Riverhounds' Late Goal Rescues Point Against Toronto FC II

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Pittsburgh Riverhounds avoided an 0-2 start to the 2016 season by the slimmest of margins Sunday afternoon.

Conor Branson scored on a well-worked free kick in stoppage time just outside of Toronto FC II's penalty area to earn a 2-2 draw.

The Hounds earned their first point of the young season with the draw, but they are starting to fall behind in the Eastern Conference standings. This is due to the Hounds playing two fewer games than most other teams, but a slow start can put pressure on a new team trying to gel.

Toronto opened up the scoring early in the first half when Nick Hagglund headed in a great corner kick from Raheem Edwards. Edwards has been the man for TFC II in the young season, contributing on the majority of their goals. These MLS reserve teams the Hounds will play throughout the season may be young, but some of these youngsters could be future MLS standouts.

The Hounds were able to level the game late in the first half when new striker Romeo Parkes worked a nice give-and-go with Marshall Hollingsworth to get his first goal for Pittsburgh.

The Jamaican carried the ball through midfield, played a nice pass to Hollingsworth, who immediately returned the ball to Parkes who finished smoothly past the Toronto keeper. It is good to see some of the on-loan players from affiliate Columbus chip in on offense. It was needed in this game, especially as some key Hounds players could not make the trip up north.

Kevin Kerr could not make the trip due to VISA issues, which is nothing new in the world of Pittsburgh sports this season. The Penguins dealt with a similar problem with winger Daniel Sprong.

Toronto took the lead in the second half after Raheem Edwards won a penalty, when he was fouled by Hounds captain Mike Green. The youngster coolly put his penalty kick past Hunter Gilstrap to the delight of the sellout crowd in Ontario.

After that, the Hounds put on the pressure and came close to equalizing. One chance saw Parkes hit the crossbar after receiving a nice cross from Isiah Schafer. Pittsburgh's late pressure would eventually pay off after a tackle on Parkes resulted in a free kick in the Toronto half.

Three Hounds players stood over the ball to take the free kick. Two faked and the kick was eventually taken by Branson, who filled the open net after the TFC keeper dove the wrong way. The defensive wall and keeper were fooled by the Hounds' fakes and the free kick routine worked to perfection.

The Hounds did well to earn a point in Toronto, who seems to be a much stronger team than the one who Pittsburgh beat three times handily in 2015.

The Riverhounds will be looking for their first win of the season as they return home this week to host Orlando City B on Friday at 7 p.m.

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