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LIVE: Riverhounds 1, Miami 0, Halftime

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Riverhounds SC (9-6-3) vs. Miami FC (6-6-6)

Saturday, July 9  |  7 p.m.  | Highmark Stadium Pittsburgh, PA
Odds: Hounds -125 / Draw +260 / Miami +290 (FanDuel)
TV: 22 The Point | Streaming: ESPN+
Match Stats: USL Championship Match Center

 

Match Day Updates 

Halftime – End of the half is still 1-0 Pittsburgh. Only 41% possession but Hounds really playing in Miami’s end. Solid first half except for not getting that second goal.

44′ – Kyle Murphy almost scores on a breakaway for the Miami FC. 2 minutes of stoppage time added.

39′ – Big save by Sparrow on Cicerone! Almost got his second of the match. Dikwa had a chance too but stopped by the backline. Game still 1-0.

35′ – Now Toby Sims is given a yellow card. Game is getting chippy.

28′ – Yellow card given to Angelo Kelly for going in late on a tackle.

14′ – HOUNDS SCORE 1-0!! Cicerone scores his 8th goal of the season. Toby Sims earns his first point and assist for the club. Cicerone is now tied 9th in club history in goals with 24 tying Jose Angulo back in 2013-14.

5′ – Both teams rocking a 4-2-3-1 formation. Miami has been playing this system since last season I know. Hounds want more offense so they’ve pushed away from the 5 back.

1′ – Game begins. Jesse Williams appearing in his fourth game of the season, starting tonight at RB.

Look for starting line-ups, in-game updates, post match summary and reaction to be posted here with Jordan Smith anchoring PSN’s coverage.

 

*** Starting line-ups will be posted here at approximately 6:30 p.m.  *** 

 

Match Preview / PSN’s Riverhounds Coverage 

The Hounds are aiming to stay in the Eastern Conference’s top four and win three consecutive league matches for the first time in this USL Championship season, but doing so will require getting past an always-tricky Miami FC side tonight at Highmark Stadium.

Check out PSN’s latest edition of Hounds Notebook here as the Hounds finish up a busy nine-day stretch…

Hounds Notebook: No rest for the weary

It will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams, whose first meeting was a disjointed 2-2 draw in Miami. A lightning delay of more than two hours, a second delay when stadium lights went out, 35 fouls (including an Alex Dixon penalty kick saved by Miami’s Connor Sparrow) and slippery field conditions all factored into a clunky game that lasted past midnight.

Miami led twice on goals by Junior Palacios and Adonijah Reid, but goals by Russell Cicerone and Dixon got the Hounds level each time. The goal by Cicerone is part of a nine-game stretch in which he has five goals and two assists, moving him into the scoring lead for the Hounds, a goal ahead of Albert Dikwa and Dane Kelly.

Dixon’s goal extended something of a statistical oddity for the Hounds, as well. The last three times a Hounds player has missed on a penalty kick (Cicerone and Dixon twice), the same player has gone on to score later that game in the run of play.

Quirks such as that aside, Miami has proven to be a tough customer for the Hounds, both home and away. All five games have been settled by a goal or fewer, and the Floridians hold a 2-1-2 lead in the series.

Miami has been defensively stout at just 18 goals allowed in 18 matches, and Sparrow has been one of the league’s best goalkeepers this season. The team is speedy and dynamic, and though they don’t have a single big-time scorer — five players share the lead with three goals each — they have been effective enough to put themselves in the final playoff spot in the East as the second half of the season gets rolling.

One of those five scorers for Miami is former Hounds striker Romeo Parkes. The Jamaican, who joined Miami in the offseason, would be in line for his first match at Highmark Stadium since leaving the club after 2018, but he is listed as questionable (neck) on the injury report.

The Hounds have a clean bill of health, on the other hand, but with this being the third match in nine days, expect to see a handful of lineup changes from coach Bob Lilley. Regulars such as Dikwa, Kenardo Forbes and Nate Dossantos only played a half-hour coming off the bench in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Indy, placing them among the surest bets to be back in the 11 today.

GAME NOTES 

 

The Hounds and Miami meet for the second time this season after playing a 2-2 draw in their first meeting on May 28 in Miami. That game was delayed multiple times because of lightning and did not finish until after midnight.

• Pittsburgh and Miami have combined for 17 goals in their five all-time meetings, and all five games have been decided by one goal or fewer.

• Albert Dikwa kept his career-best scoring season rolling when he netted his sixth goal of the season for the game-winner Wednesday against Indy Eleven.

• Forward Russell Cicerone is showing the form that made him the team’s top scorer in 2021. Over his last nine games, he has five goals and two assists, and he leads the team with seven goals on the season.

• USL Championship career goals leader Dane Kelly became the league’s all-time leader in appearances with 243 when he started Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Indy.

• Dikwa, Cicerone and Kelly (six goals) are on pace to give the Hounds three double-digit goal scorers, which the club hasn’t had since its inaugural 1999 season in the USL A-League.

• Alex Dixon, who last month became the 15th player to appear in 200 USL Championship matches and the 14th with 30 assists in the league, is on the cusp of more scoring milestones. With 48 goals and 30 assists, he could become the 16th 50-goal player and join longtime Charlotte forward Jorge Herrera as the second 50/30 player in USLC history.

• Midfielder Danny Griffin has played all but 17 minutes since the beginning of the 2021 regular season, starting every league match during that time. He has not missed a league game since turning pro with the Hounds in 2020, appearing in 67 straight USL Championship contests.

• Arturo Ordóñez scored his first professional goal on June 25 against Tampa Bay. The Spanish defender, who played his college soccer locally for Pitt and was a starter on the Panthers’ 2020 College Cup team, has started all but two games for the Hounds this year and is third on the team in minutes played.

• Hounds captain Kenardo Forbes remains the all-time USL Championship assist leader, and he ran his career total to 50 in last Friday’s win over New York with the long, diagonal pass that set up Dixon for the opening goal.

• In 145 all-competition matches under Bob Lilley, the Hounds have allowed just 136 goals, an average of 0.94 goals per game.




Jordan joined the Pittsburgh Soccer Now team in 2020 as a contributor to Riverhounds SC & WPIAL coverage. He is also a current Graduate Assistant at Point Park University in the athletics department, while also obtaining an MBA and MA in Media Communications. Jordan, during his undergrad four years at La Roche University, interned and worked part time for every pro team and several universities in Pittsburgh: Riverhounds SC, Pirates, University of Pittsburgh, La Roche University, Duquesne University, Steelers and the Penguins. With all of these experiences he began to gain a passion to work in sports as a career. Smith played cup soccer for Century United and Beadling during his youth years and also trained with the Riverhounds. He attended South Fayette High School where he helped his team win WPIAL’s and a section title his senior year in 2015, while earning All-Section and All-WPIAL honors.






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