Playing on a new turf which was baptized by hard rain storm, the results were the same for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC as they couldn’t generate any quality chances in the final third, eventually giving way to a pair of opportunistic second half North Carolina FC strikes, losing 2-0, before a crowd of 3,808 at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night.
It was the Hounds’ third straight loss in league play and fourth loss in the past five matches in all competitions.
North Carolina (3-3-2) got goals from former Riverhound Louis Pérez and Pedro Dolabella, which came six minutes apart in the second half — with both goals coming from sequences that began with long throw ins.
The Riverhounds (now 2W-4L-1D in league play) lost for the first time at Highmark Stadium since early July 2024 – when they dropped a last second defeat to Monterey Bay FC, ending an 11-match unbeaten streak.
This was a disheartening result for Pittsburgh.
Once again, the Hounds continued an alarming trend that has seen the club struggle to generate quality scoring chances, as they were held one shot on frame — a soft attempt late in the first half by Augustine Williams.
Then, they fell apart in the second half — as they have in previous losses.
“We gave up two goals in the second half. It was similar to Charleston and San Antonio where we didn’t play well, all game,” a disgruntled Bob Lilley, Riverhounds Head Coach, said following the latest disappointing performance.
“We didn’t do well on passes. There were corners, guys were getting headers. Guys won too many balls against us. The first half they got on the end of some second balls and we blocked them, but even when we cleared them, the balls would end up back in the box.”.
Riverhounds Personnel, Tactics and Lineup
Head Coach Bob Lilley throws his thoughts back toward the bench in the first half of Pittsburgh’s 2-0 loss to North Carolina FC at Highmark Stadium (Photo courtesy Ed Thompson)
Return to league play saw Augi Williams, who took the previous USL Cup match last week in Detroit off, and Junior Etou, who has recovered from injury, back in the starting eleven.
Danny Griffin, who played in the number nine last week, sat between the forward combination of Williams and Aiden O’Toole, as a false nine at the top of a 3-4-1-2 formation.
Perrin Barnes made the start on the opposite wing to Etou, as Luke Biasi had to sit out this match due to red card suspension, while Jackson Walti and Bradley Sample remained as the central midfield duo, while the Hounds continue to roll out Beto Yedrach, Illal Osumanu and Sean Suber as the three center back unit as the last line in front of Eric Dick.
Coming on as subs, were Jorge Garcia, Bertin Jacquesson and Brigham Larsen in the 75th minute.
One other note — Robbie Mertz was held out due to concussion protocol — as the Hounds veteran was injured in training later in the week.
Takeaways
Hounds jab but don’t land any punches in first half, again
Photo courtesy Ed Thompson
In what was a fairly evenly played first half, North Carolina had the game’s first chance when an early through ball to Dolabella nearly split the Hounds defense, but Illal Osumanu and Beto Ydrach both tracked back to recover and prevent a shot on goal.
The Hounds’ first crack at goal came after 17 minutes from a Danny Griffin cross on the left side that found Perrin Barnes alone beyond the back post, but his effort rose over the bar.
Barnes was fairly active on the wing — coming up with a big block a few minutes later to deny Triston Hodge a point-blank chance from a corner kick, one of the visitors’ best chances of the half.
The closest call from either team came in a moment late in the first half when North Carolina goalkeeper, Jake McGuire, whiffed on a ball played back to him from Rafa Mentzingen, with the ball rolling all the way across the goal box, but skipped clear of sneaking inside the right post.
It was Williams who had the Hounds’ lone chance on goal from the ensuing corner — but it was a pretty routine stop for McGuire. Then, Jackson Walti found Griffin for a header that went high in the waning moments.
In the first match between the two sides, an error by McGuire led to Williams netting his first (and still only) goal of the season.
In this match, neither side was giving away much — especially in the first half.
Still, at the half, it appeared that Pittsburgh was most susceptible to giving up a goal on either a counter attack or on a set piece.
As first half comes to an end — it's more of the same for the @RiverhoundsSC
Decent on the ball (55/45 possession edge)
Not enough quality in final third (both sides void of dangerous chances)
Solid defensively but need to get better numbers behind ball on NC FC counters & set…— John Krysinsky (@JohnKrysinsky) May 4, 2025
Former Hound Louis Pérez delivers opportunistic second half strike that turns match in NCFC’s favor
As the match entered the second half, as they did in past two league losses and in the USL Cup setback last week, the Hounds started to run out steam — and North Carolina turned the tables.
All it took was two quick strikes between the 66th and 73rd minutes from North Carolina FC to stun the Highmark Stadium crowd and hand Pittsburgh its third straight league loss.
On both goals — Hounds had plenty of numbers behind ball — as they both came following a long throw in’s from Michael Maldonado.
First, after a loose ball came out to former Hound Louis Pérez — once an apprentice in Pittsburgh as a front line attacker.
In this instance, Perez found the ball at his feet, with only Griffin sprinting toward him after a crowd converged into the box to deny the long throw.
OUI OUI 🚀 🚀 🚀
Louis Perez fires @NorthCarolinaFC ahead at Highmark! pic.twitter.com/r6Mxfa7xRa
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) May 4, 2025
It’s has to be disheartening for Riverhounds fans to see their own team struggle in the final third because they can’t generate quality scoring chances. Then, on top of that, see a player who was here for a short span score against them.
To be fair, the Hounds did respond immediately — racing forward to push for the equalizer, as less than a minute after the restart, Griffin got free in the left side of the box and picked out Junior Etou in the middle of the box with a cross, but Etou’s shot on his first touch carried over the goal.
