Opportunity to avenge loss
Late score produced first loss of this season
Riverhounds SC’s home opener July 22 against Indy Eleven featured the closest thing to a buzzer-beater that you probably will ever see in soccer.
Deep into extra time of a scoreless tie, Indy’s Tyler Pasher made a final push past midfield toward Highmark Stadium’s east end. He entered with a head of steam, beat some defenders to get near his opponents’ goal box, then launched a missile of a shot toward the left corner of the net that beat Riverhounds keeper Tomas Gomez and gave his team an improbable 1-0 lead.
The referee whistled the game to a conclusion just moments later, and just like that, the Riverhounds’ long regularseason winning streak at home dramatically was snapped. It was quite the gut punch.
Now they hope they can return the favor. The rematch of two first-place teams in the USL Championship is slated for Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Dramatic as that final play was, though, coach Bob Lilley’s team isn’t focusing on it as much as it’s just hoping to play better across the board.
“We addressed it right after the game, and then in training,” Lilley told reporters earlier this week in a conference call. “Tactically, it was a brilliant individual goal. Could we have maybe fouled right when Pasher picked up the ball? Sure. We let him get a running start. We had prevented that all game. But we addressed it. We’ve already moved past that.”
He’s not wrong. Beyond a 2-1 loss the following Sunday to New York Red Bulls II, the team has bounced back nicely since, as the Riverhounds assumed clear control in a 4-0 rout on Aug. 1 of Philadelphia Union II and a 4-1 beating a week ago of New York in the rematch.
The latter victory netted players some weekly honors. Midfielder Robbie Mertz was selected to the USL’s team of the week after scoring twice against New York, while Ropapa Mensah was named to the bench for tallying once. It also solidified the team’s place in the standings.
The Riverhounds now sit in a tie with Hartford atop USL’s Group F standings. Each team has 12 points, which makes each game in the league’s shortened season critical from here on out.
Enter Indy, which holds a six-point
advantage over second-place St. Louis in the Group E standings heading into
Week 8.
Lilley expects their depth to test the Riverhounds, as their ability to field different lineups could present unpredictable challenges. He also feels the game will look quite a bit different than the first one.
“I think they’ll possess a lot more,” he said. “It’s a bigger field so they’ll try and stretch and pull you apart. Generally, they’re pretty good on the possession side at home.”
The key will be preventing that spread. Keeping the game in tighter quarters so that Pasher, for example, can’t break loose for another quick strike.
Offense might be the best defense, too, as Lilley said he’s reticent of falling into a mindset of simply trying to defend against Indy’s many weapons.
“When you’re dealing with that much experience and that much quality, it’s tough to sit deep and just try to hang on,” Lilley said. “So that’s a big part of it for us. Let’s go play. Let’s see where we’re at. I think the first game was very competitive.”