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People flooded stands at Highmark Stadium, as it was a moment not possibly worth missing. For it’s not every day Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has a chance to battle an MLS squad, let alone play stride for stride and take a top-tier team to extra time.

On June 17, 2015, former USL All-League First Team honoree Rob Vincent notched the tally that pushed Pittsburgh to extra time against D.C. United in a fourth round match of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. And it was a moment Pittsburgh soccer fans will never forget.

As they eventually fell 3-1 to D.C. United after the overtime period, the Hounds may have another opportunity to host an MLS squad at Highmark Stadium. But that’s under one condition – they must first defeat FC Cincinnati in a third round Open Cup match at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Highmark Stadium.

“Just give it our best, especially at home,” forward Neco Brett said about the upcoming tournament game. “Trying to win each and every game at home.”

Tying FC Cincinnati earlier this season, 2-2, in league play at Nippert Stadium, Pittsburgh will have its hands full with the Queen City squad on Wednesday. Cincinnati currently leads the USL Eastern Conference, but perhaps most impressively is coming off a deep run in the 2017 Open Cup.

Last year, FC Cincinnati defeated two MLS teams en route to its semifinals finish. As their opponent this week has already proven the USL’s ability to advance in the single-game elimination tournament, the Hounds will aim to begin a late round run of their own.

“We all aspire to play at the highest level possible, and a lot of guys on our team have played in MLS or want to get to MLS, so it’s a good chance to see how you stack up against them,” midfielder Noah Franke said. “It would be really cool to show them, just because we’re USL, doesn’t mean we can’t hang with them.”

Third Round Success

In club history, Pittsburgh holds a 3-1 record in the third round of the Open Cup. The last time the Hounds played a third round match came in 2015, when they defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1-0, to advance to play D.C. United in a fourth round showdown.

Highmark Advantage

Riverhounds SC has posted a 5-2 record at Highmark Stadium in Open Cup matches, and will look to continue this success against FC Cincinnati on Wednesday. Despite this .714 winning percentage, the Hounds have dropped their last two matches at their home venue.

Final Note

When scoring at least two goals in Open Cup play, Pittsburgh has logged a 9-1 all-time record. The team’s only loss when scoring at least two goals came during a 2001 sudden-death overtime 3-2 defeat to the Chicago Fire (MLS).

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (4-0-5) overcame an early deficit – the team’s first deficit this season – against the Tampa Bay Rowdies (4-5-1) on Saturday at Al Lang Stadium. With help from an own goal and Romeo Parkes’ first tally this season, the Hounds bounced back to tie the Rowdies, 2-2, after falling behind 1-0 in the 3rd minute. Here’s how Pittsburgh came away with one point in St. Petersburg.

20’ Max Lachowecki (own goal)

In the 20th minute, Christiano François bolted down the right side of the pitch. Once he hit the halfway line, the attacking midfielder sent a long ball to Parkes.

In the above photo, Parkes beat defender Ivan Magalhaes to the ball on the right side of the 18-yard box before blasting a shot at goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald, who came out to cut down the angle on the take.

After being deflected into the air by Fitzgerald, who initially blocked away Parkes’ take, the ball descended near the crossbar. Seeing it approach the goalmouth, Max Lachowecki (red arrow) attempted to clear the sphere away from the goal line, but instead knocked it into his own net. This miscue provided Pittsburgh with the equalizer, bringing the score to 1-1.

30’ Romeo Parkes assisted by Kenardo Forbes

The Cabaret, Haiti native started the attack for Pittsburgh’s second tally as well. Gathering a loose ball at the halfway line, François then passed forward to Parkes.

As seen above, Parkes (yellow arrow) fielded the pass from his teammate before one-touching a ball to Kenardo Forbes (orange arrow), who made a break down the right side of the field. Magalhaes (red arrow) aggressively charged at Parkes, which left Forbes open on the right flank.

As Forbes approached the penalty area, he drew the attention of Hunter Gorskie (green arrow) while Parkes had a step on two Tampa Bay players. Seeing this chain of events, the Kingston, Jamaica native sent a pass to the Pittsburgh striker, who then buried a near-post shot past Fitzgerald to give the Hounds a 2-1 lead at the time.

The Other Side

The Rowdies used set pieces and traffic in front of the net to catalyze their offense, as both goals came from such opportunities.

In the 3rd minute, Alex Morrell received a corner kick from close range. The forward then bolted toward the 18-yard box and sent a pass into the penalty area. Just being able to flick the incoming ball with his right foot, Lance Rozeboom’s sneaky shot beat goalkeeper Dan Lynd to the bottom-right corner of the net.

Tampa Bay used a free kick in the 59th minute to notch an equalizer, bringing the score to 2-2. Joe Cole lined up just outside the penalty box and subsequently released a low, hard shot by the right of a three-man wall and Lynd.

Tale of the Tape

Holding a 3-0-1 record at home this season, Tampa Bay used this advantage in part to outshoot the Hounds 15-8 over the course of the match. Despite the wide disparity in total shots, the shots on goal differential was much closer with the Rowdies besting Pittsburgh, 5-4.

