LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP: Pittsburgh Riverhounds bounce Columbus Crew 2 from tourney
- Dan Stickradt
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Pittsburgh Riverhounds captain Danny Griffin headed in the only goal of the match in the first half, delivering a 1-0 win over Columbus Crew 2 in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight at Lower.com Field.
Goalkeeper Jacob Randolph made three saves, all in the second half, to earn his second career shutout in his first start of the season. The win was also the 23rd coaching win in the Open Cup for Bob Lilley, which moves him into the top five all-time among coaches in the Cup’s “Modern Era” (since 1995).
The Hounds advance to the Round of 32, which will be played on May 6-7. Pairings for the next round, which will feature 16 Third Round winners and 16 MLS teams entering the competition, will be announced at 9:15 a.m. this Thursday, live on CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Morning Footy.
The Hounds came out on the front foot against the lower-division side, despite seven changes to the starting lineup from Saturday’s loss at Charleston.
Two of the new starters, Jason Bouregy and Jorge Garcia, connected for an early chance down the left side, but Garcia’s left-footed shot couldn’t find the target.
The Hounds won two early corner kicks, but it was their third in the 28th minute that yielded the lone goal. Garcia curled the kick from the right side to the near corner of the goal box, where both Griffin and Max Broughton rose for the ball. Griffin won the header, and his redirection caromed off the hands off goalkeeper Luke Pruter and into the side of the net.
The goal was Griffin’s second in the Open Cup in his career, and both of them have come in 1-0 road wins. He had the lone strike when the Hounds beat the New England Revolution of MLS in 2023, and this time he did the job against Columbus’ reserve side out of MLS Next Pro.
Crew 2 came out with renewed energy after being limited to just three touches in the Hounds box and no shots in the first 45 minutes.
Randolph came up big in the 60th minute, when he not only made a point-blank stop on substitute Anthony Alaouieh, he also recovered to punch the ball clear after the save popped it high into the air.
Junior Etou, who entered the match as a second-half substitute, had a chance to double the Hounds lead when he broke behind the defense in the 77th minute, but Pruter was up to the task and made a save diving to his right.
Randolph took another turn to make a save moments later, when he made a diving stop on a chance by Brent Adu-Gyamfi. The rebound went in the direction of Crew 2’s Chase Adams, but he couldn’t turn the second effort on net, and Randolph was able to corral the ball.
The Hounds didn’t allow a shot on goal in the final 10 minutes, and Augi Williams had one last chance at an insurance goal, but his stoppage time effort on a counter-attack was stopped by Pruter, and the Crew 2 defense recovered to clear before Robbie Mertz could stab home the rebound.
MODELO MAN OF THE MATCH
Jackson Walti, playing his second 90-minute shift in four days, was a workhorse in the midfield. He claimed possession 10 times, winning 6 of 11 duels and 4 of 5 tackles while connecting on an impressive 52 of 56 passes (92.9 percent).
WHAT’S NEXT
The Hounds get back to league play and continue their April on the road with a trip to face East-leading Loudoun United FC (5-1-0) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19 in Leesburg, Va. Loudoun also played tonight in the Open Cup, falling 2-1 on the road to Louisville City FC.
Riverhounds SC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Jacob Randolph; Max Broughton (Illal Osumanu 86’), Sean Suber, Beto Ydrach, Perrin Barnes; Jackson Walti, Danny Griffin; Jason Bouregy (Junior Etou 66’, Pablo Linzoain 90+4’), Jorge Garcia (Robbie Mertz 66’), Aidan O’Toole (Luke Biasi 66’); Augi Williams
Columbus Crew 2 lineup (5-3-2) — Luke Pruter; Tristan Brown, Christopher Rogers, Keesean Ferdinand, Malcom Palacios (Brent Adu-Gyamfi 46’), Quinton Elliot; Nicolas Rincon, Ibrahima Sy, Owen Presthus; Cristian Ortiz (Anthony Alaouieh 46’), Chase Adams
Scoring summary
PIT — Danny Griffin 28’ (Jorge Garcia)
Discipline summary
PIT — Jorge Garcia 7’ (caution – reckless foul)
CLB — Tristan Brown 48’ (caution – tactical foul)
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