 
|
|||||||||||||
              
|
Monday, July 31, 2000 By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Not much has gone right for the Riverhounds this season, but for 90 minutes yesterday at Bethel Park Stadium they looked like the team that challenged the elite of the A-League last season.
The Riverhounds scored six goals -- as many as they scored in their previous six games -- and came away with a 6-1 victory over the Tennessee Rhythm before 3,221.
That's the good news. The bad news is they are still in last place and 14 points out of a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division with eight games remaining.
"Every game is a playoff game now," Riverhounds midfielder Justin Evans said.
David Flavius and Evans were catalysts in the offensive outburst. Flavius recorded a hat trick and took over the team lead in goals with seven. Evans added a goal and an assist.
But this game began like many other games this season. The Riverhounds had a plethora of first-half opportunities, outshooting the Rhythm, 15-4, but the score was tied at halftime, 1-1.
Coach John Kowalski gave his team an "inspirational" talk during the intermission.
"I don't think you want to know what was said," Evans said. "It was not a pleasant locker room. But I guess he said the right things. He pushed the right buttons. He did his job well, and we did our jobs well in the second half."
"We needed to play with more desire," Kowalski said.
Three minutes into the second half, Flavius took a feed from Evans in the penalty box, neatly freed up some space for himself and roofed a left-footer past 6-foot-7 goalkeeper Eric Green for a 2-1 lead.
"Justin has very good vision," Flavius said. "He can make the long pass, he can make the short pass. You just have to look for the open space with him."
In the 59th minute, it was the Flavius-Evans combination again, only this time the roles were reversed. Flavius put a perfect cross-field pass on the foot of Evans, who scored his first goal of the season. Evans rejoined the team earlier this month after spending the first part of the season with San Jose of the MLS.
"In the first half, we were waiting for things to happen," Flavius said. "We went out and made things happen in the second half. That was the difference."
In the 64th minute, Flavius completed the hat trick on a breakaway.
"David is super fast," Evans said. "If you play the ball over the top, and there's 30 or 40 yards in front of him, there's a pretty good chance he's going to get it."
Michael Apple scored in the 70th minute, and Bethel Park High School graduate David Kovalcik scored the first goal of his professional career on his old field in the 85th minute to cap the scoring.
The Riverhounds outshot Tennessee, 28-4, for the game, 13-0 in the second half. The Rhythm had to ride 12 hours on a bus after playing a home game Friday night.
"Any kind of a fast-paced game was going to take them out of the game," Kowalski said.
NOTES -- The Riverhounds improved to 8-1-1 at home. They play host to Cincinnati Saturday and first-place Richmond the following week. ... Midfielder Adam Fedoruk is expected to miss another 2-3 weeks with a knee injury. ... The Riverhounds continue to draw well at the gate. Before yesterday's game they were tied for second in league attendance with Minnesota, averaging 3,694 fans per game.
|
||||||||||||
