Connect with us

Pittsburgh Riverhounds

FINAL: Charleston Battery 1, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 0 (USL Championship Eastern Conference Quarterfinal)

Photo courtesy Charleston Battery
USL Championship Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

FINAL: Charleston Battery 1, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 0

Match Stats: USL Championship Match Center

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC fell behind early and couldn’t surmount enough quality scoring chances as they saw their 2024 campaign come to a crashing halt with a 2-0 loss to the Charleston Battery at Patriots Point Stadium in Charleston, SC, on Saturday night.

Charleston’s Nick Markanich, who set the USL Championship’s single season goal scoring record, tallied the match’s lone goal early in the first half, which held up.

In a match where quality chances were limited and only nine shots were taken, the Battery were solid defensively, limiting Pittsburgh to one shot on frame.

Pittsburgh’s goalkeeper, USL Championship’s Golden Glove winner, kept the Hounds in the match with four saves. The No. 7-seed Hounds were shut out for the first time in 10 matches, and they were unable to find the net despite a 12-10 edge in shots.

This was the second consecutive season the Riverhounds bowed out of the playoffs in the first round.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After holding first-half leads in seven consecutive matches, the Hounds found themselves in the unfamiliar position of playing from behind in the eighth minute.

The Battery worked the ball down the left side before dropping a pass back to Arturo Rodriguez, who lifted a cross toward the back post. Markanich made a late cut in front of his defender and dove to head the ball past Dick for a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal allowed by the Hounds in 379 minutes of play, and it was the first first-half goal given up by the team since Aug. 17 against Colorado Springs, a run of nine matches.

The Hounds pressed to get the goal back quickly, and Bertin Jacquesson showed great skill in the box to control the ball and lay a pass back to Danny Griffin, whose shot was deflected wide for a corner by the Battery defense. That remained a theme of the night, as the Battery blocked six shots on the night.

Dick kept the margin close in the 42nd minute with his biggest save of the night, diving to his left to deny a curling shot by Rodriguez from 13 yards away.

The Hounds went straight on the attack to begin the second half, and Edward Kizza won the ball to set up Jacquesson, but again, the Battery tracked back to block the effort.

In the 70th minute, Bradley Sample won a contested ball in the attacking third to set up Robbie Mertz, who wisely drew the defense before passing to Griffin. The Hounds’ captain beat the goalkeeper with his shot, but the defense again tracked back to keep the ball from getting to the goal line.

The Battery had shouts for a penalty kick in the 75th minute when Griffin collided with Emilio Ycaza in the box, but play continued and the Hounds got a chance on the counter that ended with Langston Blackstock shooting wide of the goal.

In the end, the Hounds were not able to put a shot on target in the second half, with their final chance coming on a cross from Luke Biasi that found Kizza for an off-balance attempt in traffic that sailed high at the near post.

Post Match Reaction: Riverhounds season ends with 1-0 playoff loss at Charleston

Hounds Playoff Match Day Updates

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds Welcome to the Live Match Day thread where we’ll provide match day game notes (see below), social media and news/updates, including starting lineups, pre-match hype, in-game updates/highlights/commentary and more!

Thanks so much for your support of our site and helping us grow the game in our region.

You can become a subscriber to Pittsburgh Soccer Now, by clicking here. 

Match Feed

Fulltime – Riverhounds 0-1 Charleston

90′ – A defensive turnover for the Hounds gives MD Myers a one-on-one with Eric Dick, but he puts it wide on a deflection for a corner. Time winding here.

90′ – Late Charleston sub as Rodriguez comes off and Crawford enters. Final moments here now.

90′ – Not a lot of downtime this half, but the ref generously hands the Hounds five minutes of stoppage time here.

89′ – MD Myers with a late shot on-target, but Eric Dick with another good save to keep things as they stand. Time running out and Charleston generating more shots than the Hounds at this late stage.

88′ – Hounds floundering a bit here. Inaccurate, low-percentage passes as desperation sets in late. That’s not going to get the job done here.

86′ – Corner for the Hounds, taken short, played back to Forbes, but offsides. Time winding down on the Hounds season here.

85′ – Sub for Charleston, as Biek enters for Torres, who had a stellar evening for the hosts.

80′ – Corner here for the Hounds, earned quickly after the subs. Taken by Forbes short, out for another corner. Forbes again takes, this time cleared away.

79′ – Pair of subs for the Hounds as Babacar Diene and Kenardo Forbes come on in place of Jacquesson and Mertz. Not much time left here for the Hounds.

