PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Louisville City FC battled to a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon at Highmark Stadium as Alex Dixon’s penalty kick for the Hounds leveled after LouCity’s Wilson Harris had given the visitors the lead in a preseason clash between two USL Championship Eastern Conference contenders.

LouCity carried the play early and opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Amadou Dia got in behind the defense on the left and crossed the ball for Harris in the middle. Harris’ initial shot hit the right post, but the ball rebounded straight back to him to finish at the second attempt.

The Hounds began to gain some traction as the first half rolled on, and Dikwa created the Hounds’ goal using his speed down the right flank. Dikwa got around his defender and carries the ball into the penalty area from a wide position before being tripped from behind, earning a penalty kick.

Dixon stepped up and placed a low shot to the right side to beat former Hounds goalkeeper Kyle Morton and even the score. It was Dixon’s second goal of the preseason, both of which have come from the penalty spot.

The Hounds began to create more chances in the second half, as Russell Cicerone pushed a shot from 10 yards just wide left, while a header by Dane Kelly from a corner kick forced a low save by Morton. But a winning goal wasn’t there for either team, as the Hounds drew for the first time this preseason.

“I thought it was a good first 45 minutes,” said LouCity Head Coach Danny Cruz. “We gave up a stupid penalty off a throw in, so I’m unhappy about that, and I felt like we got outworked. Certainly, they created more chances in the second half, so I’m not happy at the end of the day.

“But there are things to improve on – things I know we need to improve on – and we’ll look to make sure we’re adjusting moving forward.”