Steel Army: boyzzz

Showing posts with label boyzzz. Show all posts

USL Previews the Hounds

Posted by espo On 10:23 AM 0 comments

USL Feature (taken from www.uslsoccer.com)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS

Coach: Justin Evans
2010 Season: Semifinals, USL-2

The Lowdown – After a preceding pair of disappointing seasons that saw them miss the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds appeared to lay the foundation for a strong run of success in the 2010 USL-2 season. Making the playoffs for the first time since 2006, the Riverhounds were led by a strong defense and an impressive home record that saw them lose only twice in the league at Chartiers Valley Stadium.

Key Departures – The Riverhounds had close to a perfect offseason, keeping the core of their squad together. According to Coach Justin Evans, no player of major significance has moved on, giving the club a chance to build on the success it found a season ago.

Key Returnees – At the center of that group is the defensive duo of 2010 USL-2 Goalkeeper of the Year Hunter Gilstrap and 2010 USL-2 Defender of the Year Shintaro Harada. After giving up 20 goals in 20 games a season ago, the Riverhounds could have the ability to lower that figure to less than a goal a game this season.

Key Additions – The signing of Thabiso “Boyzzz” Khumalo is likely to add some additional scoring punch for the Riverhounds, and Khumalo could form a strong partnership with 2010 USL-2 Rookie of the Year Jeremy Deighton, who scored five goals in 13 games a season ago. Khumalo’s experience with D.C. United should pay dividends for the Riverhounds.

The Coach’s Opinion – “We are out to win the championship every single year. We are very hopeful that we have done enough in the off season to prepare ourselves to win the championship, as I expect so are the other teams at this point. It is going to be an exciting USL PRO summer of soccer.” – Justin Evans

If it all goes to plan – The Riverhounds certainly appear to be if not the favorite to win the National Division then certainly the co-favorite alongside the Rochester Rhinos. Pittsburgh does have a tricky start to the season with four of its first five games on the road, including a tasty rematch of last season’s USL-2 semifinal against Richmond to open, but if it can get through that passage in good shape a division title could be there for the taking.

Army Dispatch: Quick and Dirty Recap - Hounds @ RMU

Posted by espo On 11:12 AM 0 comments

Well, not much to report I am afraid...the match was kind of sloppy. The Hounds didn't do too much in the first half and guys look tired, probably from training so hard over the first four days of camp! It's a bit insane to think that they've only been in camp for 4 days and have had 2 games, but they're up against the start of the season and need to get into game shape fast...

1st half lineup looked like this (classic 4-4-2)
GK - Hunter
RB - Seth
CB - Rolko
CB - Veris
LB - Flunder
RM - Gray
CM - Shin
CM - Shaffer
LM - Tuttle
RF - Severs
LF - Boyzzz

Seth played decent at RB, I've underestimated the kid. He looked smooth and composed but had a few vision problems missing Tommy's runs, instead looking to go across the pitch to Tuttle. Neil Shaffer played the entire game at CM. Shin was a beast as usual, but he and Neil didn't have much chemistry which is understandable. I thought that Neil got better and better as the game progressed. Tommy Gray made a few nice runs through the RMU defenders in the 1st half, only to see that final ball fail. Boyzzz and Severs didn't do too much up top in the 1st half aside from a nice volley that Boyzzz almost scored on (keeper made a great save). Tuttle and Boyzzz were closer to being on the same page as opposed to Sunday vs Pitt. Rolko and Veris were solid. Flunder looks a bit slow and out of shape at this point but I am not worried. He was strong down the left flank last season.

We attacked more in the 2nd half and had some quality chances. Deighton continues to be our biggest threat so far in the pre-season. He came on with another new forward who we couldn't identify, might have been the new kid from FCD. Regardless, those two played well off each other and created more than the guys in the 1st half. Horner came on for Shin in the 2nd half and did okay. Shaffer took more control of the midfield in the 2nd half which was nice to see. Niko came on to play CB and Shin dropped back as his partner. There was a young kid playing LW who looked a bit tentative, he didn't do much. On the RW we had a fast kid who I didn't recognize. He had pace and made a few nice plays.

I left a bit early, at that point it was still nil to nil. Not sure how it ended up. I'll update the score as soon as I get the official word.

Update - Apparently we scored late and won the game 1 to nil. Might have been rookie Matt Fondy credited with the goal. So, the guy playing up top with Deighton must have been Fondy.

