PITTSBURGH (Sept. 7, 2024) — The Pittsburgh Riverhounds continued their push for a postseason berth with a huge home win, defeating Rhode Island FC, 2-0, tonight at Highmark Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 5,619.
Newly acquired Bertin Jacquesson scored on his debut for the Hounds (8-9-11), and first-year pro Bradley Sample added his first professional goal after halftime. Goalkeeper Eric Dick did not need to make a save for his 11th shutout of the season, as the Hounds limited Rhode Island (8-6-13) to only two total shots.
The win extends the Hounds unbeaten run to 10 games — 5-0-5 — and propels the team to seventh place in the Eastern Conference, though chasing Birmingham and Loudoun each have games in hand.
First half
The match was billed as the return of 2023 Golden Boot winner Albert Dikwa to Pittsburgh, and he gave the home crowd a scare when he got behind the defense and struck the post, though the offside flag ended up negating the 14th-minute chance.
Neither team created much in the way of chances, and the visitors went without a shot in the first half, but late in first-half stoppage time, the newest Hound made the breakthrough.
Danny Griffin fired a low, diagonal pass across the field that split the defense to find Jacquesson, the former Pitt star acquired this week on loan from Real Salt Lake. Jacquesson made no mistake with his first touch, firing a right-footed shot just under the crossbar to put the Hounds ahead.
Second half
It took only five minutes for Sample to double the lead on a play that began again with Jacquesson, who carried the ball into the left corner.
As the defense closed, Jacquesson dropped a pass back to Dani Rovira, who struck a line-drive cross toward the penalty spot. Sample rose and got enough on his header to redirect the ball toward the back post, and it looped high over the head of goalkeeper Koke Vegas before dropping in for the rookie’s first pro tally.
Things got chippy as the game progressed, and tempers flared late in a clash between Robbie Mertz and Rhode Island’s Karifa Yao that brought both teams together. Mertz and Yao were both carded as things settled in the final few minutes.
The Hounds continued to keep the clamps on defensively, though Rhode Island began to create chances late. The visitors nearly got a goal back in the 90th minute when Noah Fuson got behind the defense into the right side of the box, but his pass across goal went behind his two teammates running toward goal and rolled to safety for the Hounds.
Modelo Man of the Match
Bradley Sample bagged his first career goal with the deftest of headers to loop the ball into the net. In addition, the midfielder was strong with a team-best 80 percent passing percentage (24 of 30), four total crosses and winning possession a team-leading eight times.
What’s next?
The Hounds go back on the road to St. Petersburg, Fla., for an always-challenging contest against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The teams drew 0-0 in April in Pittsburgh, but the Rowdies (12-7-7) suffered a setback tonight at Colorado Springs.
Riverhounds SC lineup (5-2-3) — Eric Dick; Dani Rovira (Langston Blackstock 61’), Luke Biasi, Sean Suber, Illal Osumanu, Jackson Walti; Bradley Sample (Pierre Cayet 76’), Danny Griffin; Robbie Mertz, Edward Kizza (Kenardo Forbes 76’), Bertin Jacquesson (Emmanuel Johnson 61’)
Rhode Island FC lineup (3-5-2) — Koke Vegas; Morris Duggan, Karifa Yao, Grant Stoneman (Frank Nodarse 75’); Noah Fuson, Marc Ybarra (Zack Herivaux 58’), Jack Panayotou, Clay Holstad, Stephen Turnbull (Mark Doyle 75’); JJ Williams (Gabriel Alves 69’), Albert Dikwa
Scoring summary
PIT — Bertin Jacquesson 45+5’ (Danny Griffin)
PIT — Bradley Sample 50’ (Dani Rovira)
Discipline summary
RI — Stephen Turnbull 35’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Illal Osumanu 42’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Luke Biasi 55’ (caution – tactical foul)
PIT — Danny Griffin 74’ (caution – tactical foul)
PIT — Robbie Mertz 80’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
RI — Karifa Yao 80’ (caution – unsporting behavior)
