7PM – Queens Sports Comple
Match Officials, as assigned by PRO:
REFEREE: Mr. Andrew Musashe
AR1: Mr. Kevin Broadley
AR2: Mr. David McPhun
4TH: Mr. Rodney Harden
Another weekend means another massive game, or two. Such is the life for the Riverhounds, and their ‘winless in 10’ to start the season. However, the hole they dig has been nearly escaped, with the three points available tonight, being some of the biggest of the season. The stakes are equally massive for the Eagles, who sit one point and two positions above Pittsburgh in the mass of teams vying for the final three playoff positions. A Pittsburgh win will take some pressure off of tomorrow’s match in Charleston, but a loss would, sadly, take even more pressure off the team. A tie would all but require the Hounds to take the final six points of the season to even have a look at a top eight finish.
For the Eagles, the team will host its penultimate game in USLPro, before dropping to the amateur ranks as a PDL club in 2015. However, there is no time for the ‘remember when’ video montages, as Mark Steffens’ club need every point they can their hands on, if they’d like to make a playoff run in their final season of professional soccer. The team is coming off of an impressive pair of wins over Rochester and a suddenly disinterested Orlando City squad. Could the Eagles’ momentum be enough to hold off a surging Hounds’ squad?
For Pittsburgh, it’s all about guys finding form right before the playoffs begin, assuming they see the playoffs. Joe Ngwenya played a full 90 minutes. Jose Angulo saw his first minutes since his injury in Sacramento. Michael Lisch has become a quality level goalkeeper over the past handful of weeks. The backline and midfield are playing like they, and each other, know what they want to do. But, sadly, there isn’t too much more that can be said about this game. The Riverhounds can go out there, tonight, and play like they have for the majority of the past couple of weeks, like they were expected to play all year, and outclass a team that, on paper, they should outclass. On the other hand, they can give a Sacramento-esque non-performance and put this season on mothballs. It’s going to be up to those men in the locker room to decide how this plays out. While both games, this weekend, are important, this one is more important than tomorrow’s game. Today’s game could end one of these two teams’ season, and I’d like to think that the Riverhounds are going to make that decision for Charlotte.
#UNLEASH
