LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville City FC rescued a point in the final minutes of a rain-soaked night, drawing the visiting Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 2-2, in the four-hour, lightning-delayed match. A pair of equalizing goals — the first by USL scoring-leader Chandler Hoffman and the second by central defender Conor Shanosky — knotted the midweek ESPN3 and MeTV game.
“Tonight really shows what this Club and city are made of,” Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor said. “From the great work of Louisville Slugger Field’s grounds crew, to the supporters to our team: We’re all drenched, but we showed our spirit.”
Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a counter attack and a finish from striker Romeo Parkes. LouCity went into the locker room after halftime down, 1-0, despite seeing the advantage of the half’s possession. O’Connor said he felt his team controlled the match from start to finish.
“I thought we totally dominated the game,” O’Connor said. “I thought we pushed from the first to the 90th minute. I thought we created some really great chances.”
After a second lightning delay — the first one was in the first half — LouCity pushed for an equalizer. O’Connor’s side spent a lot of time in their attacking half, and it paid off in the 57th minute.
Hoffman equalized — for his seventh goal in the last four games — in the second half off of a cross from midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye. Kaye put the ball into the air for Hoffman. The striker out-jumped Pittsburgh goalie Hunter Gilstrap and looped the ball home off his head. Hoffman said equalizing, and scoring for four straight games, felt great.
“These goals, the one’s I’m able to finish off, are a product of the team’s work,” Hoffman said. “That’s the job I’ve come here to do as a forward: To score. But the service has set me up well and it’s paying off for everyone.”
LouCity spent nearly the entire second half on attack and kept most of possession yet again, but conceded on a penalty kick in the 75th minute after Scott Goodwin was called for a foul in the box and was shown a straight red card. Despite Pittsburgh’s late goal, LouCity continued to press, and, again, it paid off.
Ten minutes after Pittsburgh’s go-ahead goal, Shanosky scored his first goal of the 2016 campaign. The former D.C. United man smashed the ball home after a scrum resulting from a Kadeem Dacres cross. Shanosky complimented Dacres’ creativity said he was happy to provide the equalizer, and ultimately point-saving goal.
“It’s super fortunate that I’m the one in the right spot and get to finish it off to tie it up,” Shanosky said. “Brilliant by Kadeem; he really started that off for us. It was lucky that I was on the end of it.”
Wednesday was the second time in three matches that LouCity has been forced to play with 10 men. Despite the challenges, O’Connor’s team has managed to grab an impressive four points from those fixtures. O’Connor said he admires the spirit his team has shown time and time again in the face of adversity.
“Hats off to the players,” O’Connor said. “When you go a man down and play like we did there at the end, having gone through the weather delays, the rain, the whole nine yards, I think our players deserve incredible credit for tonight. They’ve been phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.”
LouCity now embarks on a two-match road trip with visits to MLS-affiliates Bethlehem Steel (3 p.m. | MATCH CENTER) on May 1 and Toronto FC II (7:30 p.m. | MATCH CENTER) on May 4.
Fans can stay up to date with all of Louisville City’s breaking news, roster updates and ticketing information by following the Club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Season tickets are available for Louisville City’s historic second season via the Club’s official website.
Additional Notes
Louisville City FC drew by a score of 1-1 in Pittsburgh and then lost 0-1 in the Louisville fixture.
LouCity is on a three-game winning streak, taking all three points against Orlando City B, FC Cincinnati and last week against the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Coach James O’Connor’s side is at the top of the table with 13 points.
LouCity striker Chandler Hoffman currently holds the USL lead in goals with seven for the season.
Pittsburgh currently has one point through three games in the 2016 campaign.
Louisville City FC Match Report
Match: Louisville City FC vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Date: April 27, 2016
Competition: United Soccer League
Venue: Louisville Slugger Field
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. EST
Weather: 70 degrees; rainy with storms
Goal Scoring Rundown
PGH: 10’ – Romeo Parkes: Parkes received a nice pass from a teammate in the box. The striker then calmly put the ball past Goodwin from the left side of the box.
LOU: 57’ – Chandler Hoffman: Mark-Anthony Kaye fed a beautiful cross to Hoffman, who headed the ball over the outstretched hands of Pittsburgh keeper Hunter Gilstrap.
PGH: 75’ – Corey Herzog: Herzog put a penalty kick past Greg Ranjitsingh after Scott Goodwin was called for a red card in the box.
LOU: 88’ – Conor Shanosky: Shanosky was able to beat Gilstrap off of a scrum near the goal after another cross from midfielder Kadeem Dacres.
Key Defensive Stops and Saves
LOU: 88’ – Greg Ranjitsingh: The keeper who was inserted after Scott Goodwin’s red card made a massive save after a Pittsburgh through ball made its way through the LouCity back line. Ranjitsingh came off his line and managed to save the Pittsburgh shot.
Lineups
LOU: 1-Scott Goodwin; 20-Enrique Montano, 15-Sean Reynolds, 5-Conor Shanosky, 2-Ben Newnam; 36-Paolo DelPiccolo, 8-Guy Abend, 7-Kadeem Dacres, 11-Niall McCabe (49’ 9-Cameron Lancaster),12-Mark-Anthony Kaye (86’ 22-George Davis IV); 17-Chandler Hoffman (c) (75’ 13-Greg Ranjitsingh)
Subs not used: 14-Ilija Ilic, 19-Jonghyun Son, 10-Magnus Rasmussen, 22-George Davis IV, 18-Paco Craig
PGH: 1-Hunter Gilstrap; 12-Sergio Campbell, 13-Willie Hunt, 4-Jordan Murrell, 17-Drew Russell; 8-Michael Green, 6-Conor Branson, 8-Jose Barril; 7-Stephen Okai, 27-Romeo Parkes
Subs not used: 18-Mauricio Vargas, 16-Isaiah Schafer, 25-Marshall Hollingsworth, 26-Ben Swanson, 21-James Bissue, 9-Zak Boggs, 14-Alex Harlley
Quote Sheet
James O’Connor on LouCity’s ability to grab a point: “Hats off to the players. When you go a man down and play like we did there at the end, having gone through the weather delays, the rain, the whole nine yards, I think our players deserve incredible credit for tonight. They’ve been phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.”
Conor Shanosky on scoring the game-saving equalizer: “It’s super fortunate that I’m the one in the right spot and get to finish it off to tie it up. Brilliant by Kadeem, he really started that off for us. It was lucky that I was on the end of it.”
Chandler Hoffman on equalizing early in the first half: “These goals, the one’s I’m able to finish off, are a product of the team’s work. That’s the job I’ve come here to do as a forward: To score. But the service has set me up well and it’s paying off for everyone.”
O’Connor on his team’s domination of the game: “I thought we totally dominated the game. I thought we pushed from the first to the 90th minute. I thought we created some really great chances.”
