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Sunday, June 11, 2000 Special to the Post-Gazette
CLARKSTON, Ga. -- The Riverhounds (4-4-1, 18 points) lost their fourth consecutive road game, 2-1, to the Atlanta Silverbacks (5-4-1, 24 points) last night at DeKalb County Memorial Stadium.
The Silverbacks used a penalty kick and a perfect lead pass to score their goals.
In the 50th minute, the Riverhounds were attacking when the ball skirted off a Silverbacks player out of bounds. The Riverhounds were preparing for a throw-in when officials called it back and awarded the throw-in to Atlanta. When the Silverbacks tossed the ball in, Riverhounds defender Ezzy Ihekoronye cut through the penalty box and tripped Silverbacks midfielder Josh Henderson. Atlanta's Iggy Moleka took the ensuing penalty kick and tied it, 1-1.
"We were playing decent and doing all the right things, but we played one game and had to beat two teams," said Riverhounds Coach John Kowalski. "The referees were basically not doing their job, and it destroys the game.
"It was very disappointing throughout the game by this team of officials. Both teams came to play quality soccer, but we had the same complaints. The field conditions were also horrendous. This is a dangerous place to play, but they [Atlanta] are on the way to making improvements."
In the 72nd minute, Atlanta took the lead for good when Moleka sent a lead pass to a breaking Brian Piesner, whose shot from eight yards out got past Riverhounds goalkeeper Doug Petras.
The Riverhounds tried to take the early lead in the 12th minute when forward Phil Karn rifled a shot past Silverbacks' goalkeeper Tony Roberts. The goal was called off because of an offside call.
In the 42nd minute, however, rookie forward Leidy Klotz scored his first professional goal off a long pass from midfielder Adam Fedoruk
"That was a terrific goal," Kowalski said. "It was a true goal. He finished it well."
The Riverhounds could not find the net in the second half, although they had many scoring opportunities.
"We played decently," Kowalski said. "We could have won both games [Charleston and Atlanta]. The guys worked hard. There is nothing to panic about."
The Riverhounds soon will have another opportunity to win on the road. They face two more Atlantic Division foes -- the Raleigh Capital Express and the Richmond Kickers -- on Friday and Saturday. But they will be without the services of Kowalski and Ihekoronye in Raleigh because of red-card ejections during the game last night.
Before heading to Virginia, the Riverhounds return home to face the Rochester Raging Rhinos in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, 7:35 p.m. Wednesday, at Bethel Park Stadium. The Raging Rhinos are the defending U.S. Open Cup champions. This is the first appearance in the tournament for the Riverhounds.
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