Heavy rains and gray clouds lingered hours before kickoff between the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and visiting Detroit City FC, as both teams got set to meet for the first time since last year’s USL Championship Eastern Conference semifinal that was won by the local 11, 1-0, in regulation.
The dark clouds served as a precursor for how the night would unfold for the road team, as a shocking second-minute strike by Hounds forward Albert Dikwa gave the host an early advantage. He would add a second later in the second half and secure a 2-1 Riverhounds win Saturday in front of 3,946 at Highmark Stadium.
Pittsburgh (3-3-1) came into the game off a lackluster 3-1 U.S. Open Cup loss at Red Bull NY on Wednesday in Harrison, N.J. The team was without defenders Beto Ydrach and Guillaume Vacter and, by all accounts, will be for the foreseeable future. Both players continue to battle injuries suffered in the past three weeks.
The other underlying factor coming into Saturday was the Hounds’ lack of a victory since a 3-2 decision over league newcomer Sporting Jacksonville on March 28.
The early goal came as the contest got underway after a minute of unity between the starters on the field, as they continue to play under the USLPA’s push to get better pay and benefits from USL owners.
Once the game kicked off, Pittsburgh settled a ball along the far-right flank of the attacking side where it eventually found its way to defender Perrin Barnes, who flicked the ball toward the box. Dikwa raced to the ball in an empty space and lifted a shot over the head of Detroit City (3-2-1) keeper Carlos Herrera.
“It was just a reaction.” Dikwa said. “In the locker room, we say you must play behind them early. Perrin put a good ball in that moment, and I was like, the only thing I have to do in that moment because the goalie was coming out was to hit it.”
Riverhounds manager Rob Vincent had a good look at it from his spot along the near sideline.
“I looked up and, yeah, a perfect start honestly. It settles the nerves a little. It gives the guys something to hang onto. Yeah, a perfect start.”
Shaking off the early goal, Detroit City began to control possession for much of the first half, owning a 66%-34% advantage over the next 45 minutes. Despite that, the Riverhounds outshot their counterparts 7-4, with a 2-1 lead in attempts on goal to close out the first half.
To start the second half, it was again the visitor pushing play, registering eight shot attempts to the Riverhounds’ two over the first 20 minutes while trying to net an equalizer. Detroit City’s effort was futile, and Pittsburgh fell back into a 3-2-5 set and seemed content to let Detroit City go on attack and wait for an opportunity.
That came in the 82nd minute when City keeper Carlos Herrera misplayed a ball in his box that Dikwa found, then deposited in the net to extend the home team’s lead at 2-0. The goals were his 60th and 61st in USL Championship play all-time
“Rob tells me, you must be in the box every time.” Dikwa said. “We don’t want you to be in the midfield. I have to be present in the box. That’s my house.”
The rest of the game played out in harmless fashion — despite a stoppage-time goal by Detroit City forward Chisom Egbuchulam — and led to three points. The Riverhounds’ win also created a bottleneck at the top of the Eastern Conference standings with four teams tied at 10 points each, including a pair that played tonight, Charleston and Hartford.
The win was a much-needed remedy for a team hurting as much as Pittsburgh, Vincent said.
“We’ve got a good amount of depth on our roster. Plenty of guys now who’ve started games,” he said. “We’re definitely glad to be out of this stretch now where we’ve had three weekday games in the past four weeks. We’ll be glad to get a couple days of rest, get the guys back in on Tuesday and have a full week of training.”
The Riverhounds are 4-0 at home to begin the 2026 season. They will have a week to get ready to host USL League One club Greenville Triumph next Saturday at Highmark in a USL Cup Match. The contest will start just after 7 p.m. and can be seen on KDKA .