The Pittsburgh Riverhounds, one of the USL Championship’s most historic teams, have won the first championship in club history following a 5-3 penalty shootout victory over FC Tulsa on Saturday, following a 0-0 draw in regulation. With two of the best defenses in the league meeting in the final in Tulsa, chances came at a premium, but neither side were able to take them as they extended lengthy shutout streaks in the final. Tulsa keeper Tyler Deric guessed correctly on four of those Pittsburgh penalties, but was unable to save any of them, showing how fine margins can be in a game of this magnitude.
Coaching only his seventh game for Pittsburgh after manager Bob Lilley was placed on administrative leave, interim manager Rob Vincent has hit cult level status in Pittsburgh by going undefeated in those matches. At 35, Vincent has also become the youngest coach ever to win the championship. Juan Guerra, who won with Phoenix Rising in 2023 at 36 years, eight months, and 37 days old, was the previous holder of the record that has now fallen.
Lilley led the Riverhounds to a playoff spot in every season since he was hired in 2017, but he had never won a playoff game with the club, which rallied together under Vincent and were able to make something special happen.
Pittsburgh’s defense only allowed five of Tulsa’s 17 shots to be on target during the match, and despite Pittsburgh only putting one shot on target, they did just enough. Even when it came to penalties, keeper Eric Dick was ready for anything that came his way as the Riverhounds won three penalty shootouts en route to winning the USL title.
Tulsa may be disappointed to not win in front of their home fans, but this is a club moving in the right direction. They were 10th in the Western Conference last season, and head coach Luke Spencer was able to lead the Scissortails within a shootout of the first league title in club history. They’ll be back on this stage in what is a final of teams on the rise.
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