PREVIEW | Riverhounds vs. Rowdies

The Tampa Bay Rowdies begin their 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup jaunt in Pittsburgh against the Riverhounds. The match, at Highmark Stadium, gets underway at 7 p.m. ET.

Rowdies Notes

The Rowdies should be very well rested for this match, having been off since a 1-0 win over rival Fort Lauderdale Strikers on May 16. Venezuelan forward Robert Hernandez scored his first goal of the season in the win.

Goalkeeper Matt Pickens has kept back-to-back clean sheets in Tampa Bay’s last two matches and has only allowed one goal this season. He debuted in stoppage time against the Jacksonville Armada FC on April 25 and has played 270 minutes this season, allowing just one goal, scored by Carolina on May 2. As a team, the Rowdies have not allowed a goal in 264 minutes.

Maicon Santos and Martin Nunez remain tied as Tampa Bay’s leading scorer, with two goals each this season.

Scouting Pittsburgh

The Rowdies could line up against a couple of familiar faces on the Riverhounds roster in goalkeeper Ryan Thompson and Willie Hunt. Both Thompson and Hunt spent 2014 with Tampa Bay. Thompson has played 720 minutes in goal for Pittsburgh this season, notching a 1.75 goals against average. Hunt has played 692 minutes for the Riverhounds.

Pittsburgh advanced to the third round with a 3-0 home win over the West Virginia Chaos, an amateur team, in the second round. A pair of quick first-half goals by Robert Vincent in the ninth minute and Lebogang Moloto in the 10th put the game out of West Virginia’s reach early. Kevin Kerr added an insurance goal for the Riverhounds in the 87th minute. Vincent leads the Riverhounds this year with six goals in the USL, the United States and Canada’s third-division league.

The winner of the Open Cup Third Round match will face MLS’ D.C. United in the next round.