Etou, who has been a solid player at the USL Championship level for a number of years now — but with just three goals to his credit in over 100 appearances with Charlotte, Tampa Bay and now in Pittsburgh, is clearly snakebitten when it comes to scoring goals.
Sure enough, North Carolina provided the dagger for this match — with a damn solid header in traffic by Pedro Dolabella following an extended possession where NCFC played the ball patiently on the edge of the final third following a throw-in.
That header was TOUGH 😳@PedroBeckerDola doubles @NorthCarolinaFC's lead! pic.twitter.com/DvMZ80sd4R
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) May 4, 2025
For a team that started the season with lots of promise, especially after making commitment to become a better possession side, the Hounds are falling into a similar rut they were in the first half of last season, where they were inept in creating chances in the final third.
“We were poor in all areas”
Griffin said in his pre-match interview with PSN, that this match vs North Carolina would be different.
It sure was.
In the first match, the teams traded goals off of other team’s mistakes while the Hounds looked sharp in dominating possession and were on the front foot for most of that match.
Now, the Hounds are struggling to find an identity.
In the first half of every match they’ve lost in league and USL Cup play since April, with one exception (at Charleston), they’ve held the time on the ball edge. However, while they’re patient on the ball, often times they play the ball back to the deeper, central midfielders, instead of opting for service opportunities, then look to play direct — often sending longer balls that fail to connect or create any kind scoring opportunity. Sure, the Hounds are sixth in the league in long passing accuracy — but that’s an odd distinction for a team which devoted most of the preseason to become a better possession side who wanted to keep the ball on the ground a lot more.
Sure, the Hounds have kept the ball for longer stretches as they’re ninth in the Championship in total passes (3,041) and they’re eight in average possession (53.8%), but their passing accuracy is dropping with each match (started the season near top over 80% — is now at 78% good for 17th out of 24 teams) .
In the final third, the Hounds are simply abysmal — as they’re third to last in the league in generating shots (52), second to last in shots on frame per match (2.4 spg), third to last in goals (6) and dead last in big chances created (4) and missed (1).
All the numbers crunching aside, another simple observation is that this team doesn’t play with much sense of urgency in the final third, that they’re methodical and are thinking too much instead of playing more confidently when getting forward.
There have been late pushes in matches — including Garcia’s equalizing strike at Loudoun and a near equalizer at Detroit last week in dying moments of stoppage time.
And, there was a quick response to the Pérez goal on Saturday.
Ultimately, they haven’t been able to close any matches very strong this season with the exception of their two home wins in late March.
Adding to that, they’ve allowed two goals in the second half in the last three league matches. The two goals from North Carolina came as the Hounds were putting numbers behind the ball.
“We were poor in all areas,” Lilley conceded in the post match press conference on Saturday night.
“There was not enough service in the most dangerous area. We didn’t find a rhythm in the game. Passing was bad. The midfielders have to be able to connect the dots.”
Things are not going to get any easier for this club.
They’ll host Major League Soccer’s New York City FC on Wednesday, then head to face USL Championship’s top dog — Louisville City FC on the road on Saturday.
“They are either going to respond or not,” Lilley stated.
“I’m going to put 11 players out there that will play better. Mix it up more. Not everybody is going to play 90 minutes. I hope we can get a better overall effort.”
Player Grades
Starting Eleven
4.5 Eric Dick GK — was solid coming off his line and made a few saves – but two goals allowed came with numbers in front of the ball
5.5 Sean Suber DF – most time on ball for Hounds (both dribbles and passes) — and defensively sound (4 clearances, 4 recoveries)
6 Beto Ydrach DF – showing plenty of confidence in the middle of the three center back unit — lots of touches (80) and equally confident on ball out of the back as he is in one-on-one defending moments.
6 Illal Osumanu DF – team high eight clearances and 14 defensive actions.
5 Perrin Barnes MF – was buzzing around making some good things happen, especially in first half. Missed on his chance though.
4.5 Junior Etou MF – Hounds need more quality service and play making from the width. In his first match back from injury, Etou did get fouled three times and had one cross that connected. Last year, he was causing more havoc by doing more deeper into the final third, generating fouls that led to penalties and dangerous set pieces. They’re going to need more from Junior moving forward.
6.5 Jackson Walti MF – another solid 90+ from the man in the middle. Six times he won possession back. He also connected on 35 of 44 passes, won 4 of 7 duels and had a chance created.
5.5 Bradley Sample MF – taking set pieces — showing some quality but still, the Hounds have yet to do anything dangerous on set pieces this year.
6 Danny Griffin (C) FW (false 9) – was buzzing around — was covering a lot of ground. Created a chance — nearly getting a brilliant assist shortly after the Perez goal setting up Etou. Can he elevate his game now that he’s playing higher up in the pitch into a killer playmaking role? The Hounds need more of what he did on that chance to set up Etou.
4.5 Aiden O’Toole FW – his energy was decent in the first half. winning 7/15 duels, getting fouled a few times — but playing on the high line alongside Williams had zero touches in the opposition’s box. Zero.
4 Augi Williams FW – Another match without doing much in terms of dangerous. Instead, came back a lot — sometimes all the way into the middle of the field to keep some possessions alive.
Subs
75′ Brigham Larsen – Big forward is also back from injury, showed some promise with some decent hold-up play and a few touches in opposition’s box in short time. Will he get a chance to start in an upcoming match?
75′ Jorge Garcia – Last player to score for Hounds (in loss at Loudoun). Had a shot blocked by a handball (just outside the box) when Hounds were pushing to cut lead.
75′ Bertin Jacquesson — Hounds are going to need more from Bertin. Maybe he’ll be fit enough to get a start soon.
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