On both of the Hounds’ tallies, the pressure originated from the right side of the field, which was a common occurrence for the entirety of the match. Throughout the game, Riverhounds SC elected to utilize the right side in the attacking third 53.5 percent of the time. This number increased to 58.6 percent for the first 45 minutes, when the Hounds notched each of their tallies, which allowed for them to steal a point on the road Saturday night.

For his second straight start, Kyle Morton ended a match with zero saves.

Typically, finishing a game with a zero in the saves column is an unwelcome sight for goalkeepers. But this was not a usual score sheet, as Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC tied Indy Eleven, 0-0, last time out.

Morton recorded zero saves not because he was beat on shots from the opposition, but instead the reason rested in that the Hounds allowed zero shots on net – a feat accomplished by the team in each of the James Madison University product’s past two starts.

As Riverhounds SC (4-0-4) now readies for a road showdown with the Tampa Bay Rowdies (4-5-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Al Lang Stadium, it will look to continue to its lockdown defensive play.

“Soccer is a crazy sport, so we just try to minimize as many opportunities that the other team has because anything can happen once shots get on target,” defender Jordan Dover said. “There are deflections and things as well. We just try to minimize those opportunities as much as possible.”

Preventing shots on target is a vital part to the Hounds’ unbeaten record, and the team has allowed just 1.63 shots on goal per game. Also currently allowing just 0.38 goals per game, the squad is on pace to shatter its previous best mark of 0.85 goals allowed per game, which it recorded during the 2004 campaign.

The statistical anomalies continue, as Pittsburgh has double the amount of clean sheets (six) than goals allowed this season (three). In fact, the Hounds rank first in the Eastern Conference in clean sheets, but dead last with eight saves – exemplifying the team’s success in preventing shots on target.

“We always make sure we’re covering for each other,” said Dover, who is coming off a USL Team of the Week honor. “We all work for each other, getting in the right positions, so if somebody cuts inside there’s another player ready to block the shot. We just keep numbers around the ball to make it difficult for the other team to play.”

The Hounds have recorded four of their six shutouts without the efforts of defender Joe Greenspan, who has been out due to a calf injury. The 6-foot-6-inch center back had posted 29 clearances through the first two games of the season before sustaining his injury.

Helping fill in the hole that Greenspan left behind has largely been the pairing of Tobi Adewole and Todd Pratzner at the center of the backline. Adewole is in the midst of his second season with Pittsburgh, and the team has recorded a shutout in a whopping 39 percent of his career games played with the club.

Meanwhile, Pratzner came to Pittsburgh after spending his rookie season with the Rochester Rhinos. One year later, he now ranks second on the Hounds with 34 clearances behind Adewole, who has 42 clearances. This strong defensive presence has been drilled into the backline by the coaching staff since preseason training camp.

“Bob [Lilley] helps me a lot,” Adewole said. “He holds me accountable for everything. If I look like I’m tired or out of focus, then he snaps me back in it very quickly. He lets me know when I’m doing something right. He let’s me know when I’m doing something wrong.”

For Pittsburgh, which has yet to trail in a match this season, to continue its defensive success, it will need to step up its game at an imposing Al Lang Stadium, where the Rowdies have outscored opponents 9-0 and hold a 3-0 home record this year.

In addition, Tampa Bay ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference with 114 total shots. The club also has logged 4.22 shots on goal per game.

“It’s definitely a difficult place to play, but at the same time anywhere we go we try to get three points,” Dover said. “Just want to make sure we assert ourselves early in the game and let them know that we’re ready to play.”

Prior to its 2-1 Second Round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup win against Erie Commodores FC on Wednesday, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (4-0-4) remained unbeaten on the season with a 0-0 home draw against Indy Eleven on May 11. Now after a brief stay at Highmark Stadium, the Hounds will travel south to clash with the Tampa Bay Rowdies (4-5-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Al Lang Stadium. Pittsburgh is 2-1 all-time against the Rowdies.

Scarce Scoring

In series history, the Hounds and Rowdies have had low-scoring affairs with the former averaging one goal forwarded per game and the latter scoring 0.67 tallies per match. This campaign, the Pittsburgh defense has been stout, posting six shutouts on the season to lead the Eastern Conference. This upcoming meeting could once again be one of the lower-scoring varieties.

Streaking

The Hounds will head into Al Lang Stadium as the only team in the USL yet to lose a game this season. Pittsburgh also has not yet trailed in a match (720 minutes) in 2018. For the Hounds to keep these streaks alive, they will need to capture their first-ever point(s) at Tampa Bay, as the team lost its only previous road match, 2-0, in 2017.

Striking Back

Playing for Hounds head coach Bob Lilley in 2017, Jochen Graf remains a threat to score each match – this season playing up top for the Rowdies. The striker has played in every one of the Rowdies’ matches this season, but only once (last time out against Richmond) has started. Leading the Rochester Rhinos with 11 goals last year, Graf will be looking for his first tally in 2018 this weekend.

This season, the Hounds are holding the opposition to 0.38 goals per game. This is currently the lowest mark in team history for a single campaign and on pace to shatter its previous best of 0.85 goals allowed per game in 2004.

Known as a great home team, the Rowdies have continued their success at Al Lang Stadium this season. In three home matches to date, Tampa Bay is 3-0 and outscoring opponents 9-0. Pittsburgh will have to neutralize this home field advantage by playing the game on its terms as much as possible come Saturday.