Under a grey cloudy sky with temps in the low 40s, the conditions were less than Groovy for a pair of USL Championship sides facing off at F.N.B. Stadium on Saturday evening. The host Pittsburgh Riverhounds held court with visitor Phoenix Rising as their opponent, with both teams wanting to keep their momentum going in the right direction.
The Riverhounds came into the match having won all five home contests in 2026 — and eight straight going back to last season. The Hounds also were tied for place in the Eastern Conference with three other clubs. As for the visitor, it carried a modest two-game league winning streak with it, good enough for seventh in the West.
The teams played tight soccer, never giving up much until the 63rd minute when Phoenix striker Ihsan Sacko registered an impressive unassisted goal, lifting the visitors to a 1-0 win in front of 4,439.
The Riverhounds (3-4-1) began to push the attack early in the contest when, in the sixth minute, a series of passes made their way to the foot of midfielder Sam Bassett, who launched a shot from just outside the 18-box and over the crossbar. One minute later it was Albert Dikwa who got loose and alone in front of the net with only Phoenix keeper Patrick Rakovsky to beat, yet somehow a Rising defender got a piece of a shot that went wide.
Despite holding a 55-45 possession advantage in the first half, Phoenix (3-2-3) could not find space to get a shot on Riverhounds keeper Nico Campuzano.
Its best chance came in the 37th minute when a scramble in front of the 6-yard box was won by the Riverhounds and cleared by defender Lasse Kelp. The teams headed to the locker room without a goal registered.
That changed as Sacko found himself battling for possession of a ball that found its way along the far wing between Riverhounds defenders and somehow ended up in his control. He worked his way forward, weaving between several Riverhounds players and eventually had a good enough angle on Campuzano, burying a well-placed shot for his sixth goal of the season.
Riverhounds captain Danny Griffin discussed the play afterwards.
“They played a long ball over the top, and I think we had two guys who tried to clear and it either cleared off him (Sacko) or cleared off one of our guys,” Griffin said. “It was unfortunate. We’ll look back at the film. See what we can do better.”
The Riverhounds tried to respond in the 66th when Robbie Mertz worked deep into the attacking zone, forcing a cross between bodies and right on the foot of Dikwa, who missed from about 8 yards to the near post.
Then again in the 79th minute, the Riverhounds’ Eliot Goldthorp got free along the far wing and crossed another solid ball toward the top of the 6-yard box where midfielder Max Viera dove and got a head on it, but it went sailing just wide of the post. The last real chance the Riverhounds had to tie was in the 89th minute off a Mertz corner that got knocked away by Phoenix.
Afterwards, Riverhounds manager Rob Vincent sounded dissapointed his team’s effort.
“We didn’t look as sharp and as intense tonight,” Vincent said. “You got to give credit to them. I don’t want to say they gave us problems, but they gave us something to think about. We had to adjust a little bit. They were creating chances out of breaking us down. I do think we were a little bit sloppy in possession. We turned it over a few times. We could have been a little cleaner in the attacking third.”
The loss dropped the local 11 into the sixth slot of the Eastern Conference standings with 10 points, tied with Hartford Athletic.
Up next for the Riverhounds will be a trip to Louisville FC, who lost at Detroit City, 2-1, on Saturday. The contest will be televised on KDKA and is scheduled to start just after 7 p.m.