Riverhounds capture playoff berth with dominating win over Hartford Athletic

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds clinched a USL Championship playoff berth for the third straight season Saturday and did so in dominating fashion.

Ropapa Mensah and Ryan James scored two goals apiece, and Anthony Velarde scored a penalty kick as Pittsburgh (9-3-1) defeated Hartford (6-3-1) opponent 5-0 to take a nine-point lead in the division and increase their chances of a first round home playoff game.

“I’m happy we won and that we clinched a playoff spot, but we aren’t done yet,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said. “Hartford is a team we’re going to see again in a few weeks, and maybe even in the playoffs. We still want to finish off the regular season strong and earn home playoff matches.”

James got the scoring started just 13 minutes into the game when he volleyed a corner kick rebound into the back of the net, scoring his third goal of the season against Hartford Athletic. He had scored two during their first meeting of the season on Aug. 28.

TOO ? TO HANDLE. #UNLEASH #PITvHFD pic.twitter.com/xNV8dx0r0x

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) September 12, 2020

Mensah tallied his fifth goal of the season in the 27th minute when Ray Lee sent a long ball into Pittsburgh’s attacking third and the young forward took advantage of a Hartford Athletic error. He came away with the ball in the middle of the box and fired a right-footed shot into an empty net to put his team ahead 2-0.

BOOM. ? #UNLEASH #PITvHFD pic.twitter.com/yDfLHryPU3

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) September 12, 2020

The Riverhounds were awarded a penalty kick 13 minutes later when Anthony Velarde collided with two Hartford Athletic defenders to earn the freebie from the spot and put his team up 3-0.

Shortly after the break, James completed his brace when he recovered a loose ball in the box, took a touch away from a defender and fired a right-footed shot into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season. The domination continued 14 minutes later when Upper St. Clair native Robbie Mertz threaded a pretty through ball between two Hartford defenders for Mensah.

The Accra, Ghana, native received the ball just inside the box with a one-on-one against the keeper and he placed a shot just over the goalkeeper’s sliding legs to finish off the scoring for the night.

WE SMELL PLAYOFFS. #UNLEASH #PITvHFD pic.twitter.com/E54hp9KkvR

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) September 13, 2020

It was a dominating performance from the Riverhounds as they controlled 58.9% of possession and tallied 10 total shots while allowing just one shot.

Pittsburgh goalie Danny Vitiello wasn’t challenged as he recorded his third straight clean sheet, and the Riverhounds recorded their fourth straight while outscoring opponents 12-0 in the same stretch.

The Riverhounds are on the road next Saturday when they take on Loudoun United for their final matchup of the regular season. The Riverhounds have outscored their Group F opponents 5-0 this season.

“We only have three games left, and our next focus is Loudoun,” Ryan James said after the win. “We’re taking one game at a time because these games are still very important. We want to earn the maximum points in each match.”