Queen City Hex Holds: Shorthanded Hounds fall in USL Cup penalty shootout after late rally

2026 USL Cup — Group 6 — Second Group Stage Match

FINAL: Charlotte Independence 1,Riverhounds 1 (Charlotte wins PK shootout, 4-2)

USL Cup Match Center 

The Queen City hex continues to plague Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

Playing in North Carolina for the first time since 2021, a severely shorthanded Hounds squad battled to a 1-1 draw in regulation against USL League One side Charlotte Independence, only to be bested 4-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout on Friday night in the Prinx Tires USL Cup.

The shootout loss under unique USL Cup rules grants Pittsburgh a single point in the standings, while Charlotte walks away with the bonus point.

Both teams now sit at 1-0-1 in Group 6 play, but the Independence hold the edge at the top of the table with five points to the Hounds’ four, with two group stage matches left to play.

The Hounds are still without a win in Charlotte in the all-time series vs the Independence, as the teams played in the USL Championship from 2015-21.  The Hounds are now 0-6-4 in matches at Charlotte.

Shorthanded Lineup and a Sluggish Start

The Hounds entered the match missing critical central pillars, as captain Danny Griffin (leg) and midfielder Bradley Sample (core) were both ruled out. The thin roster forced Head Coach Rob Vincent to shuffle his deck, handing a professional debut in net to first-year pro Mitch Budler.

Budler was tested early in the 11th minute, showing sharp reflexes to dive and parry away a dangerous, bouncing effort from Charlotte’s Christopher Jaime that seemed destined for the bottom corner. The Hounds settled in and nearly found a breakthrough in the 19th minute. The clinical Trevor Amann managed to round Charlotte goalkeeper Matt Levy at the top of the box. Forced wide to the right, Amann unleashed a difficult, tight-angled shot that was ultimately kept out by a goal-line clearance from recovering defender Reudd Manin.

The missed opportunity proved costly just three minutes later when Charlotte’s veteran presence paid off. Enzo Martinez—a longtime thorn in the Hounds’ side—teed up a shot from the center of the box. Martinez’s driven effort split Hounds defenders but struck his own teammate, Christy Manzinga, just five yards out from goal. Rather than bouncing away, the fortuitous carom stayed at Manzinga’s feet, allowing him to take a quick touch and slot it past Budler for a 1-0 lead.

Coach Vincent was heavily critical of his side’s lack of edge in the opening 45 minutes.

“I think the first half, we were a little bit sluggish, and we played with a bit of a lack of intensity and struggled to get any momentum going,” Vincent said. “We had some passages of play where we looked sharper, but then we give away a goal that we think certainly could have been avoided. It’s something we talk about not letting that ball get all the way to the goal line out wide.”

Pittsburgh pushed for an equalizer before the interval, finding their best look in the 32nd minute. Robbie Mertz delivered a precise cross following a corner kick, finding the head of young defender Victor Souza in the center of the box, but the effort rose just over the crossbar to send the Hounds into the locker room down a goal.

Bench Sparks Second-Half Comeback

The physical intensity ramped up immediately following the halftime intermission. Junior Etou and Victor Souza both entered the referee’s book with yellow cards in the opening minutes of the second half, grinding down the tempo with consecutive injury delays for Charlotte’s Clay Dimick and Luis Álvarez.

Budler remained sharp under pressure, stepping up in the 58th minute to smoothly handle a long-range blast from Álvarez. Looking to spark an equalizer at the hour mark, Vincent made a tactical double substitution. Star striker Albert Dikwa made his anticipated return from a minor injury, replacing Junior Etou to mark his milestone 100th appearance in a Hounds uniform—becoming just the 20th player in club history to achieve the feat. Simultaneously, Illal Osumanu entered the backline for Perrin Barnes.

Charlotte nearly doubled their lead in the 64th minute when Manzinga’s turning shot inside the box sailed just over the bar. Four minutes later, Dikwa almost marked his milestone with a goal, nearly lifting a curling through ball from Charles Ahl over the head of an onrushing Levy.

Vincent later dug deeper into his bench, handing a first-team debut to 18-year-old USL Academy signee and Plum native Aldi Flowers-Gamboa, as the Hounds began completely dictating the tempo of the match.

“In the second half, we played with a little more urgency,” Vincent noted regarding the tactical shift. “Obviously, we were down a goal, so that helps a bit, and I think the guys who came off the bench provided a spark. If we have another 10 minutes or so, the way things were going, it felt like we might get a second goal.”

The Breakthrough and Shootout Heartbreak

Pittsburgh looked far more convincing as the match entered the final stretch, completely overturning their first-half deficits in both shots and possession. The relentless pressure finally broke the Charlotte defense in the 81st minute. Dikwa stretched out wide to the right flank to receive a pass and fired a looping cross into the mixer. The ball slipped past leaping defenders from both sides, bouncing all the way to a waiting Jorge Garcia beyond the back post. The second-year pro didn’t hesitate, hitting a left-footed half-volley on his first touch with enough power and placement to beat Levy at the near post for his first goal of the season.

The Hounds continued to push but could not find a regulation winner, sending the match directly to a penalty shootout to determine the tournament bonus point.

The shootout was the Hounds’ first since winning three consecutive tiebreakers on their way to the 2025 USL Championship title, but the magic eluded them this time. Levy proved to be the difference-maker for the Independence, diving right to deny Charles Ahl on Pittsburgh’s opening attempt. Charlotte’s shooters executed flawlessly, converting all four of their attempts before Levy guessed correctly again, diving left to deny Robbie Mertz on the final kick to seal the 4-2 shootout victory.

Despite fighting back to secure a road point, Vincent made it clear that the club isn’t interested in moral victories.

“No, I think we feel disappointed and frustrated, at least that’s the overriding emotion from me,” Vincent said. “We’re not happy with the first half. Second half, we put on some more attackers, had Sam (Bassett) and Aldi (Flowers-Gamboa) as attacking midfielders, Robbie (Mertz) at right back. We made some attacking moves, and once we started playing with more urgency, it felt like we’d be able to create something. But we left a little on the table in the first half, and that cost us the chance to get three points.”

An Important Reset Ahead

The Hounds will now head into a full 15-day league-wide bye week, a break that Vincent acknowledges is sorely needed given the heavy miles logged by his short-handed squad over the opening stretch of the year.

“I think it comes at a good time. It’s a good little chance to reset,” Vincent said. “Obviously, we had the Open Cup games that piled minutes on guys, and we picked up some little injuries the last few weeks. Now, we’re able to give the guys time to rest, recover, and hopefully, by a week from Monday, we can prep for Miami with a squad that’s close to full health.”

Lineups:

Riverhounds’ Director of Media Relations, Matt Grubba, pointed out that Martinez is 11W-5L-5L all-time vs the Hounds — second only to LouCity’s Sean Totsch.

Next Up:

The Hounds will have time off — without a match next weekend, they’ll return to action on Saturday, May 30, when they host The Miami FC (7 p.m.) at F.N.B. Stadium.

Scoring summary

Discipline summary

Penalty kick shootout summary

PSN’s Post Match Notes:

• Albert Dikwa has now made 100 appearances for the Hounds, putting him one away from becoming the 20th player to hit
  the century mark with the club.
• Aldi Flowers-Gamboa one of two USL Academy signees on the Hounds roster, made his first appearance, coming on in the 73rd minute
• The two teams met for the first time since the Independence dropped to USL League One after the 2021 season, ending a series of 15 meetings in the Championship from 2015-21. Pittsburgh previously managed just one win in 14 meetings (1-8-5).