78′ – More and more Charleston drop back and compress their defense. It’ll take a moment of brilliance for the Hounds to break through, can they find it?

75′ – Danny Griffin comes in on Ycaza in the box, ref waves away the contact which looked like it could’ve been a penalty. Hounds get away with one there.

73′ – And Charleston earns a corner and slows things down after the subs. Swings in to the far post, Dick rises to claim the ball.

72′ – And after that extended period of pressure, Charleston finally gets a chance to make their subs. Off come the goal-scorer Markanich and forward Conway. They are replaced by Myers and Ycaza.

70′ – Another chance as the ball bounces around the box, ultimately falling to Griffin from Mertz. His shot is deflected by Chapman. Charleston gassed here surely and looking for subs soon.

68′ – Hounds throwing it all forward. Another blocked shot, and then Jacquesson recovers and earns a corner. Ultimately cleared to midfield, but the energy has changed with those subs from Lilley.

67′ – Mertz to take here, goes far post and pushed out. Secondary ball comes in from the right wing, but claimed midair by Grinwis.

66′ – Instant impact as Blackstock and Sample fly forward, winning secondary balls, forcing turnovers, and ultimately earning a free kick on the left wing.

63′ – And the answer is now. Two subs for the Hounds as Bradley Sample and Langston Blackstock check in. They replace Illal Osumanu and Junior Etou. So a bit more attacking prowess on the field as the Hounds chase an equalizer.

60′ – We hit the hour mark here, Charleston maintaining their 1-0 lead off the early Markanich goal. The Hounds have 30 minutes left to salvage their season. When does Lilley go to his bench?

56′ – Torres slides a ball through to Markanich in the box on the right side of goal. The latter’s effort from a tight angle is held at the near post by Dick.

48′ – Battery respond by pushing forward quickly, ultimately earning a corner. Taken towards the mixer, cleared away by the Hounds defense.

46 ‘ – Rapid chance for the Hounds, as the long ball bounces around and ends up with Kizza. He lays it off to Jacquesson who’s effort is deflected. Hounds come out of the break flying.

46’ – We are back with the second half of action. Charleston leads 1-0, but a lot to play for in what has been a very competitive match, separated by the lone Markanich goal.

Halftime Thoughts

Colton C. – With the Markanich goal the obvious exception, that was a relatively even half both statistically and from the eye-test perspective. The Battery generated the lone goal and another key chance – stopped by a miraculous save from Eric Dick – but the Hounds pressed forward and provided some dangerous opportunities of their own. It feels like the Hounds are just lacking that final pass, that final shot, to convert their chances into goals. Jacquesson has been the focus of everything moving forward, and he’s been solid, but just lacks the needed support from his strike partner and the other attack-minded players around him.

This game feels there for the Hounds to get back into and take. It’ll be challenging against a strong Battery defense which will surely only sit deeper as this game wears on, and their dangerous attack can still score even when they do, but this one is far from over given the state of play.

Halftime – Riverhounds 0-1 Charleston

45′ – Three minutes of stoppage here. Jacquesson gets a chance in the Battery box thanks to a good ball from Griffin, but his effort is low and straight at Grinwis in goal for the easy save.

42′ – WOW! Absolutely massive save from Eric Dick! Arturo Rodriguez was all alone in the box on the left, his shot was on-target, and it was pure reflexes from the Hounds keeper to keep that out!

39′ – Huge chance for the Hounds as the cross from the left wing gets past everyone, Danny Griffin has room for the shot but Aaron Molloy comes flying in and blocks the effort. Great effort from the Battery captain.

37′ – Corner for the Hounds here as Biasi’s cross is deflected out. Mertz to take out-swinging. Far post, over everyone, and a foul whistled for a push in the back and the chance is gone.

36′ – Jackson Conway rips a left-footed shot from the top of the box, beyond Eric Dick, but inches beyond the far post as well. Hounds lucky there, it remains 1-0.

35′ – Free kick now for the Hounds after the foul. Mertz takes into the box, big collision between Mertz and Chapman, but the latter was well-positioned and it was clean. Goal kick Charleston.

33′ – And the first yellow of the game earned by Battery captain Aaron Molloy on a pretty 50/50 challenge against Edward Kizza. Tough, but he’ll have to weigh his caution the rest of this one.

