Pittsburgh Riverhounds News Release - www.riverhounds.com
Saturday, August 6, 2011
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Pittsburgh Riverhounds and the Charlotte Eagles finish in a 2-2 draw Saturday night at Chartiers Valley Stadium. The two Clubs convert a goal in each half to earn a point and maintain their position in the USL PRO Divisional standings. Both the Riverhounds and Eagles sit at the fourth chair in the American and National Division tables.
The Riverhounds broke the scoring open in the 13th minute of play when Neil Shaffer found Jeremy Deighton on a quick counter attack. Jumping the passing lane at midfield, Shaffer traveled to the edge of the middle third before slotting a pass for Deighton. Taking the pass in stride, Deighton took a touch inside to put his body between the defender and the ball and prepare for a right-footed shot. After his preparation touch, Deighton looked up and passed the ball around Eagles goalkeeper Eric Reed to take the early lead.
The Eagles fought back to draw even just before the intermission on a quality strike by Mark Bloom. Overlapping down the right flank, Bloom picked up a Juan Guzman pass at the corner of the penalty area. Cutting the ball inside to elude his marker, Bloom stepped into a left-footed shot twenty yards from goal. Connecting cleanly with the ball, Bloom’s shot snuck inside the near post and into the top corner to bring the score level at one.
Following the break, the Eagles came out with energy and challenged the Riverhounds’ goal multiple times before taking the lead in the 56th minute. The Eagles had an array of passes allowing them to move deep inside the Riverhounds defensive half and find Luke Williams in the left corner. Serving a low bending cross, Williams picked out Darin Toby at the back post. Toby’s head found the end of the Williams’ cross and redirected the ball past Riverhounds goalkeeper Derek Yobbi.
The Riverhounds received a spark when second half substitutes Stefan Lundberg and Matt Fondy entered the match in the 65th minute. Lundberg and Fondy created three near game-tying opportunities, but the Riverhounds could not finish those chances.
Pittsburgh native, Adam Gazda entered the game in the 75th minute and became the set-up man two minutes later. Gazda received a pass at the top of the center circle and looked towards the Eagles goal. Seeing Tommy Gray streak across the field, Gazda put a soft touch on a ball played over the Eagles’ defense. Running onto to the ball, Gray collected the ball with ease and struck a low hard shot on target. Reed made an initial reaction save, but saw the ball deflect back to Gray’s feet at the six yard line. Regaining his composure, Gray tapped the ball into the empty net to knot the score at two.
Both sides had chances to record the game-winner, but Yobbi and Reed stood up the test and denied their opponents the three points.