Pittsburgh Riverhounds News Release -- www.riverhounds.com
Saturday, April 22, 2011
PITTSBUGH, Pa. - On a cool rainy evening, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds won their USL PRO home opener and the first Keystone Derby of the season as Shintaro Harada’s goal early in the second half gave them a 1-0 victory against the Harrisburg City Islanders on Saturday night at Chartiers Valley Stadium.
The Hounds converted on their first offensive opportunity of the second half thanks to a savvy flick from Chad Severs to an on-rushing Harada. Riverhounds defender Sterling Flunder settled a clearance from the City Islanders and served a low left-footed cross into the box for Severs. With a defender on his back, Severs flicked the ball over his marker for Harada slashing through the box. Harada confidently slid the bouncing ball past Harrisburg goalkeeper Chase Harrison to record the only goal of the game.
The first half was a battle of possession giving both the Riverhounds and City Islanders limited scoring opportunities. The Riverhounds’ focus was to build through the midfield, while the City Islanders were playing direct soccer. With two different styles of play on the field, the action was extremely high paced and physical.
After Harada opened the scoring, the City Islanders nearly equalized in the 56th minute off a weak clearance by the Riverhounds. Harrisburg’s Andrew Marshall delivered a diagonal ball in to Anthony Calvano at the Riverhounds’ back post. Calvano rose up to head the ball past Riverhounds’ goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap only to see his effort cleared off the goal line by Jason Kutney.
2010 USL-2 Rookie of the Year Jeremy Deighton had an immediate impact off the bench for the Riverhounds, putting pressure on the City Islanders’ defense. In the 77th minute, Deighton beat Harrison on a bouncing ball, only to see his shot hit the post. Five minutes later, fellow forward Jason Yeisley skimmed a deep service onto the foot of Deighton only to see the crossbar deny his effort.
The missed opportunities didn’t come back to haunt the Riverhounds, though, as they earned their first victory of the season.
The Riverhounds return to action next weekend for a two game road trip. On Friday the Riverhounds take on the Wilmington Hammerheads (1-0-0) at Legion Stadium and then travel overnight to face the Charleston Battery (2-1-0) at Blackbaud Stadium Harrisburg will host the Rochester Rhinos (1-1-0) next Saturday at Skyline Sports Complex on City Island.