(March 23, 2024) — The Pittsburgh Riverhounds pulled level once, but the team couldn’t find a second tying goal before eventually falling on the road, 3-1, against Louisville City FC this afternoon at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
Wilson Harris scored just before halftime for Louisville (2-0-0), but Edward Kizza got the Hounds (0-3-0) even at 1-1 early in the second half. Sean Totsch converted a go-ahead penalty kick for Louisville, and Ray Serrano added an insurance goal on the counter late in stoppage time.
Hounds midfielder Kenardo Forbes started the match, and by doing so tied the club’s record for career appearances. It was his 195th game for the team, tying former Hounds striker David Flavius, who played from 1999-2006.
First half
Louisville came out in control of the match, putting the Hounds on their heels and recording the first 10 shots of the match. Goalkeeper Eric Dick, who finished with five saves, was sharp early, snuffing out a dangerous cross and then diving to make a save on Serrano’s long shot in the first six minutes.
The Hounds began to find their way, and in the 39th minute, nearly pulled ahead when Langston Blackstock got to the goal line and cut a pass back to Babacar Diene near the penalty spot. Diene beat the goalkeeper with his shot, but retreating defender Totsch got his body in the way to clear the ball off the goal line.
Seconds before the halftime whistle, Louisville went ahead when a pass by Serrano deflected off a defender’s foot and into the path of Harris, who finished behind the defense.
Second half
The Hounds found more in the attacking end in the second half, and in the 59th minute, Kizza scored his first of the season. Junior Etou created a turnover along the left sideline, and he passed to Diene, who quickly sent the ball toward the front of goal, where Kizza had room for a one-touch finish.
Momentum swung back the other way in the 65th minute, when Illal Osumanu was called for a trip in the box taking down Serrano. Totsch — now 10 for 10 on PKs with Louisville — stepped up and converted the penalty for a 2-1 lead.
The Hounds had more chances to tie the game, and in the 70th minute, Jackson Walti hit a perfectly weighted pass to split the defense and find Kizza for the finish, only to have the play negated by the offside flag.
The pressure stayed on with the Hounds having 57 percent of possession in the second half, but Louisville put the game away with Serrano finishing a counter-attack in the final minute that caught the Hounds with players pressed forward.
Hounds Man of the Match
Edward Kizza had his best outing of the young season spearheading the attack, scoring the goal and winning a match high five free kicks. He also connected on 7 of 10 passes in the final third, and only the offside flag kept him from a multi-goal game.
What’s next?
The Hounds have an early off week in the schedule, which gives them 14 days to prepare for their next match. The team will host the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at Highmark Stadium.
Riverhounds SC lineup (5-3-2) — Eric Dick; Junior Etou (Bradley Sample 72’), Luke Biasi, Danny Griffin, Illal Osumanu, Dani Rovira (Langston Blackstock 27’); Kenardo Forbes (Kazaiah Sterling 72’), Jackson Walti (Emmanuel Johnson 87’), Robbie Mertz; Edward Kizza, Babacar Diene (Sean Suber 72’)
Louisville City FC lineup (3-4-3) — Damian Las; Kyle Adams, Arturo Ordóñez, Sean Totsch; Jake Morris (Amadou Dia 75’), Elijah Wynder, Taylor Davila (Niall McCabe 75’), Jansen Wilson (Wes Charpie 90’); Ray Serrano, Wilson Harris (Sam Gleadle 87’), Adrien Perez (Evan Davila 75’)
Scoring summary
LOU — Wilson Harris 45+5’
PIT — Edward Kizza 59’ (Babacar Diene)
LOU — Sean Totsch 65’ (penalty)
LOU — Ray Serrano 90+6’ (Evan Davila)
Discipline summary
PIT — Robbie Mertz 48’ (caution – tactical foul)
LOU — Sean Totsch 54’ (caution – reckless foul)
LOU — Elijah Wynder 88’ (caution – tactical foul)
