Hounds Seek Tie To Clinch Keystone Derby Cup
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Preview provided by Pittsburgh Riverhounds
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds head to Pennsylvania's state capital this weekend for Sunday's Keystone Derby meeting with the Harrisburg City Islanders at the Skyline Sports Complex. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Fans can follow the action live on Riverhounds.com.
A tie will be enough to ensure that the Hounds will be presented with the inaugural Keystone Derby Cup in Harrisburg after the final USL regular season meeting between the teams on Sept. 19.
Pittsburgh won both previous encounters in dramatic fashion at Highmark Stadium. Kevin Kerr's hat trick prompted a 5-2 win in the season opener on March 28. The Scotsman then capped a dramatic fight back on May 30 when the Hounds recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the final minute to win 6-5.
Kevin Kerr celebrates after his dramatic late winner earned the Hounds a 6-5 win over Harrisburg in May.
Sunday's game also carries huge implications for the Eastern Conference's top six playoff places. The Hounds (7-7-4, 25 points) are tied for fifth in the standings with the New York Red Bulls II after dropping the past two games to F.C. Montreal and Louisville City.
Harrisburg sits two places back with a 6-6-4 record (22 points) having played two fewer games than the Hounds.
"If you don't bring energy, you're not moving off the ball," said Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens. "We're a high possession team and we have to get back to basics by getting the ball on the ground.
"The key is getting into a rhythm early in the game, though that's hard in Harrisburg with the long grass on their field."
Harrisburg's form has also been sluggish lately after a strong start to the season. The Islanders have won twice in the past nine outings. Head coach Bill Becher will be without Dante Leverock on Sunday after the Bermudan defender was sent off during last Saturday's 2-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls II.
Steffens has some injuries to contend with this weekend. Defenders Sterling Flunder and Drew Russell are dealing with sprained knee ligaments while Fejiro Okiomah has an Achilles problem that will likely keep him sidelined. Brazilian forward Vini Dantas is also out with a heel contusion.
Goalkeeper Ryan Thompson remains absent after leading Jamaica past the United States and into Sunday's Concacaf Gold Cup Final against Mexico on Sunday evening. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be shown live on Fox Sports 1.
Rob Vincent's assist for Kerr in last week's defeat to Louisville kept him second in the USL scoring categories for points and points-per-game as well as goals and goals-per-game behind Oklahoma City Energy's Danni Konig. Kerr is tied third in the league for assists along with Harrisburg's Enric Valles.
Only Rochester's Brandon Miller and Louisville City's Scott Goodwin have recorded a greater number of shutouts than Harrisburg goalkeeper Nick Noble despite the Hounds putting 11 goals past the West Virginia University graduate in two games.
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