Hounds Dip into MLS Pot

Posted by espo On 10:23 AM 0 comments

As the inaugural USL-PRO season draws near, Pittsburgh Riverhounds manager Justin Evans is doing everything he can to field a competitive side in the vastly improved league.

Last week saw the return of fan favorite Boyzzz Khumalo after a two year stint with DC United. Boyzzz can play forward or wing, has tons of pace and has excelled at this level in the past. His experiences with DC United saw him feature in both MLS and CONCACAF Champions League matches.

Another former MLS player, defender Kyle Veris, looked solid this past Sunday when the Hounds took on the University of Pittsburgh in a preseason friendly. Kyle was selected in the 3rd round of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft by the LA Galaxy. He made 18 league appearances, including 10 starts throughout the 2007 season. After a stint in Norway, Veris featured at USL clubs Puerto Rico and Miami FC over the last few seasons pilling up 38 league appearances. The 6' 4" center back looks to have great composure on the back line and will add a threat on set pieces.

Just today we received news that striker Jason Yeisley has officially signed. Jason spent last year with FC Dallas. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft following a stellar senior season at Penn State. He played in 5 contests, all as a sub, logging 39 minutes. The 24 year old Hershey native has good size and will compete for playing time with a talented group of forwards.

The addition of these three players, all of whom have MLS experience, is a step in the right direction for the club. The league is going to be more competitive this season requiring a talented, deep squad if we're to reach post-season play.

Harrisburg Comes to the Valley

Posted by TwoHalves On 8:34 PM 1 comments

In what is to be a crucial game for both The Hounds and the Islanders, both teams will have more to worry about than just their opponents. Isolated thunderstorms are expected for Bridgeville starting at around 2 PM and continuing for the rest of the day. That means players fans and even reporters are going to have to adjust to the weather conditions, at Chartiers Valley Stadium. Of course the crowd will be a big obstacle for the visiting Islanders as well. Non stop noise is expected from the entire stadium but it has been especially loud behind the visiting bench. The Hounds will have to concentrate on the game itself despite needing a win from Wilmington over Western Mass, to stay within striking distance of the 6th and final playoff spot. Normally Harrisburg would be seen as heavy favorites coming into a match like this, the City Islanders have a firm hold on a playoff spot, are the defending champions and sit 11 points above the Riverhounds. Recent form however suggests otherwise, The Hounds are riding a 3 match home winning streak, and Boyzzz (3 goals in his last two games, as well as USL 2 player of the week) looks to be in top form. Then theres the Islanders who have jumped out to leads in each of their last two matches, only to see those leads slip away and result in just one point. The lose to Crystal Palace USA was especially heart breaking for Harrisburg as the Islanders not only held the lead just 6 minutes in but even after Palace equalized City would have one and two man advantages for the final 54 minues of the game. That advantage still wasn't enoguh to prevent a goal from giving the 9 man Palace side all three points. If the Hounds are to win they must slow down Harrisburg MF Mo Oduor who has been one of the few bright spots in the City lineup. Mo had 1 goal and one assist in Harrisburg's 2-2 draw with Western Mass this past Saturday. With niether team being able to settle for a point this should be a wide open and exciting game, hopefully the Hounds will come out on top. Kickoff is 7:05 Saturday and as always the best seats in the house will go unused as the Steel Army will be standing once again.

3 in a row at home!

Posted by MJ On 11:06 AM 0 comments

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have seen a sudden swing of fortunes with 3 dramatic wins at home! Riverhounds' foward Boyzzz Khumalo finds himself as Man-of-the-Weekend after tallying 3 goals in two days.

It was all about Boyzzz on Saturday evening when the South African forward put two into the net against the visiting Bermuda Hogges. The night ended with a clean sheet for Riverhounds keeper Zach Varga while Boyzzz tallied the points for the Hounds' second win of the season.

Hitting the field again just 24 hours later, Riverhounds midfielder Jason Kutney put one into the Crystal Palace net in the waining moments of the first half. Fellow midfielder Travis Mackenzie got the assist.

The visiting Crystal Palace Baltimore supporters finally got something to cheer about in the 72nd minute when Palace drew even with the Hounds. Their celebration was extremely short lived when Boyzzz scored unassisted as the clock ticked into the 73rd minute. Thanks to some diving saves from Hounds keeper Andy Keszler, the team was able to stay on top and brought home 6 much-needed points for the weekend!