Louisville beats Riverhounds in 1st round for 2nd straight year

For the second straight year, Louisville City FC sent the Pittsburgh Riverhounds home in the first round of the USL Championship playoffs.

Louisville City FC scored in the 17th and the 86th minutes to earn a 2-0 victory and punch its ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Louisville defeated the Riverhounds, 2-1, last season in the first round of the USL Championship playoffs after the Riverhounds won the Eastern Conference.

“We asked the guys to play on their front foot, and we did,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said. “I’m proud of how they approached the game. I think we created a number of good moments where we had them compromised defensively. We couldn’t quite find the last ball or free ourselves at the right moments. There were two very good teams both having a go.”

Cameron Lancaster, who had 10 goals in 2020 heading into the first-round matchup, got the scoring started in the 17th minute when Oscar Jimenez sent a ball into the box that leaked through multiple defenders. Lancaster received the ball near the penalty spot and one-timed it to the back post.

Despite winning the possession battle and the total shots battle by a small margin, Louisville City FC tallied five total shots on net compared to just one for the Riverhounds.

With the Riverhounds pressing late in the game, Louisville City got its second of the night just before extra time began. Corben Bone received the ball and took a turn towards the 18-yard box and released a shot that Pittsburgh goalie Danny Vitiello originally saved. But the backspin on the ball carried into across the goal line to seal Louisville’s victory.

“We’ve grown a lot in a short period of time,” Lilley said. “It’s a short season. I look at how we handled the game, and in the second half to push them back and play on our terms, I don’t think I could’ve asked more from the guys. I think if we get the goal to tie it, we definitely had the game in our favor. Short term, it’s brutal to lose the game. But when I look at the big picture, we’ve grown a lot as a group.”

The Riverhounds finished 11-5-1.