Saturday, April 21, 2012
PITTSBURGH -- On a cold and rainy night at Chartiers Valley Stadium, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (2-1-0) converted a goal in each half to defeat the Dayton Dutch Lions (0-1-1) by a score of 2-0. Seth C’deBaca recorded the game-winning goal in the 17th minute of play, while Agustin “Tino” Nunez added an insurance goal in the 81st minute.
Battling the wet surface and the cold weather, the Riverhounds and Dutch Lions spent the early going trying to get a grasp on how the ball would react to the field conditions. The first 10 minutes of the game had a frantic pace as the ball was extremely live to the touch, creating a pinball-like atmosphere on the pitch.
The Riverhounds would jump on top of the Dutch Lions when C’deBaca confidently headed a brilliant service from Stefan Lundberg into the side netting. Winning a tackle near midfield, Rich Costanzo found Lundberg streaking down the right flank. Lundberg cut back inside his marker to deliver a cross toward the penalty spot. Standing all alone inside the Dutch Lions penalty area, C’deBaca redirected the cross just inside the near post to put the Riverhounds on the scoreboard.
Continuing to attack the Dutch Lions defense throughout the first half, the Riverhounds would receive quality opportunities to break the game wide open, but Dutch Lions goalkeeper Matt Williams was up for the challenge and denied the Riverhounds a second goal.
The Dutch Lions came out of the halftime break with more pressure on the Riverhounds back line and nearly equalized in the 50th minute. A dangerous back-post service from Michael McNamara found the head of target forward Gerrit-Jan Bartels. Leaping above his marker, Bartels turned the cross towards the Riverhounds goal, but his header went just wide of the back post and out for a goal kick.
The Riverhounds would add to their lead in the 81st minute when Nunez showed a touch of class on his first goal of the 2012 season. Picking off a pass at the edge of the middle third, Nikola Katic found Nunez behind the Dutch Lions defense. Slashing down the left side of the field, Nunez would waste little time to add the insurance goal. Katic’s pass encouraged Williams to be indecisive in coming off his line and closing down Nunez. Seeing that Williams was caught in the middle, Nunez softly lifted a left-footed shot over his head to find the back of the empty net.
The Riverhounds return to action next weekend for a two-game road trip in the Carolinas. The Riverhounds will square off with the Charleston Battery (2-1-0) on Friday night at Blackbaud Stadium. Following the game against the Battery, the Riverhounds will travel overnight to match up with the Wilmington Hammerheads (0-1-0) on Saturday night at Legion Stadium. Both games are slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, and will be available to view online via USL Live on UNation.
Dayton will host its home opener next Saturday night against the Rochester Rhinos (2-0-0). The Dutch Lions will kick off against the Rhinos at 7:30 p.m. in Careflight Field in Dayton.