akeem Ward, Graham Smith, Jelani Peters, Rashawn Dally (Luiz Fernando 73’); Aaron Molloy, Lucas Turci (Carson Vom Steeg 73’), Bruno Lapa (Nighte Pickering 87’); Dylan Borczak, Jeremy Kelly, Phillip Goodrum

Scoring summary

PIT — Albert Dikwa 5’ (Pat Hogan)
MEM — Bruno Lapa 7’ (Dylan Borczak)
PIT — Albert Dikwa 39’ (penalty)
PIT — Albert Dikwa 71’ (Tola Showunmi)

Discipline summary

MEM — Bruno Lapa 38’ (caution – dissent)
MEM — Akeem Ward 49’ (caution – tactical foul)
PIT — Luke Biasi 64’ (caution – delaying restart)
MEM — Graham Smith 65’ (caution – tactical foul)
MEM — Lucas Turci 69’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Marc Ybarra 80’ (caution – reckless foul)