Late Brigham Larsen brace gives Riverhounds’ 2-1 preseason win at Indy

Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Two goals in the final 12 minutes completed a preseason comeback for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who came away with a 2-1 win over fellow USL Championship team Indy Eleven in an exhibition match at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind.

First-year pro Brigham Larsen came off the bench to score both goals for the Hounds (2-0-0), the first two this preseason for the Norwegian striker. Those goals overcame a first-half penalty kick by Indy’s Elvis Amoh that opened the scoring.

The teams also met in last year’s preseason — a 0-0 draw in Pittsburgh — but Hounds coach Bob Lilley drew a contrast from then to now as he continues to work on the club be stronger in possession than in recent years.

“It was much different than what you saw last year, when we were defending and countering more,” Lilley said.

“We had more of the ball and we were doing more to try and play through their lines on the ground.”

Despite that, the Hounds found themselves trailing when their former striker, Edward Kizza, was tripped at the edge of the penalty area.

That set up Amoh at the spot, and he converted the penalty kick in the 32nd minute.

Cool as you'd like…🥶 pic.twitter.com/MiOHggQxwn

— Indy Eleven (@IndyEleven) February 12, 2025

Needing to generate more offense, the Hounds made quality adjustments at the break.

“First half, we got a lot of service in the box, but we didn’t get to the end line as much as I’d like,” Lilley said.

“We talked about it, and in the second half, we got behind them more and created more shots. It was a little more back-and-forth in the second half, a little more stretched with both teams bringing on subs, but we created some dangerous moments.”

Larsen tied the match in the 78th minute by using his 6-foot-4 stature to head in a free kick from fellow first-year pro Charles Ahl. Six minutes later, Larsen found the back of the net again, this time on the receiving end of a long, diagonal pass from one of the Hounds’ non-roster trialists.

“It was good to see those guys contribute. I thought there were a lot of good performances, and we took a good step forward today,” Lilley said.

The Hounds return home to continue their preseason this Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m., when they host Columbus Crew 2 out of MLS Next Pro at Highmark Stadium.