ORLANDO, Fl. (September 3, 2016) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds (6-15-5) shutout Orlando City B (8-10-8) on their way to a 2-0 victory at the Titan Soccer Complex.
The Hounds kept their playoff dream alive for another day thanks to Chevaughn Walsh scoring his first career goal and a late tally by Corey Hertzog.
Walsh had a few looks at goal early in the match, but none proved to be more important than his shot in the 23rdminute. Kevin Kerr worked his way into the box and played a sliding pass between two defenders to a trailing Walsh. The Jamaican forward would then put a shot on that would be enough to get through the outstretched hand of Mark Ridgers and into the corner of the net. The goal, Walsh’s first as a Hound and in his pro career, came on his first professional start as well.
The early lead can definitely be attributed an increased offensive presence with the Hounds out shooting the opposition 5-2 in the first half.
The halftime break provided both teams a chance to regroup as both clubs came out of the gate with chances on net. First, for the Hounds, Walsh again got inside the box in the 50th minute and nearly doubled the lead, but was turned away by a locked in Ridgers. Shortly after Orlando had a near chance as Craig Nitti curled a free kick from outside the penalty area into the side netting.
An equalizer looked promising when Orlando was awarded a corner late in stoppage time. The ensuing scramble for the ball provided Corey Hertzog with a golden breakaway chance which the Hounds’ leading scorer put away without a doubt to give the Pittsburgh side a sure victory.
The shutout was the first for Zack Steffen as a Hound and also the first clean sheet for the team since July 4th when they drew 0-0 with the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Pittsburgh continues on the road with a trip to Charlotte to face the Independence (12-7-6) next Saturday, September 10, at 7 p.m.
Line-ups:
Riverhounds: Zack Steffen – Marshall Hollingsworth, Ryan Adeleye, Sergio Campbell, Zak Boggs (Mike Green 71’) – Stephen Okai (Willie Hunt 88’), Lebo Moloto (Drew Russell 90’+), Kevin Kerr (c), Nick Thompson (Jack Thompson 45’) – Corey Hertzog – Chevaughn Walsh (Alejandro Aguilar 71’)
Subs not used: Hunter Gilstrap, Jordan Murrell
Orlando City B: Mark Ridgers – Conor Donovan, Kyle McFadden, Craig Nitti, Zach Hayden –Harrison Heath (Antonio Matarazzo 45’), Lewis Neal (c) (Johnny Mendoza 39’), Andrew Ribiero – Richie Laryea (Marius Obekop 75’), Hadji Barry, Michael Cox
Subs not used: Mason Stajduhar, Tyler Turner, Devron Garcia, Keegan Smith
Scoring Summary:
PGH – Chevaughn Walsh 23’ (Kevin Kerr)
PGH – Corey Hertzog 90’+ (Kevin Kerr)
Misconduct Summary:
ORL – Andrew Ribiero 16’ (caution)
ORL – Harrison Heath 45’ (caution)
ORL – Kyle McFadden 74’ (caution)
PGH – Ryan Adeleye 81’ (caution)
Quote Sheet
Coach Brandt
On the team’s overall performance…
I think a really good win on the road for us. Thought the guys did a really good job with the game plan, stayed tight defensively, Chevy [Walsh] scored a great first goal, and then obviously Corey put it away late.
On offensive pressure…
Well I think that’s the way games go often, you score a goal and the other team goes on the front foot a bit. Clearly we wanted to use the space behind them when we could. I thought we got forward well a number of times, we could have a lot more, I thought especially the second part of the first half there was a lot of space behind them that we weren’t using. I actually thought that piece was better in the second half.
Thoughts on defense…
The back four play, along with Zack Steffen, has been steadily improving and it was important tonight to obviously keep the zero, which they did.
Chevaughn Walsh
On scoring his first goal…
It’s a great feeling. I’ve been working hard and I think it finally paid off.
On playing at the pro level…
I’ve always been comfortable, we were under a situation [last week] against Harrisburg we had to get them to open up, and it was good. I am getting more and more comfortable being around professional minded players.