Published on March 28, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sporting Club Jacksonville News Release
The Sporting Club Jacksonville men’s team (0-3-1, 1 pt) scored twice within five minutes during the second half of Saturday’s USL Championship match with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (2-2-0, 6 pts), but it wasn’t enough as they fell, 3-2.
Sporting JAX entered this match needing a result following Wednesday’s home loss to Miami FC. It looked like these hopes may be dashed early when Pittsburgh forward Albert Dikwa struck in the seventh minute to open the scoring.
While it was a rocky start, things settled down a bit. Pittsburgh kept pushing the envelope, though, and it opened in the 25th minute. Riverhounds midfielder Sam Bassett scored on a screamer that likely no goalkeeper would have had a chance at stopping. Now, the lead quickly grew to two.
Sporting JAX got off to a sluggish start, but they did generate chances here and there in the first half of play. Many of these came from forward Emil Jääskeläinen, who has been creating pressure in the box all season long. The best of these chances was a header following a cross from defender Harvey Neville, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Entering the break down 2-0 was the last thing Sporting JAX wanted, but it didn’t mean they were going to give up. Something was brewing amongst the group as the second half began with a ‘now or never’ mentality. It quickly went south, though, when a handball in the opposition’s box led to a penalty kick, which Dikwa scored to balloon the lead to three in the 50th minute.
If Sporting JAX’s backs were previously against the wall, they were now through it. At the unlikeliest of times, that spirit of resilience arrived. Less than 10 minutes later, newcomer Jordan Rossiter sent a shot towards the net, which deflected off Mohamed Traore to sneak past the keeper. The deficit was back to two, and it was a pair of defenders who’d gotten it done.
The high spirits inside Highmark Stadium experienced a brief interruption, but Pittsburgh still comfortably led the match-until they didn’t. Just four minutes after the previous goal, Jääskeläinen timed up an incredible run on a skyrocketed ball downfield to fire one past the keeper. Not only did this shrink the deficit to one goal, but it helped the young attacker gain confidence after coming close many times in 2026.
“It felt good; the first goal is always the hardest,” Jääskeläinen said following the match. “Hopefully there’s…