PITTSBURGH – Louisville City FC’s George Davis IV tallied two second-half goals as the visiting side rallied for a 2-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Friday at Highmark Stadium. Corey Hertzog tallied in the first half for host Pittsburgh, and Davis responded for Louisville in the 55th and 82nd minutes. Sandwiched in between in the 70th minute, Riverhounds goalkeeper Mauricio Vargas came up with a clutch stop on a Chandler Hoffman penalty kick to keep things level at that stage, but from that point on, Pittsburgh was playing down a man. Mike Green was sent off for the foul on Hoffman that led to the PK, and Davis eventually tallied the go-ahead score with City playing with a man advantage. With the win, Louisville snaps a two-game skid and moves back into first place in the Eastern Conference, improving to 13-3-6 (45 points), one point ahead of the New York Red Bulls II who had moved into the top spot earlier in the week. Pittsburgh falls to 3-13-4 (13 points) overall and 2-8-1 at home.

Scoring:
27’ – PGH – Corey Hertzog (Mike Green)
55’ – LOU – George Davis IV
82’ – LOU – George Davis IV (Aodhan Quinn)

Three Things That Mattered:

• 1. George Davis IV was ruthless in the second half, creating a couple chances right after the break. He finally pulled through with a 56th-minute equalizer, firing into the far right side when Danny Earls could not quite get a good touch to break up the attack. In the 82nd minute, Aodhan Quinn set up Davis who fired toward the left of the frame as the ball took a bit of a deflection off of Pittsburgh’s defense, preventing Hounds goalkeeper Mauricio Vargas from any chance at making a stop. Davis now has five goals on the season, second on the club.

• 2. Vargas had one of the bigger highlights of the match with a penalty kick save that at the time had kept the score level when Louisville had all the momentum on its side. Chandler Hoffman drew the PK in the 66th minute and was in position to add to his 14-goal total this season. It took several minutes for the officiating crew to confirm that Pittsburgh’s Mike Green committed the foul as the last defender, and he was officially sent off as the Riverhounds had to play the remainder of the match down a man. The focus went back on the PK as Hoffman stepped up to the spot, and he shot toward the left post where Vargas made the clutch diving save to keep the score level.

• 3. Louisville generated a bevy of corner kicks throughout the match, including eight in the first half alone. City FC’s best first-half stretch came in the 24th and 26th minutes, both corner opportunities and both with Sean Reynolds on the end of them. The first was delivered from the left from Ben Newnam as Reynolds rose close to the near right post for the header. Pittsburgh goalkeeper Vargas’ reaction save kept Louisville off the score sheet. Then on the corner from the right, Paolo DelPiccolo booted a left-footed ball in for Reynolds on the far left side, but his shot went directly to Vargas for a much more routine stop. Pittsburgh’s defense was up to task in the early stages, but Louisville’s persistence eventually paid off.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
George Davis IV, Louisville City FC – Davis recorded a second-half brace to help Louisville rally for a road victory and move back into first place.

Upcoming Games:
Pittsburgh Riverhounds at FC Montreal – Aug. 10, 7 p.m. ET, Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard
Louisville City FC vs. Harrisburg City Islanders – Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m. ET, Slugger Field