The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have taken four points from their past three outings, and on Saturday recorded their first shutout of the season, to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture ahead of Wednesday night’s USL Game of the Week on ESPN3 against Toronto FC II at Highmark Stadium.

Over that span, the center back duo of Joe Greenspan and Jamal Jack has begun to coalesce into a solid partnership, with the two now sitting 1-2 in clearances for the side this season, and Greenspan in particular winning both regular and aerial duels at an impressive clip.

Greenspan arrived in April on loan from Major League Soccer’s Minnesota United FC, but was already familiar with Riverhounds Head Coach Dave Brandt’s methods after competing for him collegiately at Navy. At 6-foot-6, the 24-year-old has a clear advantage over opponents when it comes to winning balls in the air, but what he does in possession of the ball is where he can take the next step as a player.

With the forward threat of Corey Hertzog leading the line for the Hounds this season, looking to send passes long to try and utilize his pace is always tempting. So far, though, Greenspan hasn’t been able to connect on those efforts consistently enough to seem to make them worthwhile. His long passes completed percentage is at just 39 percent, and drags down his overall completion percentage of 71.6 percent.

Pittsburgh has three technically strong midfielders that could be utilized more, especially against a Toronto side that as of late has proven difficult to break down. Marshall Hollingsworth (77.6 percent), Victor Souto (75.6 percent) and Abuchi Obinwa (75 percent) are all completing passes at a higher percentage in the attacking half than Greenspan and Jack are overall. A passing chart more like the one Louisville’s Sean Totsch and Tarek Morad put together against Toronto on Saturday would likely make more sense for the Hounds on Wednesday, and potentially long-term. 

TORONTO COMING UP SHORT

Toronto FC II has taken three points from its past three games, all scoreless draws, but the team’s lack of attacking firepower has been a concern throughout the season so far. If the side is to take its first win in its history against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, the numbers seem to indicate a tougher mentality in the final third is going to be required.

The Reds have averaged a respectable 47 percent possession over their first six games this season, and are averaging just less than 400 passes per game at a 75 percent success rate. TFC II’s shot conversion rate of only 5.4 percent is a major concern, though, as the side hasn’t been able to convert even when it’s been able to get into good positions, putting only 32 percent of its total shots on goal. Even then, the forward duo of Shaan Hundal and Jordan Hamilton combined for only 16 passes against City, as a familiar pattern when it came to ball retention was evident again.

As a team, Toronto has won 47.3 percent of its duels and 45.7 percent of its aerial duels so far this season. If you get into the individual numbers for the club’s attack, though, it’s not pretty reading.

Of the quartet above, only Ryan Telfer comes out looking as though he’s doing a creditable job helping lead the line. For players like Hamilton and Spencer, it’s a bit surprising they’re not being able to hold possession and link up play.

Certainly, there are other elements to factor in here, particularly the service being provided. Despite that, those numbers will likely need to see an uptick if Toronto is to start to threaten in attack more consistently.