Hounds Suffer Shootout Heartbreak in Semis
October 30, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC saw its season come to a close after falling on penalty kicks top-seeded Louisville City FC, 5-4, after playing to a 2-2 draw in the USL Championship Eastern Conference Semifinals tonight at Lynn Family Stadium.
Russell Cicerone scored twice in regulation time to give the Hounds a two-goal lead, but Louisville pushed back into the game with two goals in three minutes from Manny Perez and Cameron Lancaster to force extra time and, eventually, a shootout.
It is the third time in the past four seasons the Hounds have been knocked out of the playoffs by Louisville – two of those in games that lasted beyond regulation. The Hounds finish the season with a 16-9-11 record in USL matches, their fifth straight winning season and fifth straight in the playoffs.
First half
The Hounds shocked the home crowd by taking the lead on their first shot on goal in the 14th minute.
Robbie Mertz got free down the right flank and struck a cross that was just too high for his teammates and the defenders in front of the center of goal. That allowed the ball to drop for Cicerone at the far post, and the Hounds’ leading scorer took a touch before slotting home a shot inside the near post.
Most of Louisville’s threats in the first half came from corner kicks, and the Hounds defended well enough to hold the hosts without a shot on goal in the first 45.
Second half
Things looked even better for the Hounds when Kenardo Forbes slotted a pass through the Louisville back line to send Cicerone in on a 47th-minute breakaway, and Cicerone finished the chance with a calm finish for his 15th goal of the season. With the goal, Cicerone joined Neco Brett as the only Hounds players to have consecutive 15-goal seasons (all competitions), while Forbes got his career-best 11th assist of the year.
The Hounds continued to create chances on the break while focusing on protecting the lead, and Albert Dikwa nearly added another goal on the break in the 76th minute, only to be denied by Louisville goalie Danny Faundez. While Louisville finished the match with 66 percent of possession, shots on goal was only 7-6 in the hosts’ favor, and even the advanced xG metric (expected goals finished 1.62-1.56 Louisville.
Things went sour for the Hounds in the 83th minute on a Louisville free kick. Jahmali Waite made an excellent stop on Josh Wynder – one of four saves in the match for Waite – but he couldn’t stop Perez’s rebound finish.
Barely a minute later, Shane Wiedt was whistled for a foul challenging Elijah Wynder in the box, and Lancaster converted the kick to tie the match in the 85th minute.
Extra time
The extra time periods went end-to-end, and Waite kept things level with an outstanding stop on Sean Totsch’s volley from a corner kick in the 98th minute.
A minute later, Edward Kizza, the hero of the conference quarterfinals, had the ball in the net for another extra time goal and a potential winner, but a dubious offside flag negated the strike.
With their winning goal disallowed, the Hounds headed to penalties for a second straight game, and the decisive play was made by Faundez on the Hounds’ first kick, as he dove to his left to make a strong stop on Danny Griffin. Neither team missed for the remainder of kicks from the mark, and the Hounds’ season ended when Carlos Moguel Jr. converted for Louisville.
Hounds Man of the Match
Russell Cicerone completed his second year as a difference-maker for the Hounds with a two-goal contest, and he also finished the match with a team-best 88 percent passing completion rate.
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