Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC claimed the first league title in the club’s 26-year history with a 5-3 victory in a penalty shootout against FC Tulsa after the sides had played to a scoreless draw through 120 minutes on Saturday afternoon before a sellout crowd of 9,507 fans at ONEOK Field.

Hounds goalkeeper Eric Dick earned Prinx Final MVP honors after posting a five-save shutout and recording a key save in the second round of the shootout as the Hounds became the first team to lift the USL Championship trophy without conceding a goal in the postseason.

Here are three things we took away from the contests.

1. Eric Dick, Pittsburgh’s back line bent but refused to break

Having gone 512 minutes without conceding a goal entering Saturday’s Final, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC was focused on maintaining their streak, which would automatically keep the side in with a shot of the title whether a goal arrived or not. The Hounds managed to do so through a commanding performance by goalkeeper Eric Dick, who for a second consecutive weekend delivered a top-class five-save shutout for the side, which also sold out regularly defensively to deny other opportunities.

Dick made two outstanding stops in regulation and extra time, with his reflex stop on Tulsa’s Kalil ElMedkhar five minutes before halftime and spreadeagle denial of Stefan Lukić seven minutes into extra time the defining moments of the game. It wasn’t absolutely perfect – a bobbled cross in the second half went unpunished as Tulsa’s Ian looped his finish over the crossbar, but as the Scissortails rained in their season high with 39 crosses, Dick claimed eight high balls, commanding his penalty area in tremendous fashion.

“Big saves again tonight,” said Hounds interim Head Coach Rob Vincent. “We’ve needed him all the way through again, just coming and being big on crosses. He was massive tonight. Everybody was, everybody dug in, everybody put the shift in. But yeah, Eric was fantastic. I think they put us under a little bit more pressure as the game wore on, and definitely in extra time. And yeah, he came up big, because there’s the MVP.”

While Dick claimed MVP honors, his back line helped neutralize a Tulsa attack that looked the more threatening overall. Scissortails star forward Taylor Calheira was limited to only two shots in the contest, and both of those were closed down and blocked, while the Hounds blocked eight of Tulsa’s 17 shots overall to help form a barrier before Dick’s goal.

“I think it's a full team effort,” said Dick “I give them all the credit. I mean, Sean Suber, he’s gotten credit this year, I mean, he’s had an incredible year, and there are other defenders all along the back line, just as good of years, and midfield, and Augie [Williams] up top, pressuring from the top. It’s an everyone effort, and that’s just, I think, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, to the core.”

2. Hounds Keep Their Cool from the Penalty Spot

Once the game entered the penalty shootout, the Hounds’ prior experience this postseason facing the challenge of succeeding from the spot was evident. The side became the first team to win three shootouts in a postseason in USL Championship history, and on Saturday were perfect from the spot again as Tulsa goalkeeper Tyler Deric regularly went the right way but was simply beaten by the pace and precision the visitors showed in converting.

It was four of the familiar faces, too, in the same order except for Chase Boone stepping in at the No. 3 slot for the substituted Augustine Williams, who by the end of a magnificent 105-minute shift was replaced by Bertin Jacquesson. All five found the net, with Beto Ydrach’s fifth-round finish proving decisive for the second time this postseason.

“There’s just a real togetherness about them,” said Vincent, now the youngest Head Coach to lead a side to a USL Championship title. “I think in those penalty shootouts, we’ve always just said, ‘Just stay calm, go through your process. We're all in this together, right? And if somebody misses, we got your back. But yeah, just do your thing.’ Fortunately, we’ve had a lot of cool heads. And again, Eric’s come up big tonight. So yeah, glad we could make it through.”

While two years ago an early pair of misses gave way to an epic comeback by Phoenix Rising FC against the Charleston Battery from the spot, when Dick denied Lukić to close the second round, the sense was the Hounds had one hand on the trophy. That proved accurate as Boone, making his first appearance since October 4, Suber and Ydrach all converted, sending the traveling Steel Army into wild celebrations.

3. Tulsa Ends the Postseason Unblemished in Defense and Unbowed

For FC Tulsa, the club’s first trip to a Final in its 11-season history will feel like a missed opportunity. After an even first half when it came to chances, the Scissortails had far the better of the opportunities over the remaining 75 minutes as they consistently turned the screws to the Pittsburgh defense, only for the late-game magic that has defined this season to fail to materialize.

Introduced to a massive roar from the home fans midway through the second half, Lukić’s denied opportunity in extra time and saved penalty kick were two key moments as Tulsa ended the game with a 1.85xG to 0.5xG advantage over their hosts, only for chances to go begging.

“Just disappointed, more so with the result,” said Tulsa Head Coach Luke Spencer. “I thought our performance was pretty good. Credit to Pittsburgh. They were tough again. They got another shutout, and Dick put on a really good performance, and so they earned it. They deserved it. For us, it’s just disappointing. I’m proud of the group that we have. Very proud of the season that we had. It’s just disappointing to have this result be the end of it.”

It was down note for the Scissortails’ campaign to end on – and Pittsburgh Head Coach Rob Vincent gave credit to the hosts for the way they were able to keep his side under pressure – but the leaps and bounds the club has made this year can’t be wiped away by one result. In another day, it would have been Tulsa lifting the trophy as the first team to go through a postseason without conceding – a feat that remains remarkable nonetheless.

The Scissortails have now set a marker for what this club wants to be, and can build on that next year.

“I think the standard is that they're going to have a team that gives everything, leaves everything out there, is relentless, and follows the process that we follow this season,” said Spencer. “You know, I don’t believe in being result-oriented and setting goals, we have to be back here, because what we did this season was take it one game at a time, and that worked out pretty well for us, so that’s what we'll do next season as well.”