TEMPE, Ariz. — The Pittsburgh Riverhounds got a late goal by Andrew Marshall as they earned a 1-1 draw against Phoenix FC on Friday night at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. The Wolves had taken the lead through Donny Toia’s strike from 25 yards, but the Riverhounds were able to hit back with just over 10 minutes to play to take a point from their opening game of a west-coast road trip.
After a balanced opening, Phoenix took the lead in the 11th minute as Toia was able to drive home a remarkable finish past Hunter Gilstrap in the Riverhounds goal. It was Toia’s first goal of the season for Phoenix FC as he found the top-left corner of the net with a tremendous strike.
Phoenix narrowly missed another early scoring opportunity when forward Diego Faria was fed a beautiful pass that turned into a breakaway chance, only for Gilstrap break up the shot a split second before Faria had a chance on the ball. Gilstrap finished the night with six saves.
Pittsburgh’s first scoring opportunity came in the 24th minute when forward Jose Angulo found a pass behind the Wolves’ backline, but Cyprian Hedrick and Scott Morrison were able to chase down Angulo and pressured him into a shot that sailed wide right from about 12 yards out.
Pittsburgh missed another late opportunity late in the half when Jhonny Arteaga threatened on a breakaway on the right side, but Phoenix goalkeeper Andrew Weber made a beautiful diving save to deflect the ball wide. Phoenix had chances to add to its lead early in the second half, Faria and Netinho both having opportunities denied by Gilstrap.
The Riverhounds had a good spell of possession as the second half wore on, Angulo being played into the left side of the penalty area only to shoot into the side-netting in the 63rd minute. With 11 minutes to go, however, Angulo would create the equalizer as he ran only an angled pass down the left side and drove a low cross to the near post that Marshall met to clip home a finish past Weber.
With the game tied in the late minutes, Phoenix FC pushed forward trying to net the winner. Faria had a shot in the 87th minute after a run from Anthony Obodai but couldn’t get it through, and Cameron Vickers, who came on as a late substitute, had a shot go just wide in second half stoppage time. The Riverhounds were able to hold on to claim their second point of the season, however as the Wolves undefeated streak reached three games.
Phoenix FC heads east for its next two matches, heading to face Pittsburgh at Highmark Stadium next Thursday in a return match before moving on to face the Dayton Dutch Lions on Saturday, May 11. The Riverhounds travel on to California to face the LA Blues on Sunday, May 5.