John Bava

2018 US Open Cup Round 2: Pittsburgh Riverhounds snap streak, hold off Erie Commodores, 2-1

May 19, 2018 by John Bava

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC returned to winning ways in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after a few years of futility.

The USL club knocked off the Erie Commodores of the NPSL in round two of the tournament at Gannon University Field in Erie, Pa. Wednesday night. It comes after the side suffered upsets by amateur clubs at the same point of the competition the past two seasons.

Pittsburgh didn’t take long to get out front. In the fourth minute, Kevin Kerr whipped in a well-placed corner that Thomas Vancaeyezeele headed past Commodores goalkeeper Nicolau Neto. The connection between the two midfielders put the road side up, 1-0.

That advantage doubled in the 30th minute. This time, Kerr turned from provider to goalscorer. After Erie took down Noah Franke in the box, the referee pointed to the spot. That’s when the Riverhounds number 10 stepped up and buried the ball past Neto to make it 2-0 Pittsburgh.

For most of the first half, Erie found themselves on the back foot trying to withstand an onslaught from Pittsburgh. But the Commodores began making forays into the attacking third late in the opening stanza. They were rewarded in the final minute of regulation via Cameron Philpot. The Erie attacking mid collected the ball eight yards from goal and put a brilliant one-time finish past goalkeeper Mike Kirk to cut the lead in half.

Philpot’s exploits will go down as among the most memorable for the Commodores in the US Open Cup. He finished with both tallies for the club during the tournament after scoring the lone goal in Erie’s penalty shootout win over the Rochester River Dogz in Round 1 last week.

Erie’s opportunities to level things up were few and far between in the second 45. But they did get a legit chance late in the half when Jack Simpson dribbled the ball into Pittsburgh’s box and unleashed a far post curler from the left hand side of goal. But Kirk was up to the task at diving to his left and parrying it away for a corner.

Next Wednesday’s game at Highmark Stadium, brought to you by these goals. #UNLEASH | #USOC2018 pic.twitter.com/y0FF2tGUNv

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) May 17, 2018

In the end, the game turned into a scrappy affair between an underdog hoping to pull off a shocker and a team coming into the game with high expectations.

“We get the early goal which helped but I think we got a little complacent,” Riverhounds manager Bob Lilley noted post-game. “I think (after) the second goal we really took our foot off the gas. And obviously they get a goal right before halftime that got them back in the game.”

“It’s disappointing we didn’t get a third goal with as much possession as we had,” Lilley continued. “But they deserve credit. They defended well. They kept themselves in it. They carved out some chances on the break and they were always in it.”

Erie clearly had hopes that Philpot’s tally late in the first half was the beginning of a comeback. But Pittsburgh held fast and persevered in the second stanza to come away with their first road victory in the Open Cup since 2008.

“We knew (after their late first half goal) that we were going to be in a battle for the rest of the game,” Kerr emphasized after the match. “(But) the boys did the job in the second half. It wasn’t the prettiest game you’ll ever see. It wasn’t the greatest football. But we’ve been here the last two years and had two early exits. So, all in all, (we’re) delighted to get the job done.

The Riverhounds move on to face FC Cincinnati in the Third Round which takes place next week on May 23.

2018 US Open Cup Round 1: Erie Commodores edge River Dogz in PKs to earn date with Riverhounds

May 12, 2018 by John Bava

In a battle between two teams making their Lamar Hunt US Open Cup debuts, it was the home team that held serve.

The NPSL’s Erie Commodores triumphed over the Rochester River Dogz of the Rochester District Soccer League in a mesmerizing 5-4 penalty shootout win after the two sides played to a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes. This marked just the second time in the Modern Era (1995-present), and the second year in a row, that an amateur team from Western Pennsylvania has advanced in the tournament. They join Tartan Devils Oak Avalon who reached Round 2 in the 2017 US Open Cup.

This was also the first time Erie has advanced in club

Erie opened the scoring in the 27th minute. Forward Sam White got in behind the Rochester back line from the left hand side and centered the ball to Cameron Philpot, who made no mistake one-timing it past Rochester goalkeeper William Banahene to make it 1-0.

The visitors, led by head coach Doug Miller, a US Open Cup champion with the Rochester Rhinos, remained headstrong despite the repeated Erie forays into their defensive third. And late in the first half, they found themselves with an opportunity of their own that they pounced on. Midfielder Austin Gerber collected a long ball in the 45th minute and dribbled into the Erie box. He then slotted a deftly placed near-post shot, beating goalkeeper Nicolau Neto for the equalizer.

Erie continued to put the River Dogz on the back foot after halftime. But Rochester were resolute defensively and successfully repelled the Commodores’ scoring chances throughout the entirety of the second stanza. After 90 minutes, the two sides remained deadlocked at one apiece which necessitated 30 minutes of extra time.

The best chance of the first extra session came from the River Dogz. In the 96th minute, William Stone came onto a cross from the right and headed it at goal. But Neto was up to the task, parrying it to his left to avoid falling behind to the underdogs.

Erie reasserted control on the match in the second 15 minute extra period. It resulted in a legitimate chance in the 112th minute when Philpot had a chance for a brace. But Banahene, who made quite a few impressive saves himself to keep Rochester in the game during regulation time, did so again in to keep things tied up.

The River Dogz net minder was called into action once more in the 118th minute. This time, it was a chance for second half substitute Jack Simpson to be the hero for the home side. But Banahene came off his line and prevented Simpson from flicking it over him.

In keeping with the theme of goalkeeping exploits, Neto had something left in the tank himself. In the 120th minute, the Erie goalkeeper made another sprawling save to his left. After the resulting corner, the Commodores sprung a counterattack which resulted in a free kick. But nothing resulted from it and the match when to a penalty shootout.

The battle of spot kicks was a back and forth affair. But Erie was given a lifeline when defender Alexander Harling hit his effort over the crossbar. Though Rochester converted the remainder of their kicks, Erie made all five with their spot in the Open Cup getting wrapped up when Casey Bartlett-Scott stepped up and buried his past Banahene for the win.

Erie’s triumph meant a lot to the team considering their looming opponent, the USL’s Pittsburgh Riverhounds, has a connection to the club.

“The big motivation was to bring the Riverhounds here next week,” Commodores manager Dale White said post-game. “There’s one of our own boys, Andy Lubahn, who plays for the Riverhounds now so we were already in touch as soon as the draw came out and saying it would be nice to bring him back.”

The Commodores’ looming showdown in the second round of the tournament with a professional side just a few hours drive down I-79 takes place on Wednesday, May 16.