Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Takeaways and Player Grades: ‘First Game’ hiccups aside, Riverhounds can take positives from road draw at North Carolina

by
John Krysinsky
March 10, 2025

File photo courtesy Sam Spencer

In Riverhounds SC’s season opening match at North Carolina FC on Saturday night, Bob Lilley saw his club battle back from a halftime deficit to salvage a 1-1 draw to open the USL Championship season at WakeMed Park, in Cary, NC.

A few minutes after the match, the veteran head coach summed things up quite well.

It looked like a first game,” Lilley told Pittsburgh Soccer Now after the match.

FINAL: Riverhounds 1, North Carolina FC 1

“Neither team was as sharp as we’d like to be. It wasn’t a surprise that it was another draw. They have two good attackers in (Oalex) Anderson and (Evan) Conway. We were worried about their pace. I thought we worked hard enough. We just weren’t good enough in the final third. We left a few chances out there. I think both teams are hoping for better next week.”

There were plenty of positive signs for the Hounds, who were the better team for much of the night, but the result also showed that they still have plenty to work on and they’re far from a finished product.

Hounds’ Personnel / Formation / Tactics

As anticipated based on what we heard from coaches and players, from what we saw in the preseason, Pittsburgh came out with just two center backs, lining up in 4-2-3-1 to start the match.

At times, however, defensive midfielder Jackson Walti dropped deeper between the two center backs, Beto Ydrach and Sean Suber, while Luke Biasi and Junior Etou covered plenty of space as the outside backs.

While Williams roamed at the top, covering tons of space, Robbie Mertz flanked to the left of the attacking midfield line along with the pair of new ‘Nova Hounds’ rookies, Jorge Garcia in the central spot and Jason Bouregy on the right.

Pittsburgh kept legs fresh, Lilley used four of his five allotted substitutions, with Charles Ahl coming on in the 53rd minute, then Illal Osumanu and Max Broughton in the 69th plus Aiden O’Toole and Brigham Larsen in the 87th.

Later in the match, Danny Griffin moved up higher in the attack, while Ahl slotted a bit deeper in the midfield.

Match Takeaways

Not Ideal Start

It wasn’t exactly an ideal start for the Hounds.

The Hounds fell behind in the 22nd minute, as rookie defender Beto Ydrach slipped in the box while turning and facing goal side to retrieve a long ball sent forward by NCFC. .

Former Riverhound Louis Perez, who came sprinting forward to close down on Ydrach, was happy to gather the ball, then quickly send a pass over to Evan Conway in the middle of the box to convert with simple clinical finish.

Tough way for rookie Beto Ydrach to start his career in Pittsburgh. Hounds go down 1-0 in 22'.

If you're going to slip — maybe do it between ball and goal.

Bob Lilley very high on the former Akron/UCF standout and last year's Big East Defender of the Year. https://t.co/OaI4bdxMZu

— John Krysinsky (@JohnKrysinsky) March 9, 2025

While early in the match, Pittsburgh were playing more direct, but on a large, grass field against an opponent that typically likes to use all of the field, the Hounds were controlling possession (58% rate by halftime).

Still, in the first 45 minutes, North Carolina registered the best chance following back-to-back corner kicks.

Extending a possession on the edge of the box to keep a possession alive after the second corner attempt, Conway found room to shoot from 16 yards, but Riverhounds goalkeeper, Eric Dick made a diving save to his right that kept NCFC from doubling up the lead.

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds dominated #NCFC in the first half until a defensive mistake gave NC a goal and the momentum.

Goalkeeper Eric Dick wasn’t at fault for losing Pittsburgh’s clean sheet, however, and kept the ball out of the net after a barrage of CKs. pic.twitter.com/E0peUjHDdr

— Soccer ⚽️ Sheet (@SoccerSheet) March 9, 2025

In PSN’s post match reaction Sounding Off on Soccer Podcast (simulcast on PSN’s YouTube Channel), Dick’s save was my ‘Moment of the Match’ — as the reigning USLC Gold Glove winner kept NCFC from taking a 2-0 lead before the half.

Not Quite FC Barcelona in its Heyday, but Hounds looked like a Real Possession Team

Lilley worked with his team on becoming better on the ball in the preseason — and it showed on the field on Saturday night.

