Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley wasn’t joking when he said there’d be changes to the lineup for Tuesday’s U.S Open Cup match.
It’s typical for Lilley to use Cup matches to rotate the squad, but this time he opted to go with an entirely different 11 from Saturday’s league match with Miami FC.
And though Lilley was pleased with the effort the group of mostly first-year players put forth, they couldn’t find a goal.
Eventually FC Tulsa’s Phillip Goodrum scored a late winner in the 88th minute to secure a 1-0 victory at Highmark Stadium.
“I think the guys did well,” Lilley said. “There were a lot of new faces on the field and (Tulsa) had five or six guys that are league players. I thought they handled it well. (Tulsa) had more of the ball, but we had a few more really dangerous moments. We needed to convert them. We were committed to playing them and they were ready to play. They showed they could be trusted.”
The Hounds had a memorable run to the Open Cup quarterfinals last year, beating two MLS sides, but will not have the same magic in 2024. They entered the competition in the round of 32 because there were only eight MLS teams in this year’s field.
FC Tulsa advanced to play the winner of Union Omaha and Sporting Kansas City in the round of 16.
Goodrum’s goal came after a deep throw-in. The ball bounced off a couple of players before settling for Goodrum, who hit a true shot past Hounds keeper Gabriel Perrotta, who was making his team and professional debut.
Regular first teamers like Kenardo Forbes, Eric Dick, Dani Rovira and Luke Biasi got the full night off. Junior Etou, Robbie Mertz, Edward Kizza and Danny Griffin came on in the second half as subs.
In their place were a number of players making their first starts, including West Allegheny grad Nate Dragisch and Jake Kent-Loop, who made his team debut.
Overall, Lilley thought the group, which has mainly been reserves in USL Championship play, showed enough to warrant more consideration for playing time going forward.
“It’s fresh in your mind that they handled it,” Lilley said. “And they handled it without having Kenardo (Forbes) by their side or Robbie (Mertz) or Danny (Griffin). That’s a good sign. When we get injuries or we’re in a tight pinch, now I know what some guys can do in a game against strong opposition.”
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After FC Tulsa took the lead, the Hounds pressed forward during seven minutes of stoppage time and generated a couple of corners, but nothing threatened FC Tulsa’s Joey Roggeveen.
The Hounds will travel to play FC Tulsa in USL Championship play on Saturday. It’s a schedule quirk made possible by the Cup, but one that they hope to use as motivation.
“I can tell you one thing … I don’t like losing on our home field,” Lilley said. “So I would like to go to Tulsa and win on their home field to make up for it. That’s the goal at this point.”