Riverhounds bounce another MLS club, beat Columbus to reach U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds waited eight years for another opportunity to host an MLS club.

On Wednesday night, they seized the moment.

With a raucous, record- setting crowd behind them, the Hounds defeated the Columbus Crew, 1-0, in the round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup at Highmark Stadium.

“It’s important for the club,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said. “We’ve been building and growing. These nights and opportunities to pack the house and have an MLS team here introduce the game to more people.”

Albert Dikwa scored in the 22nd minute to bring the noise the supporters had made from the beginning of the game to a crescendo.

Announced attendance was 6,107, the largest crowd in Highmark Stadium history.

“The fans played a big part tonight,” Lilley said. “The game got stretched and wide open, and we probably needed to get ahold of the ball a little more. I think the fans pulled us through. It maybe wasn’t pretty at the end, but there was energy in the building. Our guys had something to hold onto.”

The Hounds advance to play at MLS club FC Cincinnati in the Cup quarterfinals June 6 or 7. They defeated the New England Revolution of MLS, 1-0, on May 9 to reach the round of 16.

The last time the Hounds hosted an MLS team was a 3-1 loss to DC United in 2015.

The goal came on a mistake from the Crew’s backline.

Arturo Ordonez made an interception in the midfield and fed it quickly to Robbie Mertz, who laced a ball through a Columbus back line that was out of position.

Dikwa outran the defenders and deposited the ball into the right side of the goal.

Mertz, an Upper St. Clair grad, said he tried to treat Wednesday’s match like a normal game but admitted that was difficult to do once he heard the crowd as he entered the field.

“Coming in, we wanted to stay steady and not too high on the highs or low on the lows and just go about our business, but you pretty much throw that to the wayside when you walk out there in that environment,” Mertz said.

The Hounds pressed from the start in the first half, and though the Crew had the majority of the possession, they were unable to generate much with it.

Columbus left some of its top players at home, including standout midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and forward Cucho Hernandez.

The Crew pushed for the tying goal for much of the second half, but Jahmali Waite was sharp. He made two key saves and was active on corner kicks, punching one out and coming off his line with confidence to save another.

“That’s something we work on in practice every day,” Waite said. “Bob is really big on goalkeepers being aggressive and coming off the line. That helps a team a lot. You get the ball in your hands, the play is over, so I try my best to be aggressive off my line to help the team.”

Waite made one last stop on a long shot before the final whistle blew, and the crowd went into a frenzy.

One downside on the night was Dikwa leaving the game because of an injury. He was chasing down a ball and pulled up lame. After several minutes laying on the pitch, he exited to the sidelines and was subbed off for Kenardo Forbes.

Lilley said it was a hip flexor injury for Dikwa and he won’t know more until the swelling goes down, but he’s hopeful it will not be a long-term injury.

Edward Kizza was issued a red card in stoppage time.

The Hounds return to USL Championship play Sunday at Loudoun.