It had been a while since Thomas Vancaeyezeele booted a strong take on target from an attacking-friendly position.

Last time out against Louisville City FC, the rookie lined up a faulty clearance from the opposition and sent a powerful shot at the goalmouth from just beyond the 18-yard box. Although his take was saved, it was a welcomed sight to see Vancaeyezeele jump back into the attack.

Now following its 1-0 victory over the reigning USL champions, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (7-1-7) will look to build upon this momentum in a home date with North Carolina FC (5-7-3) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Highmark Stadium. As he remains the only Pittsburgh athlete to play every minute (1,350) of the 2018 campaign, Vancaeyezeele now figures to see additional time in a holding midfield role after spending the bulk of the season at center back.

“[Joe Greenspan’s] a leader on the team, so he went back on defense and gave us strength in the back,” Vancaeyezeele said. “I came back into the midfield, and try to win balls, play forward and keep possession for my team.”

Missing time due to injury since early April, Greenspan returned to the starting lineup against the Charleston Battery on June 23, the first match of the team’s recent two-game road trip. At this time, Vancaeyezeele moved from the backline into the midfield.

“Tommy is a great player,” defender Jordan Dover said. “One of our most versatile players. I think he’s played almost everywhere in the midfield, everywhere at the back. It’s great to have a player like that because it gives our whole team a lot more flexibility and it helps with our depth as well.”

Moving into the holding midfield spot still allows the Caen, France native to utilize defensive skills that have propelled him to lead the Hounds with 42 interceptions, but now he is one step closer to the frontline at a position that is friendlier to catalyzing offense.

This season in USL play, Vancaeyezeele has recorded one goal and one assist. He also posted a tally in the squad’s earlier Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup victory against Erie Commodores FC of the National Premier Soccer League.

“When I get the ball, I try to find [the forwards] and look for the runs,” Vancaeyezeele said. “I try to create passes in their runs and then they can score goals. That’s what we train to do.”

As the Hounds prepare for North Carolina FC, they will face one of the higher-scoring attacks in the Eastern Conference. This season, the USL newcomer ranks fifth of 16 teams in the conference with 23 goals forwarded.

Despite their offensive success, scoring goals could be hard to come by for North Carolina FC. Pittsburgh has allowed just one goal on its home turf in eight games at Highmark Stadium this year and has three clean sheets in its past five seasons hosting an Independence Day match.

“I think it’s going to be pretty fun,” Vancaeyezeele said. “That’s going to be my first Fourth of July game, so I don’t really know what to expect, but I look forward to seeing the fireworks and the game.”

Defeating reigning USL-champion Louisville City FC last week, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (7-1-7) extended its unbeaten streak to four games. After a two game road trip, the Hounds now return home to face North Carolina FC (5-7-3) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Highmark Stadium for a Fourth of July clash. This will mark the first-ever meeting between the two sides.

Holiday Tradition

The Hounds will host a match at Highmark Stadium for the sixth straight season on the Fourth of July. Holding a 2-2-1 record in these games, the team will look to break its one-game Independence Day losing streak this Wednesday. Prior to losing 3-1 to the Charlotte Independence in 2017, the Black and Gold posted three straight shutouts on July 4 from 2014-16 – perhaps a promising sign for a team in search of its 11th clean sheet this campaign.

Joe Knows

Defender Joe Greenspan has racked up 376 minutes this season, and the Hounds have yet to allow a goal in any of them. All four of Greenspan’s games started have ended with a Pittsburgh clean sheet. Dating back to last season when he made his club debut, the squad has allowed just 0.63 goals per game with him on the field. The United States Naval Academy product figures to play a large role in the team’s backline rotation moving forward.

Kenny Can

Midfielder Kenardo Forbes has helped catalyze the Hounds attack in 2018, but he switched roles and scored his first goal of the season last time out against Louisville City FC. Heading into the team’s match against North Carolina FC with one goal and three assists this season, Forbes will look to boost the offense again on Wednesday.

The Pittsburgh backline hasn’t allowed a goal in the club’s past 307 minutes of gameplay, including a stretch of three straight clean sheets.

Last time out at Louisville City FC, the Hounds lost the shots battle for just the third time this season. In 2018, Pittsburgh is 1-0-2 when losing the shots battle. As the squad returns home to the friendly confines of Highmark Stadium, a venue at which it hasn’t been outshot this year, it must once again allow less takes then it records.

Riverhounds SC (7-1-7) will be facing North Carolina FC (5-7-3) for the first time this season at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4 at Highmark Stadium.

With 15 games under its belt, North Carolina FC currently sits 10 spots behind the Hounds in 12th place. On the road, NCFC has a 2-3-2 record scoring eight goals and surrendering 11. Venturing to Virginia last time out, North Carolina defeated the Richmond Kickers, 3-1, after losing or drawing in its last four away matches (0-2-2).

North Carolina’s attack features two dynamic players ranking in the upper echelon of the conference in forward Daniel Ríos and midfielder Kyle Bekker. Ríos leads the team with 32 shots and eight goals, the latter number tying him for the East lead with Neco Brett and company. Bekker, meanwhile, has excelled in distribution with a club-high seven assists, also placing him in a tie for second in the conference.

