Louisville City FC’s squad often mentions “critical moments” — the few touches in a tight game that sway outcomes. And those instants didn’t go in LouCity’s favor Saturday.
City appealed for a penalty kick but didn’t receive it before the halftime whistle. On the other side of the break, the boys in purple celebrated a goal but didn’t ultimately see one awarded as the referee deemed their shot hadn’t fully crossed the end line.
LouCity, however, went on to hold its USL Championship-leading eighth clean sheet in a scoreless draw with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Highmark Stadium.
“First and foremost, I was extremely proud of the mentality of the group,” said coach Danny Cruz. “They brought everything we asked of them from a game plan standpoint. I felt we did a really good job creating opportunities. We had two, three really big chances missed.
“I think there’s a little frustration from me. I’ve been told it’s a clear goal, and it seems like those calls are going against us at the moment. My hope is that that turns around.”
City (7-4-5, 26 points) took a result away a venue where host Pittsburgh (8-2-7, 31 points) — the Eastern Conference’s first-place team — remains unbeaten on the year. The boys in purple also haven’t lost at Highmark Stadium in 10 trips there, marking the USL Championship’s longest active undefeated run for an away team at a single field.
Those respective streaks didn’t extend without some controversy.
LouCity absorbed early pressure, with Pittsburgh trying four shots inside the game’s opening half hour to none for the visitors. City, though, shifted momentum, looking the better team the rest of the way.
“The wind was pretty bad, so we were having difficulty getting out of our end of it,” Cruz said. “Once that storm passed over us, I felt really good about the rest of the game.”
The first major chance arrived in the 35th minute when Elijah Wynder played Enoch Mushagalusa in behind, and the opposing challenge arrived just in time to send the shot away for a corner kick.
Seconds into stoppage time, another ball behind the defense — this one over the top to Oscar Jimenez — led the defender to cut back at the edge of the box, where he was tripped up. LouCity argued vehemently for a penalty, but play continued.
Out of the half, City saw its best opportunity to score thanks to some nifty 49th-minute footwork by Wilson Harris. The striker got into the box and laid off a pass to Elijah Wynder. His shot went off the post and toward the center of the goal.
The boys in purple began to celebrate. But the referee didn’t signal for a goal, deeming that the Riverhounds cleared away the chance before the ball crossed the line.
“I thought we weren’t rewarded like we should have been,” said midfielder and team captain Paolo DelPiccolo. “But there’s also a lot of critical moments — the pass before the pass that we missed that we can’t miss. We probably didn’t get enough shots on target. We probably could have had more opportunities on set pieces.
“It’s super frustrating — don’t get me wrong. I’m sure watching the game you can see how frustrated I get. But there’s a lot we need to do to win that game despite what happened.”
LouCity thwarted all but one of Pittsburgh’s looks on goal. But the lone exception — a 74th-minute Burke Fahling strike that hit the back of the net — was disallowed due to offside.
Substitutions and holdup play salted the rest of the clock away, leaving two of the Eastern Conference’s top clubs deadlocked.
LouCity and Pittsburgh — both occupying playoff spots on the current table — will get a rematch later this month at Lynn Family Stadium when the Riverhounds visit on Wednesday, July 12.
“We’ve been excellent defensively, and we need to continue to get better in the final third,” Cruz said. “We need to make sure we get every body healthy. That’s been a big piece of this season, and I think that will play a role in our improvement in the final third. But I do believe that if we continue to stay strong defensively and have more quality in front of goal that we’re going to put ourselves in a good spot come the end of the season.”
“We need to find a way to turn one point into three points,” DelPiccolo said, summing up the first half of LouCity’s season, “and we will.”
Game Summary: Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. Louisville City FC
Date: July 1, 2023
Venue: Highmark Stadium
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Weather: 79 degrees, cloudy
Scoring
Pittsburgh Riverhounds FC (0, 0, 0)
Louisville City FC (0, 0, 0)
Lineups
Pittsburgh Riverhounds FC: 77 — Luis Zamudio, 15 — Joe Farrell (88’ 3 — Pat Hogan), 5 — Arturo Ordonez, 28 — Illal Osumanu, 4 — Dani Rovira (68’ 16 — Burke Fahling), 13 — Luke Biasi (82’ 19 — Edward Kizza), 8 — Junior Etou (68’ 7 — Langston Blackstock), 23 — Marc Ybarra (89’ 20 — Trevor Zwetsloot), 2 — Danny Griffin, 11 — Kenardo Forbes, 24 — Tola Showunmi
Subs not used: 1 — Christian Garner, 12 — Kike DeShields
Head coach: Bob Lilley
Louisville City FC: 28 — Oliver Semmle, 13 — Amadou Dia, 4 — Sean Totsch, 6 — Wes Charpie, 19 — Oscar Jimenez (74’ 15 — Manny Perez), 12 — Tyler Gibson (74’ 11 — Niall McCabe), 36 — Paolo DelPiccolo, 23 — Elijah Wynder, 77 — Enoch Mushagalusa (88’ 8 — Carlos Moguel Jr.), 5 — Rasmus Thellufsen (74’ 90 — Maarten Pouwels), 14 — Wilson Harris (80’ 17 — Cameron Lancaster)
Subs not used: 18 — Danny Faundez, 22 — Dylan Mares
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Stats Summary: Pittsburgh Riverhounds FC / Louisville City FC
Shots: 8 / 9
Shots on Goal: 1 / 0
Possession: 45% / 55%
Fouls: 15 / 10
Offside: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 6 / 5
Discipline Summary
Pittsburgh Riverhounds FC:
51’ Junior Etou (yellow)
56’ Kenardo Forbes (yellow)
Louisville City FC:
49’ Wilson Harris (yellow)
64’ Elijah Wynder (yellow)
76’ Wes Charpie (yellow)
85’ Cameron Lancaster (yellow)
Referee: Melvin Rivas
