MATCH INFO:
Birmingham Legion FC vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Sunday, October 23
5:00pm CT Kickoff
Protective Stadium – Birmingham, AL
Get Tickets Today
Watch – My68, ESPN+
The USL Championship Playoffs, presented by Hisense, have arrived. Birmingham Legion’s first ever home playoff game, a showdown between Legion FC and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, takes place on Sunday, October 23 at Protective Stadium. The winner will advance to the conference semifinals.
The Three Sparks ended the regular season in fourth place with a record of 17W-7D-10L, not much different from the ‘Hounds of fifth place with a 16W-9D-9L record. Only one point separates the two, and it looks as though Sunday’s all-or-nothing battle will shape up to be an intense game of two evenly matched sides.
When Birmingham hosted Pittsburgh earlier this season in September, the Magic City FC came out on top in a 2-1 victory, but it was not an easy victory. Like their regular season records, the stats of their last matchup were even aside from the final score. Both sides had the same number of shots (12) and shots on target (4), and Birmingham only narrowly led in possession with 53% to 47%. A late goal from Legion forward Sadik Balarabe is what made the difference. We can expect just as intense of a game this time around.
After a full regular season, the Birmingham Black & Gold have proven themselves to be a worthy offensive threat. Enzo Martinez (15 goals) leads the pack, with Marlon Santos (nine goals), Prosper Kasim (eight goals), and Juan Agudelo (seven goals), completing the package. Its attack brought them 56 goals this season, tied for sixth most in the USL Championship.
Pittsburgh rank twelfth in the League in terms of goals scored, with 50 scored on the season. Russel Cicerone is its main man up top, with 13 goals to his name, and not far behind is Albert Dikwa with 11, who scored the opening goal against Birmingham back in September. Kernardo Forbes (ten assists) and Robbie Mertz (nine assists) are the two Pittsburgh pieces that connect all the dots in its attack, feeding balls to its strikers and creating chances.
The Legion’s last match of the regular season on October 12 saw Birmingham comfortably beat Indy Eleven 3-1 to establish some much-needed momentum going into the post season. In its last six of the regular season, Legion were with two wins, three losses, and one draw. In comparison, the Riverhounds were with one win, three draws, and two losses. Pittsburgh also won their last match 3-1 – a home match against the Oakland Roots. The Legion and Riverhounds come into Sunday’s playoff game with nearly identical form. It’s going to be a great game for any fan of competitive sports.
Fans can buy tickets for tomorrow’s match here. Brynn Cartelli, season 14 winner on The Voice, will be singing the national anthem! Also, students can get discounted tickets by showing their student ID at the box office.
The Birmingham Squadron will be the game! Expect to see them at halftime. Also, don’t miss out on the World Soccer Shop gift cards available at egress.
For this week’s UAB Medicine Injury Report, defender Freddy Kleemann is again the only person on the list, as he is still out due to a torn ACL.
Fans can tune in to My68 or ESPN+ to watch the match and can follow @bhmlegion on twitter for live match updates.
For team updates, news and more, follow @bhmlegion on social media, sign up for Legion FC’s Newsletter, or visit bhmlegion.com. The Legion FC app is also available for download via Apple or Android. For gameday reminders, sync the Legion FC 2022 schedule to your calendar HERE.