Strengths

High passing accuracy: Currently, North Carolina holds a passing accuracy of 81 percent on 7,258 total passes – only one percent below the conference leader Charlotte Independence.

Conversion: North Carolina FC has done well capitalizing on its opportunities with a 16 percent conversion rate, placing them fourth in the East.

Weaknesses

In the back: North Carolina FC’s defense has conceded 14 more goals than the Hounds this season (21-7) and have tallied only four clean sheets. In addition, the club is allowing an average of 1.40 goals per game.

Middle of the pack: Five points out of playoff position, the club’s efforts in several areas has reflected its standing. In particular, NCFC ranks in the middle of the pack of the East in clean sheets (9th), goals conceded (8th), fouls conceded (11th) and red cards (9th).  

As the match approached its final whistle, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (7-1-7) and Louisville City FC (7-3-4) seemed destined for a draw – that is until the 79th minute of action. It was at that time the Hounds posted the match’s lone goal en route to their 1-0 victory on Wednesday at Louisville Slugger Stadium. Here is how the team clinched three points on Kenardo Forbes’ first goal of the season.

79’ Kenardo Forbes

Flying down the pitch, Forbes piloted the Pittsburgh offense after the team forced a turnover on its side of the halfway line.

Depicted above, Forbes (yellow arrow) leads the break and is flanked by a couple teammates. As a defender approaches him from behind and to the right, the midfielder elects to send forward Romeo Parkes (green arrow) a through-ball.

Once Parkes uses his speed to chase down the pass, he sends a cross into the penalty area. Louisville fails to immediately clear the ball, and the sphere bounces free just beyond the six-yard box. Forbes, who is not picked up by the nearby Magnus Rasmussen (red arrow), charges the loose ball and sends a shot that deflects off the traffic in front of the net before slipping inside the right post, providing the Hounds with their game-winning goal.

Tale of the Tape

Despite losing the shots battle, 15-7, Riverhounds SC used a late break to turn the tables on Louisville. This break also helped counter the team’s 37 percent possession for the match.

As 26 percent of the match was played from the Louisville defensive third as compared to 21 percent being played from the Pittsburgh defensive third, the Hounds used these percentages to help offset their lower cumulative possession time.

In addition, a high shot efficiency helped counteract a lower overall possession time for the Hounds. Four of the team’s seven shots were on target, including Forbes’ game-winning tally.

Currently on a three-game unbeaten streak, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (6-1-7) will have perhaps its toughest challenge of the season to this point.

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Louisville Slugger Field, the Hounds will battle reigning champion Louisville City FC (7-2-4) for the first time this season.

Like Pittsburgh, Louisville also is working on an unbeaten streak, as its spans five games. This Wednesday’s match also marks a meeting of top three teams in the Eastern Conference, as Louisville sits in second place whereas the Hounds are ranked third. Each have 25 points and are separated by only a tiebreaker.

“I’m really excited for this game,” forward Neco Brett said. “I know it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a hard battle, but these are the big games I really like to play. I’m pretty sure my teammates are ready as well.”

With an upper-tier showdown in sight, the Hounds will try to not only snap Lou City’s unbeaten streak, but also a winless stretch of their own. Against the current era of USL title winners (since 2011), Pittsburgh is 0-3-2 in its first match against defending league champions the following season.

“It’s a good thing to test where the team is against defending champions and a really good team in Louisville,” midfielder Kenardo Forbes said. “I think the players are excited for that.”

With Louisville in sight, here is how the team has fared in its first meeting with recent defending champions in the subsequent campaign.

2017: New York Red Bulls II

In 2017, the Hounds had an energetic, high-scoring affair with the reigning league-champion New York Red Bulls II at Highmark Stadium. Ending in a 3-3 draw, Corey Hertzog (two goals) and Kevin Kerr (one goal) teamed up on the squad’s score sheet. The former notched a brace – and the equalizer – in the 81st minute of the Hounds’ season opener.

2016: Rochester Rhinos

Also a season opener match at Highmark Stadium, the Hounds lost to the Rochester Rhinos, 1-0, in 2016. Pittsburgh head coach Bob Lilley, who then led the Rhinos, oversaw his former team earn the victory off a goal from Christian Volesky in the 7th minute.

2014: Orlando City SC

Keeping with the trend of playing reigning champions in the season opener, the Hounds clashed with Orlando City SC in the first game of their 2014 season. On the road, Pittsburgh competed to a 1-1 draw. Striker José Angulo recorded the Black and Gold’s goal in the 50th minute before Luke Boden tied it up eight minutes later.

2013: Charleston Battery

The Hounds fell to the reigning champion Charleston Battery in 2013. The Battery were fueled by a brace from Michael Azira en route to their 2-0 victory in Charleston.

2012: Orlando City SC

After winning the first USL Cup in the current era, Orlando City SC also defeated the Hounds in their first meeting afterward. In a higher-scoring match, Orlando used three second-half goals, including one from current Hounds forward Dennis Chin, to propel it to a 3-2 victory at Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium. Pittsburgh received its tallies from the foot of Wes Allen (own goal) and Matt Kassel.