This is Part 4 of a series counting down the Riverhounds’ top five moments of 2023. Click here to read yesterday’s entry, No. 3 on the countdown.
Give credit to the USL Championship schedule makers in 2023, because they left one of the league’s premier matchups for a penultimate weekend showdown with everything on the line.
The Hounds traveled to St. Petersburg to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, Oct. 7, and both the Players’ Shield and the top spot in the Eastern Conference were still up for grabs with only two matches to play.
For the Hounds, the math was simple with a three-point lead in the standings: Win the game, and both prizes were theirs. The Rowdies, on the other hand, were playing to pull back into a tie for first with a win of their own, while Sacramento Republic FC was looking on in hopes of a draw or Rowdies win to allow the West leaders back into the Players’ Shield hunt.
Adding to the challenge for the Hounds was playing at Al Lang Stadium, where the team had only won once before in six previous trips. But the Hounds had won their prior four matches, and that momentum followed the team down to the opening whistle on the Gulf Coast.
It took only 29 seconds for the Hounds to quiet a raucous crowd in St. Pete. Kenardo Forbes pinged the ball wide to Junior Etou on the left side, and Etou took his time to control the ball before picking out Albert Dikwa at the back post with a cross. The goal would prove to be the one that clinched the Golden Boot for Dikwa — his 20th in USL play — but more importantly, it allowed the Hounds to comfortably play their game in a tough road environment.
Dikwa’s momentum twice nearly added to the lead in the first half, as he dragged a shot wide and had another goal ruled out by an offside flag. Despite ceding more than two-thirds of possession, the Hounds went to the break with the upper hand, and early in the second half, they put things away through the league’s Defender of the Year, Arturo Ordóñez.
Pushed forward on a corner kick, the center back was in a perfect position in the box after Luke Biasi regained possession near midfield. The ball made its way forward to Tola Showunmi, whose ball toward the near post was turned into the goal by Ordóñez for a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute.
From there, the Hounds were stingy on the defensive half of the field. Jahmali Waite preserved his 10th shutout of the league season in the 84th minute with a leaping save on the reigning league MVP, Leo Fernandes, and after a sometimes-agonizing seven minutes of stoppage time, the celebration was on for the Hounds’ first league trophy in team history.
Check out the full highlights below, including both goals, from the No. 2 moment of the Hounds’ 2023 season.