30′ – Things slowing down now as each team settles down from the initial action. Hounds pulling a bit more possession in Charleston’s half, but still struggling to connect those final balls to create meaningful chances. Game feels like it’s teetering on the brink – a second goal for Charleston feels like it could rip this open, but an equalizer for the Hounds and frankly it’s been close enough that you could make either team the favorite.

23′ – Good interplay from the Battery leads to a cross in front of goal, handled by the Hounds defense who clear it away.

20′ – Per broadcast team, Hounds concede the first goal for the 12th time this year. In the first 11 instances, they lost nine and drew twice.

19′ – Shot from Torres, deflected by the Hounds defense and out for a corner for the hosts. In-swinging to the near post, but handled and cleared out.

16′ – But just like that, a good ball into the box to Jacquesson is then centered to Danny Griffin, his shot is deflected out for a corner. Mertz takes near post, but headed out and the Hounds will reset. A secondary ball back into the box is headed up by Pat Hogan and Kizza is able to follow-up with a header of his own, but wide of the post and open net.

15′ – Charleston taking further control of this one, now with a majority of possession after the laid back start. Hounds struggling to string anything into the attacking third, Battery happy to remain compact and fly forward when they win the ball.

8′ – Goal, Charleston Battery! Of course it’s Nick Markanich, the golden boot winner. The cross from the left wing and Markanich is able to dive in front of Sean Suber and get his head to it, pushing it beyond Eric Dick’s reach. Assist to Arturo Rodriguez. 1-0, Battery lead early.

5′ – Hounds largely in possession, but in their defensive third, through the first five. Charleston content to cede ball control while keeping the Hounds pinned back.

1′ – The whistle sounds and the USL Championship playoffs are underway for the Riverhounds against the host Charleston Battery! The Hounds are in their white third kits, the Battery in black.

Pregame

6:27 p.m. — Mere minutes from kickoff in Charleston, as the Hounds prepare to take the field against the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite not securing a playoff spot until the final day of the regular season, the Hounds were able to leapfrog North Carolina FC due to USL Championship tiebreakers. A pair of draws and even goal difference meant it went down to the third tiebreaker, points-per-game vs. in-Conference opponents in regular season league games, where the Hounds had an edge – thus avoiding a match against the always-difficult Louisville City FC.

The Battery won’t be an easy foe, however, with the league’s second-most prolific offense – led by USL Championship golden boot winner Nate Markanich and his 28 goals – meeting the Hounds’ and the league’s best defense – led by USL Championship golden glove winner Eric Dick in net. Very much a case of unstoppable force meets immovable object, though the Battery’s defense is nothing to sneer at either.

6:07 p.m. — John K’s Thoughts on Hounds XI and available players:

Continuity is important for Bob Lilley and his squad, as they’re not changing things up too much at this point.  The Hounds are going with a lineup that provides strong defensive grouping that will be prepared for Charleston’s diverse attacking options and likely will be designed to clog the spaces to deny Nick Markanich and MD Myers to operate and create chances.

The top of the attack features the Pitt dynamic duo of Edward Kizza and Bertin Jacquesson with a roaming Robbie Mertz ready to create and draw defenders.  The combo in the middle of Danny Griffin and Jackson Walti have proved to be a good pairing in the second half of the season, but they will have a big task in this match, as they’ll have to win balls and extend possession so that the Hounds won’t be playing on their heels too much.

5:37 p.m. — STARTING LINEUPS ARE POSTED

Image

 

 

 

3 p.m. — We’re a few hours from kickoff, but the excitement has already kicked off.

The Steel Army and the Riverhounds have shared that there will be an official Watch Party, at the Pitch on Butler, in Lawrenceville.

The Hounds also shared a thread of video messages Titled: When You Play Pittsburgh, You Play The Entire City — from various celebrities and dignitaries sharing messages, including Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu and two-time Major winner John Daly before Saturday’s playoff match.

 

PSN’s Recent Riverhounds Coverage

Preview: Riverhounds look to keep momentum going into postseason against fully recharged Charleston Battery

Sounding Off on Soccer Podcast: Previewing Riverhounds-Battery playoff clash with USL Championship analyst Ricky Lopez-Espin

Riverhounds Notebook: Despite many old friends being gone, USL’s Old Guard rivalry endures with new playoff chapter

Related Topics

Subscribe to PGH Soccer Now

Enter your email address to subscribe to PGH Soccer Now and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Riverhounds MF Kenardo Forbes

PSN’s Featured Community Partner: Open Field International

More in Pittsburgh Riverhounds