The Hounds dominated possession in the match, owning 64 percent of the ball (542-318 edge in total passes), while also owning the shots edge (8-5, 5-2 on target), keeping NCFC from getting a single shot attempt in the second half. They also sent 20 crosses (NCFC had six).

The possession wasn’t just in totality of passes — Pittsburgh as a team — were sharp out of the back and through the middle mostly, registering 81 percent passing accuracy on the night. This is significant being that the team in the previous two years was at the very bottom of the league’s categories in passing accuracy — rarely ever eclipsing 80% mark as a unit.

North Carolina did press selectively, but the Hounds also had plenty of time and were content to play the ball a lot out of the back more carefully than we’ve seen in recent years — with Sean Suber registering a little more than one pass per minute in the match (a whopping 109 in the match!), while Ydrach and Walti were equally busy and accurate (all over 80 percent passing).

True to form, after the match, Lilley wasn’t completely satisfied with his team’s possession — understandably so because it didn’t lead to more goals.

“I thought we could’ve played through the lines a bit more. I don’t know if we ever fully found a rhythm on the ball,” Lilley stated.

“We’re on the road. Lot of new changes. New guys. We’ll take it. Hopefully build on it.”

The Hounds had the best chance in the later stages of the match when Danny Griffin had a one-time chance that was saved by McGuire.

Pittsburgh ended the match with edge in shots (9-6, 5-2 on target — creating two Big Chances) and limiting North Carolina to zero shot attempts in the second half.

Outside of Ydrach’s slip and Conway’s second shot on target, Pittsburgh was rarely threatened.

Still, without the full three points, they left Cary with a sense that there’s still work to be done.

“We left a few chances out there,” Lilley added, then quickly replied to question when pressed about what the team will be working on in training this week.

“Better sequences on the ball. More possession.”

Augi Williams Makes NCFC Pay

After the break, this time it was Pittsburgh who took advantage of a defensive blunder.

Sometimes it looks easy to score off a mistake.

In this case, Augi Williams used his expert finishing skills to make sure that North Carolina paid the price for its mistake.

In the 57th minute of the match, Williams got behind NCFC goalkeeper Jake McGuire, after the miscommunication between McGuire and defenders gave the Hounds forward with an uncontested chance with the Serra Leone International calmly slotted into goal.

Here comes @augiwilliams! 🏃‍♂️

His first @RiverhoundsSC goal brings his side level 🐾#USLKickoff | @Terminix pic.twitter.com/cZg22zAsuu

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) March 9, 2025

“It was a good finish. If he doesn’t lift it. They’re sliding. Not only he had to score on tight angle. I think him lifting it — the keeper and defender were diving and sliding — is what also allowed him to score.”

This is what the Hounds were hoping for when they signed Williams, a proven scorer at this level. The goal on Saturday was his 77th of his USL Championship career.

There were times during the Hounds struggles last season, where chances like this, created from the high press, were simply not converted. At one point, the Hounds led the league last season in missed big chances.

This time, with Williams hunting at the top of the formation, the Hounds found an opportunistic first goal of the season.

Additionally, the Sierra Leone international showed that he can cover plenty of ground, with good movement pressing and off the ball throughout the match — while accurate when redistributing (11/14 passing), good in hold-up play (drew three fouls) and won six of 14 duels.

Thus far, with Williams at the top, it’s been so far so good.

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Baptism by Fire for Young Players

Lilley didn’t hide the fact that most of the new, younger players on the roster would be utilized from the start of the season.

pic.twitter.com/Cihg28RDx1

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) March 9, 2025

For the most part, they passed their first test.

Three first-year pros, Ydrach, Garcia and Bourgey each earned starts.

Ydrach had the most glaring mistake, but overall, the former Big East Defender of the Year grew more comfortable as the match extended.

In the central attacking midfield spot, Garcia connected on 14 of 19 passes, with just three in the final third. Bourgey had a few emphatic crosses in from the right wing — though none connected.

In the 54th minute, Garcia was replaced by Charles Ahl, who immediately contributed to the build-up that led to the goal. Ahl won all eight of his duels, had a shot on target and was sharp in passing (80% too).

Max Broughton and Brigham Larsen also made their respective debuts in the 69th and 88th minutes.

If the Hounds are going to be successful in a season where they will play 30 league matches, plus four USL Jägermeister Cup matches and US Open Cup competition, every single player on the roster will need to make solid contributions.

On Saturday, they received their USL Championship baptism by fire.