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Saturday, June 24, 2000 By Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
It has been nearly a month since the Riverhounds played an A-League game at home. It also has been that long since the team last won.
The Riverhounds (4-6-1, 18 points) have lost five consecutive league games -- and were 0-1-1 in two non-league matches during the same stretch -- and have fallen into last place in the Atlantic Division. It's quite a fall from the team's 4-1-1 start, and it's a trend the players and coaches are eager to reverse.
Tonight, the Riverhounds will try to get back in the win column when they play host to Raleigh (4-5-3, 21 points), the team directly ahead of them in the standings. The two teams met June 16 at Raleigh, and the Capital Express won, 2-1, in overtime.
The game was typical of the Riverhounds' performances during the slump. They scored first but missed several other chances to take a bigger lead, then suffered a defensive breakdown in the 90th minute that led to a Raleigh goal and forced an overtime.
During its losing streak, the Riverhounds have scored four goals in five games but have only allowed as many as three once. The Riverhounds lost, 2-1, in three of the five league games and dropped their U.S. Open Cup game to Rochester by the same score last week. And that has the team as frustrated as it is optimistic.
"If you look at all of these losses, they are all pretty much the same," said midfielder Jaman Tripoli. "We have many chances and, in a lot of these games, are even getting more shots than our opponents, but we just are not finishing plays. We have to find a way to finish plays and score some goals. We've played well enough to win but have continually found a way to lose."
Added Riverhounds Coach John Kowalski: "We are right in every one of these games. We haven't gotten down on ourselves, we are just working hard to try and maybe get things running a bit more crisp. I think at times we have been a little careless on both sides of the ball, and that is the difference between winning and losing."
Tripoli and Kowalski agreed that the game tonight almost is a must-win to restore the team's confidence. Recently, the ball hasn't bounced the Riverhounds' way, but Kowalski said that a win is all they need to change their fortunes.
While the offense has struggled to put the ball in the net, the defense has kept the Riverhounds in games.
"We haven't given up a lot of goals, but we can play much better," Tripoli said. "In this league, there aren't a lot of goals scored to begin with, and the teams that win are the teams whose defense doesn't have breakdowns at the wrong times. Right now, we seem to get penalized by our opponents for every mistake we make. We have to play consistent and cut down on those breakdowns."
Kowalski envisions some changes in the starting lineup, and he might shift players to other positions. In the exhibition game Wednesday against the Columbus Crew of the MLS, Kowalski experimented with several players in new positions and liked what he saw.
"We moved around some of our defenders and midfielders to get a different look," Kowalski said. "I don't think wholesale changes are necessary, and I don't anticipate anything major. But I do think we have tried different player combinations in the past few games and will continue to do so. Some of that is due to scheduling, but some of it is just trying to get the best chemistry possible."
One player who won't be in the lineup will be defender "Ezzy" Ihekoronye, who will serve his one-game suspension for drawing a red card June 10 against Atlanta.
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Matchup: Raleigh Capital Express (4-5-3, 21 points) vs. Riverhounds (4-6-1, 18), 7:35 p.m., Bethel Park Stadium.