Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Full name	Pittsburgh Riverhounds Soccer Club
Nickname(s)	The Hounds [1]
Founded	March 11, 1998;26 years ago (1998-03-11) [2] [3]
Stadium	Highmark Stadium Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [4]
Capacity	5,000 [4]
Owner	Tuffy Shallenberger [5]
Head coach	Bob Lilley
League	USL Championship [6]
2023	1st, Eastern Conference Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
Website	Club website
Home colors Away colors Third colors
Current season

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded and beginning play in 1999, ^{[7] [8]} the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. ^[9] Since 2013, the Riverhounds have played their home games at the 5,000-seat Highmark Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located in Station Square. ^[10] Their current head coach is Bob Lilley. ^[11] Saint Lucian international David Flavius currently holds the club records for most appearances and goals which he set over his eight seasons with the Riverhounds between 1999 and 2006. ^[12] In June 2017, the Riverhounds entered into a developmental partnership with the Ocean City Nor'easters of the Premier Development League, running through the 2018 season. ^[13]

In 2013, the Riverhounds organization announced its intentions to join Major League Soccer by 2023; ^[14] but have never submitted a formal bid during any of the league's rounds of expansion. ^[15] Highmark Stadium initially seated 3,500 spectators, though the stadium is designed to be capable of being expanded to 18,500. ^{[16] [17]}

History

Main article: History of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Colors and badge

Originally, the Riverhounds' colors were predominantly red with smaller amounts of black and white. Pittsburgh-based BD&E designed the original logo. The firm made a strategic decision not to make the club's colors black and gold. The choice meant the Hounds would not align with the region's established professional sports identity but would allow the soccer fans' jerseys to stand out in a Pittsburgh crowd. ^[18] The club adopted new colors, predominantly blue with white and black added, before the start of the 2008 season to honor their academy and training partnership with Everton. The use of blue was also an allusion to the blue collar populace of Pittsburgh. ^{[19] [20]} Beginning in 2014, the Riverhounds began wearing black and gold uniforms more regularly, aligning the club with the colors representative of Pittsburgh's other professional sports teams. Blue and black kits continued to be worn as an alternate third version. ^[21]

On February 16, 2018, the Riverhounds unveiled a new crest as part of its rebranding. ^[22] The new crest incorporates traditional Pittsburgh sports colors with important symbols of the city such as bridges and rivers. The crest was designed by Oregon-based graphic designer Brian Gundell. ^[23]

Sponsorship

Very early Riverhounds kit by Umbro (left) and 2013/2014 secondary kit by Nike (right)

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1999–2000	Umbro	—
2001–2004	Adidas
2005–2006	Select	Toyota
2008–2010		ACES, