Pittsburgh Riverhounds News Release -- www.riverhounds.com
Friday, March 25, 2011
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Pittsburgh Riverhounds finish their first week of training camp healthy and in high spirits. With two midweek exhibition wins over Robert Morris University (1-0) and Slippery Rock University (5-0), the Riverhounds took Friday afternoon off to rest and rejuvenate.
On Tuesday, the Hounds traveled to the campus of Robert Morris to play against the Colonials. The match was extremely high paced for the first 45 minutes, resulting in minimal scoring opportunities for either side. The only Riverhounds threat came off a set piece taken from midfielder Tommy Gray. The right-footed service from Gray connected with player on trial, Neil Schaffer inside the six-yard box. Schaffer’s first time redirection trickled wide of the far post and out for a goal kick.
The complexion of the match changed when strikers Jeremy Deighton and rookie Matt Fondy entered in the second half. Deighton and Fondy combined well throughout the remaining 45 minutes, providing the Hounds with multiple scoring opportunities. Fondy found himself in the right place at the right time and converted the game winner in the 75th minute. Outside back Mike Seth struck a bouncing clearance by the Colonials from 30 yards out, only to see his shot deflect off of three different players and land at Fondy’s feet. Fondy confidently flicked the ball past the diving Colonial goalkeeper and put the Hounds on top.
The Riverhounds and Slippery Rock University met Thursday for their third consecutive year to raise funds for the Wounded Warriors Fund. The charity exhibition match raised $3,000 for the soldiers wounded in action.
From the opening whistle, the Riverhounds looked more comfortable with each other, by playing simply and moving the ball well against the Rock’s defense. Slippery Rock sat back in a 4-5-1, trying to limit the Hounds from penetrating into their defensive third.
The Riverhounds recorded a first half goal off the head of Chad Severs in the 32nd minute. A quality build-up, started by an overlapping run from Jason Kutney down the right flank, led to Kutney finding Shintaro Harada sliding into the whole behind the tracking defenders. Harada quickly switched the ball to Boyzzz Khumalo streaking down the left side. Khumalo picked his head up and played a bending cross to Severs slashing through the penalty area. Severs rose above the crowd and tucked Khumalo’s service past the Rock’s goalkeeper.
The Riverhounds recorded four second-half goals to put the game away. A strong tackle from Schaffer at midfield allowed him to jump into the attack and slot Gray into the right corner. Gray’s first time cross found Matt Tuttle at the back post, and Tuttle connected on the half-volley with a side scissors and rifled the ball into the top right corner of the goal.
Seth and Fondy connected twice in 10 minutes to increase the lead to four. Seth found Fondy’s head deep inside the Rock’s defense, the first off a left-footed cross and the second from his long throw-in. The fifth and final goal came in the 89th minute when Gray received a service behind the defense and tapped in the rebound off his initial shot.
The Riverhounds return to action on Monday, March 28th against California University of Pennsylvania.