Hounds Meet Battery Minus Top Gun Vincent
Preview provided by Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
PITTSBURGH (Sept. 3, 2015) - The Pittsburgh Riverhounds can close in on potentially hosting a first United Soccer League playoff game at Highmark Stadium should they beat the visiting Charleston Battery in Saturday's Eastern Conference clash.
A win would lift the Hounds (10-9-5, 35 points) to within one point of fourth-placed Charleston (10-6-9, 39 points) with a game in hand on the South Carolinians. The division's top six teams qualify for the postseason with the top four assured of hosting at least one playoff game.
Hounds midfielders Kevin Kerr and Stephen Okai crowd out Charleston's Maikel Chang during the Battery's 3-1 win on May 9 (Photo courtesy of Charleston Battery).
Pittsburgh enters the game in confident mood after picking up a vital 1-0 win at highflying Louisville City last weekend. Rob Vincent's first-half penalty brought his tally for the season to 18 league goals, the third highest in USL. The English midfielder sits out his first game of the year Saturday to serve an automatic one-game ban after accumulating five yellow cards.
Vincent's exclusion is mitigated by the return of captain Danny Earls after his one-game ban. The Hounds can still call upon Kevin Kerr's attacking productivity. Kerr leads the league with nine assists, three behind the all-time USL single-season record set by Pittsburgh's Matt Dallman in 2013.
Jamaican national team goalkeeper Ryan Thompson is the only other confirmed absence from head coach Mark Steffens' plans. Thompson is struggling to fully shake off the left knee injury he picked up during this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup tournament.
Charleston inflicted a painful defeat on the Hounds during the teams' previous encounter at MUSC Health Stadium on May 9. Goals from Zach Prince, Dane Kelly and Dante Marini gave the Battery a commanding 3-goal lead before Hounds substitute Miro Cabrilo netted a late consolation. Charleston's form has tailed off over the summer. Last weekend's 2-0 win at the Richmond Kickers ended a 6-game winless run that yielded two points.
The Battery boasts the second-best defensive record in USL with 26 goals conceded in 25 games. Jamaican forward Kelly leads the team's offensive output with nine goals and two assists. Cuban striker Heviel Cordoves has pitched in with five goals for Mike Anhaeuser's side.
Defender Quinton Griffith and midfielder Sebastien Thuriere will not make the trip due to their respective national team commitments with Antigua and Barbuda and Haiti this weekend.
Pittsburgh's final home game of the USL regular season takes place Sept. 16 against the league-leading Rochester Rhinos. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Mayor Bill Peduto will be in attendance to lend his support to a new partnership between the Riverhounds and Citiparks Pittsburgh BIG League Sports that will see the club running clinics and providing equipment for young kids in the city.
Kickoff is at 7:10 p.m. Tickets are still available for the grandstand, Paul Child Stand and for general admission areas. Visit Riverhounds.com for information or call the Highmark Stadium box office on (412) 325-7241 to speak to a representative.
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