USL Championship
FINAL: Riverhounds 3, Monterey Bay FC 0
Match Stats: USL Championship Match Center
Instant Match Summary
When the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC took the pitch to take on Monterey Bay FC on Saturday night at Seaside Stadium, they had an opportunity to climb past a few clubs in front of them in the standings and jump into coveted fourth place position in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference standings.
The Hounds seized the opportunity.
Pittsburgh rolled to a 3-0 win that catapulted them up in the standings to fourth place, thanks to a first half goal from defender Sean Suber, then a late second half goals from Augustine Williams and Jackson Walti. Goalkeeper Eric Dick earned the clean sheet with two saves.
With one match left in the season, Pittsburgh (12W-10L-7D, 43 points) secured a winning regular season for the eighth straight season and now control its destiny as they can clinch a home playoff match and a fourth (or third place) finish in the standings with a win in the season finale vs Phoenix next Saturday.
How It Happened
Pittsburgh controlled proceedings in the first half, eventually capitalizing on the best chance for either side in the first 45 minutes.
The Hounds took the lead in the 27th minute as they quickly gained possession at midfield when Robbie Mertz played a ball forward to Augi Williams, who took a touch on right edge of the box, then laid it off for Danny Griffin breaking down on the right side.
Griffin sent a low cross that dummied through Guillaume Vacter at the near post, sailing past MBFC keeper and former Pitt standout, Nico Campuzano, then ended up at the foot of an unmarked Sean Suber on the back post.
Suber easily passed the ball into an open goal second goal of the season.
With Monterey Bay pushing for the equalizer, the Hounds keeper Eric Dick made a pair of saves to preserve the lead, including a stop of Xavi Gnaulati’s well-hit ball from 15 yards through traffic.
The Hounds quickly countered after that, leaving substitute Jackson Walti with an opportunity to play a ball through for forward Augustine Williams, who had his mark beat by a step. The Hounds number nine — found room to slide his ninth goal of the season for the all-important two-goal lead.
Walti followed up his assist with some clever work in the box, freeing himself up to unleash a shot that beat his college teammate, Campuzano, in the 86th minute.
Look for a more detailed recap to follow along with post-match analysis and reaction to follow on Pittsburgh Soccer Now.
Match Day Updates
Check back here shortly before kickoff and throughout the match for in-match commentary, updates and highlights.
Of note, at the top of this thread, we’ll keep updating the LIVE standings.
Things have gone favorably for Pittsburgh (40 points) thus far. It’s possible, with a win and three points, they could jump ahead of North Carolina, and Loudoun United FC and into fourth place.
North Carolina FC (now at 42 points) split the points in its match vs Rhode Island and now sit two points ahead of Pittsburgh.
Indy Eleven defeated Loudoun United FC (42 points)
Hartford Athletic remain in third place (44 points) but were defeated by Tampa Bay Rowdies, 3-2
Second Half Updates / Commentary
FINAL — PITTSBURGH 3, MONTEREY BAY FC 0
Dominant performance in a match they needed — the Hounds shoot up in the standings to fourth place with the win.
86′ — GOAL — PITTSBURGH 3, MONTEREY BAY FC 0
Jackson Walti beats his former Pitt teammate with a clever finish — after a nifty move to create some space for himself and the Hounds grab a very rare (for this season) three-goal lead.
73′ — GOAL — PITTSBURGH 2, MONTEREY BAY FC 0
Augi Williams gets a step on the defender on the right side of the box, then drives it home for the all-important two goal lead.
72′ — Save!! Hounds hanging on to 1-0 lead. Eric Dick comes up with the ball on a low shot right at him by Xavi Gnaulati
64′ – Mertz bolts into the box after a turnover, but Alex Lara, the vet on the MB back line, times his tackle perfectly.
68′ – First two Hounds changes of the night.
IN: Jackson Walti, Illal Osumanu
OUT: Charles Ahl, Beto Ydrach
57′ – Three substitutions for Monterey Bay.
IN: Anton Søjberg, Mobi Fehr, Mayele Malango
OUT: Tarik Scott, Pierce Gallaway, Diego Gutierrez
47′ — Monterey gets its first shot on target in the match in the early going. Looked like Klein was the man to get the shot one goal for MB.
50′ – Biasi gets in on goal down the right side, and he fires a shot with a defender leaning on him! Campuzano, the ex-Pitt man, makes the save in the MB goal… great chance to make it 2.
First Half Updates / Commentary
HALF — PITTSBURGH 1, MONTEREY BAY FC 0
Pittsburgh converts on the match’s best chance. The Hounds have defended well, only allowing a pair of shots, neither on target, while they’ve explored deeper with intent and have held 61% possession.
38′ — Typed his name a few times in this first half — but Ahl again on the hunt for a goal — but has shot blocked.
33′ — Yellow Card — MBFC’s Galloway crushes Charles Ahl just above the 18. Pittsburgh gets a free kick from straightaway, close range, which is blocked.
28′ — Charles Ahl nearly doubles the lead, but former Pitt GK, Nico Campuzano. Nice work by Robbie Mertz to play it to Ahl.
27′ — GOAL — PITTSBURGH 1, MONTEREY BAY FC 0
Sean Suber — makes the run into the box and is there for clinical finish. That’s right the Center Back who rates highly at his position (Chances Created & Shot Attempts) shows again that he’s not shy about getting involved in making runs into the box. Sequence began with Augi Williams taking a touch on right edge, then laid it off for Griffin on the right side. Griffin sent a low cross that dummied through one player, then ended up at the foot of Suber on the back post. Easily pass into the net for Suber’s second goal of the season.
23′ — Attempt missed. Xavi Gnaulati (Monterey Bay) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by John Klein.
20′ — YELLOW CARD! Monterey’s Joel Garcia Jr. for a bad foul.
15′ — Attempt missed. Pierce Gallaway (Monterey Bay) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Diego Gutiérrez with a cross following a corner.
4′ — Following Vacter yellow card — Monterey with a pair of free kicks from close range, but Hounds defend them well.
3′ – YELLOW CARD — Guillaume Vacter is beat on right edge of box, a slight push is enough for official to put him into the book.
1′ — Hounds wearing road grayish kits with yellow trim/black numbers. No surprises in this lineup.
Starting Lineups for both squads:
Preview / What’s at Stake
In the absence of the club’s most successful and all-time winningest coach, Bob Lilley, who was put on administrative last week, less than 24 hours prior to their home match vs Indy Eleven (a 2-1 win), the Riverhounds pushed forward this week with Rob Vincent along with coaches Jon Busch, Kenardo Forbes and Sporting Director Dan Visser working together in running the day-to-day training sessions and preparation for Saturday’s match at Monterey Bay FC.
Here’s what’s at stake on Saturday when they take on last
Vincent admitted to Pittsburgh Soccer Now this week that the team that the situation regarding Lilley remaining on administrative leave is still day-to-day, and that the coaching staff are still focused on the next task at hand.
“This week, if anything, will be a little different. Now, we’re going through full week,” Vincent admitted.
“There’s not much to say. It’s day-to-day. Looks like I’ll be taking team on weekend.”
As for the team itself, the Hounds were about as close to full strength as they could be at this point in the season. Last week saw the return of Eric Dick, Robbie Mertz into the starting lineup and Jackson Walti and Perrin Barnes getting back on the field as reserves.
The only player who was left off the 18 was late season signee, Chase Boone, who picked up an injury over the weekend.
“We’re in a pretty good spot. Chase (Boone) over weekend wasn’t on bench. But, overall, we’ve found balance. We used Brigham (Larsen) off the bench too. He has come a long way. They all helped close game out. Guys are mentally in good spot. Hopefully we can keep the momentum.”
“Our focus is to maximize amount points we can get. If win the last two, we stand a good chance of getting a top four spot (and home playoff match). Overall, we’re playing pretty well recently minus the second half in (3-1 loss to) Miami,” Vincent stated.
“Even though it’s been strange few days, overall, the mood is pretty good. Everyone’s pretty focused. We want that home playoff match.”
Monterery Bay FC at Closer Look
Sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, Monterey Bay FC (28 points) were officially eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday night as a result of Orange County’s 1-0 win over San Antonio.
It will also be the team’s first match in 14 days since a 4-0 loss at Tampa Bay. MBFC’s form was not terrible before the lopsided loss to the Rowdies, as they defeated second place Sacramento, 1-0 and played third place New Mexico United to a 1-1 draw.
While Monterey Bay have been even worse than the Hounds this year on the road (1-10-4), they won’t be an easy team to defeat at Seaside Stadium, where they are 6-4-3.
The side has already rotated its squad heavily throughout the year — Danish forward Anton Søjberg is the top scorer with five goals and two assists — and no player has started more than 26 of the team’s 28 matches.
One of the two with 26 starts is former Pitt Men’s Soccer standout keeper Nico Campuzano. The Spanish goalkeeper who played his final two college season at the University of Pittsburgh is the current USLC leader in total saves, with 78, posting five saves despite his team’s minus-15 goal differential this season.
Riverhounds Projected Lineup
Barring any injuries or last-minute issues, don’t expect the lineup to change all that much, though with Perrin Barnes and Jackson Walti back into the rotation, Vincent and company have some lineup options.
John Krysinsky has covered soccer and other sports for many years for various publications and media outlets. He is also author of ‘Miracle on the Mon’ — a book about the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which chronicles the club, particularly the early years of Highmark Stadium with the narrative leading up to and centered around a remarkable match that helped provide a spark for the franchise. John has covered sports for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Sports Report, has served as color commentator on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broadcasts, and worked with OPTA Stats and broadcast teams for US Open Cup and International Champions Cup matches held in the US. Krysinsky also served as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at his alma mater, Point Park University, where he led the Pioneers to the first-ever winning seasons and playoff berths (1996-98); head coach of North Catholic boys (2007-08), associate head coach of Shady Side Academy boys (2009-2014).
