Riverhounds advance in the USL playoffs on PKs
For the first time since 2019, Riverhounds SC is moving on in the USL Championship playoffs.
The club took down host Birmingham Legion FC, 22, in penalty kicks Sunday night to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where it will face Louisville City FC on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Things looked bleak for coach Bob Lilley’s squad on a couple of occasions, as Birmingham took one-goal leads in both the 72nd and 99th minutes.
Each time, Edward Kizza had an answer for the Riverhounds. His clutch tallies in the 90th minute, near the end of regulation, and the 116th minute in extra time forced the game to penalty kicks.
It was then that the 23year-old forward finally put the game on ice by scoring in the 10th round of the tiebreaker after keeper Jahmali Waite stopped Birmingham’s Grayson Dupont.
It was the Riverhounds’ first playoff win since taking down the Legion by a 70 margin in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. They dropped their playoff opener in 2020 before a COVID-19 outbreak forced them to forfeit their playoff game a year ago.
MLS
Maximiliano Moralez and Héber scored goals in the first half and defending champion New York City FC went on to defeat host CF Montreal, 3-1, in an Eastern Conference semifinal of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
No. 3-seed NYCFC advances to the conference finals against top-seeded Philadelphia Union on Sunday.
Moralez’s goal in the 6th minute got NYCFC started and Héber made it 2-0 in the 3rd minute of first-half stoppage time, finishing off a breakaway with an assist from Santiago Rodríguez.
Talles Magno, who subbed for Héber just a few minutes earlier, converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute for a 3-0 lead. Djordje Mihailovic scored in the 85th minute for Montreal. He entered the match with goals in the previous two games and assists in the past three.
Verde is going to the Western Conference Finals. Host Austin FC rode the strength of two first-half goals from Moussa Djitte and Sebastian Driussi to beat FC Dallas 2-1 at Q2 Stadium. Austin FC now travels to Los Angeles to take on top-seeded LAFC in the conference finals.
NWSL
The Portland Thorns will play the Kansas City
Current for the National Women’s Soccer League championship next weekend in Washington, closing out a turbulent and emotionally taxing 10th season.
Crystal Dunn came off the bench and scored in stoppage time to give the Thorns a 2-1 victory against the San Diego Wave at Portland’s Providence Park in the first of two semifinal matches on Sunday. Dunn, who also plays for the U.S. national team, has been easing her way back after giving birth to a son five months ago. Her first goal since returning came off a corner about three minutes into stoppage time.
In the other semifinal, Alexis Loera and Kristen Hamilton scored in the Current’s 2-0 victory against the top-seeded OL Reign, winners of this season’s Supporters Shield.
College volleyball
The No. 8 Pitt women’s volleyball team (20-2, 10-0) secured its highest ranked win in program history, taking down No. 2 Louisville (18-2, 9-1) in five sets (25-15, 25-13, 25-27, 20-25, 1512) inside Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt outside hitter Courtney Buzzerio led the Panthers in kills for the 14th match in a row, finishing with a season-best 22 on .302 hitting. Pitt middle blocker Serena Gray finished with a season-high 15 kills on .480 hitting with five blocks. Rachel Fairbanks delivered her 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 37 assists and 10 digs. She nearly had her second triple-double, finishing with eight kills.