Keep it clean

Aug 9, 2026 By Joanthan Guth 5 min read

PITTSBURGH — Nico Campuzano and Danny Vitello recorded clean sheets, as each keeper made four saves in a scoreless draw between the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday evening before a sellout crowd of 5,251 at F.N.B. Stadium.

Campuzano earned his second straight shutout and sixth this season for the Hounds (8-8-3) while Vitello, who won a Golden Glove during his time in Pittsburgh, became the first player in USL Championship history to record 50 clean sheets for a single club.

“I think I said to you guys (the media) a while ago, if we are not going to win the game, let’s make sure we don’t lose the game as well,” Riverhounds head coach Rob Vincent said. “Nico made some big plays. I don’t think he had any kind of spectacular saves to make, but just his presence, and he continues to get better.”

The Hounds remain in fifth place in Group A of the USL Championship standings with 27 points and 11 matches remaining. The top eight qualify for the playoffs, but the four with the best mark in the group will host at least one first-round match in the postseason. Pittsburgh took a four-place mark in the regular season to earn its first league championship last year.

Pittsburgh welcomes longtime Eastern Conference foe Charleston Battery (10-6-3, 33 points) to F.N.B. Stadium in its next match on Sept. 15. The kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

“I am excited about the match with Charleston,” Vincent said. “We ran them close in both games earlier in the season at their place. Their home record, if I’m not mistaken, is the best in the league. I think we should take confidence in those performances, and we always look forward to playing at home.”

Sacramento (7-5-6, 27 points) didn’t look like the team who traveled across the country, as the visitors maintained a 67.7-33.3 advantage in possession the first 20 minutes for the match, and forced Campuzano to make two saves.

Sac Republic’s Mayele Malongo had his shot curl wide in the fifth minute before Campuzano stopped his headed attempt in the 14th minute with a diving catch to his left.

The Hounds had their first solid opportunity to break through in the 21st minute when team captain Danny Griffin set a slick pass between the Sacramento backline to Albert Dikwa, but Vitello took away the angle from Pittsburgh’s leading scorer and collapsed on the ball before Dikwa could get a look to earn his seventh goal of the season.

Vitello denied Trevor Amann’s sixth goal this year in the 34th minute. Amann won a header off Eliot Goldthorp’s curling cross, but Vitiello knocked the shot away while moving to his left.

Griffin had his right-footed shot from the right side of the box sail too high in the 34th minute prior to Vitello stopping Charles Ahl’s shot from outside the box in the center of the goal. Amann set up Ahl’s first of two shots on target.

Malango nearly put Sacramento on the scoreboard in the 39th minute, but his right-footed attempt from outside the box hit the right post. Jack Gurr had the previous touch that sent the ball to Malango.

The Hounds’ best opportunity to score came without Vitello having to make a save, as Dikwa’s header inside the penalty area missed to the left in the 40th minute. Ahl set up the chance with a cross.

“That was one that Chico (Dikwa) would like to have back,” Vincent said. “I think we had our chances, but we knew it was going to be this type of game with two good defensive teams.”

The defensive struggle continued in the second half, but Memo Rodriguez nearly put the visitors on the scoreboard when he made a swift turn in the box to create some space, but his shot went wide of the net as the match passed the hour mark.

Perrin Barnes set up Dikwa in the 77th minute, but the striker couldn’t corral Barnes’ pass toward the penalty area. Dikwa maintained possession in the Sacramento end, and Griffin chipped the ball toward the back post, but Yu Tsukanome, who was recently acquired via loan from the Seattle Sounders, couldn’t put the contested header on goal.

Campuzano had to make one last save in stoppage time, as he snagged Rodriguez’s attempt from the left side of the box that went into the corner. Campuzano punted the ball away after the save and referee Matthew Thompson blew the final whistle to end the match after 95 minutes of play.

A majority of Sacramento’s scoring opportunities came from set pieces, and the visitors had a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.

“We don’t like giving up that many set pieces, and I think we can sometimes be a bit more savvy in those situations,” Vincent said. “We defended them quite well, and we put a lot of time in defending those set pieces because we know how important they can be on both ends. The guys stood up pretty strong and got the clean sheet.”

Pittsburgh defender Victor Souza was named the Modelo Man of the Match after contributing eight clearances, an interception and winning 7 of 8 aerial duels. He connected on 43 of 53 passes, an 81.1% passing rate that was second amongst Hounds starters.