Riverhounds blank Westchester SC in Jägermeister Cup win
Ryan Shaffer | Riverhounds SC
Bertin Jacquesson scored in the 15th minute and Pittsburgh’s stingy defense held on for a 1-0 victory over Westchester SC in the USL Jägermeister Cup on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Despite the triumph, the Riverhounds will not advance to the knockout stage of the Jägermeister Cup after Hartford Athletic played Detroit City FC to a 2-2 draw on Saturday. The Hounds’ final match in Group D of the Jägermeister Cup will be at Portland on July 25 at 6:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh is 1-2-0 in Cup play, while Westchester, who plays its league matches in USL League One, which is one step below the USL Championship League, was eliminated from the next round of Cup play with an 0-3 record.
“I said to someone earlier in the week, they (Westchester) may have as many USL Championship or European games as we do,” said Pittsburgh coach Bob Lilley during his press conference following the match that was provided by Riverhounds director of communications Matt Grubba. “They have some experienced guys on their roster. We did a good job of slowing them down. They had good attacking pieces out there.”
The Hounds, who play in the USL Championship League, scored the only goal they would need when Robert Mertz and Junior Etout had a give-and-go series of passes down the left side of the pitch that allowed Etou some space toward the goal line on the left. Jacquesson ran toward the near post and put the ball past keeper Dane Jacomen after receiving Etou’s low pass.
Jacquesson, who had a late start to the season after suffering an injury in the preseason, scored his first goal.
“I thought the goal was well executed,” Lilley said. “I wish we would have created more chances and built on that. I was hoping to get a two or three-goal lead, so we could have emptied the bench.”
Jacob Randolph didn’t have to do too much work to earn the clean sheet, but he did make two saves.
“I think I had a good week of training,” Randolph said. “With the heat, we knew it was going to be tough, but Bobby (Lilley) kept the training short and sharp. I commend our guys for getting pressure on the ball early and shutting them down.”
Jacquesson nearly had a brace in the 25th minute after Mertz connected on a pass through the right side to an open Bradley Sample, who passed to Jacquesson in front of the goal, but Jacomen, who is a Pittsburgh native and former Hounds Academy player, made the close-range stop.
Jacquesson was named the “Modelo Man of the Match” for his goal and taking four total shots. He won six of a team-leading 12 duels before being substituted for Augi Williams in the 68th minute.
“It would have been nice to get him a double, but I thought he was good,” Lilley said. “I think the biggest issue with Bertin is trying to keep him consistent the entire half. He is dangerous in moments, but we need him to be that way more consistently.”
Westchester had an early chance in the first 15 minutes when a header won by Sebastian Palma created an opportunity that sailed over the bar.
Former Pittsburgh striker J.C. Obregón fired a right-footed shot from inside the box over the goal in the second half.
“Someone like J.C. Obregón is trying to remind me that you kind of let me go,” Lilley said. “He has gone on and scored a lot of goals in Charlotte, and led the league in scoring, and now he has 11 goals in Westchester, and we expected a tough game. I felt like we could have executed better in the final third.”
The Hounds worked for an insurance goal, but Jacomen made a diving stop to his right against Williams in a 1-on-1 battle in the 86th minute. He dove back to the left to stop Charles Ahl by tipping the ball wide.
Westchester maintained possession 57 percent of the match, but could only muster five shots toward the cage, with Randolph stopping the two on target. The Hounds had a 6-2 edge in corner kicks with nine shots (four on target).
Fouls and offside calls hindered Westchester’s attack, as the visitors had 18 infractions called to 12 for the home team and the flag went up four times for Westchester. Pittsburgh was offside one time.
The Hounds return to USL Championship action for an Independence Day match on Friday at 7 p.m. against Western Conference leading New Mexico United (8-4-1). At 5-6-2, Pittsburgh is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 17 points. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason.