(Prince William County, VA) Before they took to the field Friday night, RIVERHOUNDS® Head Coach Kai Haaskivi told his players to score early and often on the Northern Virginia Royals (D3). Haaskivi's players heeded his advice. The HOUNDS™ attacked early and scored three first half goals.
The Hounds got into the game early and scored in the 13th minute when John Jones attacked and beat goalkeeper Keith Cox. The HOUNDS™ attacked again three minutes later with a Phil Karn goal on an assist from forward Leidy Klotz. It was Karn's second goal in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play. The HOUNDS™ attacked again in the 23rd minute when midfielder Gary DePalma controlled the ball along the touchline, passing it over to forward Welton. It was Welton's first goal as a Pittsburgh RIVERHOUND.
The Royals avoided a shut-out when Brian Naylor shot from 18-yards out to beat HOUNDS goalkeeper T.J. Hannig. Naylor scored the Royals lone goal in the 86th minute. Haaskivi says it was the HOUNDS strong defensive action that enabled the team to win the match and pick up 5 points in U.S. Open Cup points. "We put in some subs in the second half to give the engine a rest and save some of the guys for our game against Hershey", said Haaskivi. "This is a good tune up to allow us to take care of business Saturday night," he added. Saturday night's match with Hershey is also a U.S. Open Cup Qualifying match.
HOUNDS NOTES
Last weekend, in the match against Reading, Midfielder Mario Gori was given a red card. The USL suspended Gori for three games for the infraction. Gori started serving that suspension and did not play in tonight's match in Virginia. Coach Kai Haaskivi appealed the three game suspension to the USL. "The league didn't have a video tape of the situation so they had a whole different version of what happened," said Haaskivi. After discussing the suspension with league officials, the USL reduced the suspension to one game. Gori will start Saturday night at the Hound House at Bethel Park against the Hershey Wildcats.
KEYSTONE CUP TO BE DECIDED SATURDAY
The winner of tomorrow night's match between the Pittsburgh RIVERHOUNDS® and the Hershey Wildcats determines the winner of the Keystone Cup Competition. Both teams played tonight. Pittsburgh is 2-1-0 in Keystone Cup Play (8 points) Hershey has played two Keystone Cup games and is 1-0-1 for five points. Not included in that statistic are the results of the Friday night Match between Hershey and Reading.
The RIVERHOUNDS® are next home against the Hershey Wildcats Saturday, May 19, 2001 at the HOUND HOUSE at Bethel Park Stadium. For tickets or information, call (412) 381-4625.
