蘑菇视频

Aug 10, 2025 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

Pittsburgh earned 10 corner kicks, and despite not having much to show for its set pieces, the Riverhounds were able to score off a corner kick in the second half to salvage a 1-1 draw against Orange County SC on Saturday evening at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh’s Station Square.

The Hounds (7-6-6) trailed Orange County (7-7-3) at halftime, but picked up play in the second half and tied the match in the 67th minute when Guillaume Vacter scored his first professional goal.

Robbie Mertz sent in the corner toward Sean Suber, who was making a near-post run. Suber put a glancing touch on the ball that moved it along the back post for Vacter, who sent a header past keeper Colin Shutler.

“Robbie made good contact on the set piece and sent it in to Sean, who sent it to me near the back post, and I was in a good spot to put it in,” Vacter said. “We work on our set pieces, so it was by design. It was a good way to get my first professional goal.”

Vacter, who is part of a strong Pittsburgh backline, had two shots hit the woodwork earlier this season.

Suber, who earned an assist on Vacter’s tally, had a chance to help the Riverhounds earn two extra points in stoppage time, as a corner kick was sent in that he headed just over the crossbar right before the final whistle blew.

The Hounds had 27 points and sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Orange County is sixth in the Western Conference with 24 points. Both teams are in playoff contention, as the top eight teams in each conference qualify for the USL Championship playoffs.

Pittsburgh is on a nine-match unbeaten streak, but head coach Bob Lilley would like to see his team turn those home draws into wins, as the team will finish a four-game homestand next Saturday against second-place Charleston (13-4-2) before playing three away matches.

The Hounds had a one-goal lead at halftime in their April 12 game at Charleston, but lost the match, 2-1.

“The last four home games, we have three draws and a win, and that’s six dropped points,” Lilley said. “I think we should be winning those games. If we win those games, we would be sitting in third place in the conference, and not fifth.

“I’m disappointed in how we played in the first half. A lot of guys were saving steps. We were bigger, but they were getting up early and attacking every ball, competing well in the air. We had some big boys at the back-post area, and nobody attacked the ball, and now it’s 1-0. That’s how you end up with draws and not wins. We needed a good, solid 90 minutes today, and three points against a good team.”

Lilley understands the match against Charleston will not be easy, but he believes his squad can be in the game, and come away with a victory and three points, but the intensity must be played the entire 90 minutes.

“When we played at Charleston, we had the lead at halftime, and ended up losing, 2-1, but we didn’t play well that game,” Lilley said. “If we play well, and with the game being at home, I think it will be a good game. They’re dangerous, but if we play well, we are more than capable of winning that game. It will be a measuring stick for us.”

The Riverhounds had a 16-3 edge in shots, including 4-1 on target, but Orange County scored on its lone shot on target in the 40th minute when Ethan Zubak met a cross from Stephen Kelly that was headed on the right side for a 1-0 lead.

The Hounds nearly scored almost seconds after Zubak put the visitors up by one when Augi Williams’ header was pushed away by a diving Shutler, who made three saves.

Pittsburgh came out strong in the second half, and nearly tied the match when a corner kick led to chances by Suber and Danny Griffin that were blocked before a shot from Griffin was lifted over the crossbar. Shutler stopped Jackson Walti in the 63rd minute.

“We got on top of the ball more consistently in the second half, but we need to do that from the beginning.” Lilley said. “We were our own worst enemy in the first half. We didn’t work off the ball, and our defending wasn’t nearly good enough.”