Riverhounds hand Tampa Bay 1st loss since July 31, clinch playoff berth

For goalkeepers, Danny Vitiello likens penalty kicks to playing the lottery.

If that’s the case, then Vitiello hit the jackpot Sunday night.

With the Riverhounds holding a one-goal lead in the 57th minute, Vitiello stared down Tampa Bay’s Leo Fernandes and then dove to his right to make a save on his penalty shot.

It was a pivotal moment for the Riverhounds, who clinched a playoff berth and handed Atlantic Division leader Tampa Bay its first loss since July 31 with a 2-0 victory at Highmark Stadium.

“You just try to tell yourself that you’re going to make the save, even though as a goalkeeper you’re probably not supposed to make a save on a penalty,” Vitiello said. “Once he steps in and puts his head down, you just go one way and you hope it hits your hands and stays out of the net.”

Russell Cicerone and Tommy Williamson scored to help the Riverhounds (15-8-6) end a three-game winless streak. They leapfrogged Charlotte for second place in the USL’s Atlantic Division by two points, but Charlotte has a game in hand. Tampa Bay (20-7-1) saw its 12 game unbeaten streak snapped.

Vitiello secured his seventh clean sheet of the season, with the biggest save coming on the penalty. He crashed into Tampa Bay’s Steevan Dos Santos, who was running towards the ball in the box, which drew the penalty.

A little over fifteen minutes after Vitiello’s save, Alex Dixon was upended in the box, which drew a penalty for the Riverhounds. Cicerone stepped up and buried it for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.

“The second goal was huge,” Bob Lilley said. “We had been there before. The last two games against Charleston and Miami we did a good job of getting the lead, but tonight we finished the job. We didn’t lose confidence. Our guys attacked the game and played on the front foot against a team that has been playing very well and giving up very little.”

Williamson’s goal came in the 42nd minute.

Cicerone settled the ball just inside the left corner of the box and made a back pass to Preston Kilwien, who sent a low cross into the box. The ball landed at Williamson’s feet in front of goal, and he slipped it past Rowdies keeper Evan Louro.

The goal was a reward for a first half where the Riverhounds controlled 58% of the possession and had six shots compared to Tampa Bay’s two shots.

Tampa Bay’s best chance in the first half came when former Riverhounds forward Steevan Dos Santos tapped a header from in close that bounced off the crossbar. Vitiello also made a leaping save on a free kick by Lewis Hilton in the 83rd minute.

Aside from that the Riverhounds limited the Rowdies’ chances.

“When you are taking a team that’s right at the top of the entire league in points and muting them as much as we did, that’s saying a lot,” Lilley said. “That’s a credit to our guys. It was an important game and I think any of these games now are a dress rehearsal for playoffs.”

Albert Dikwa came in as a substitute in the 82nd minute for his first appearance since July 31st after being out with a groin injury. He was a starting forward before the injury.

“We’re looking at these last four games as his preseason in a sense,” Lilley said. “Whether we have him back able to start or he gives us valuable minutes off the bench, we’ll see. It’s nice to have him back and it gives us another option.”

The Riverhounds travel to Miami on Saturday looking to avenge a 3-2 loss on Oct. 2. They got some help Sunday from last-place Loudon, which upset Miami, 3-2, which kept them behind the Riverhounds in the standings.

“Hopefully, we can go there and have another good performance,” Lilley said. “We feel like we let them off the hook the last time we were there, so we’re going to go down and try and get a win in Miami next week.”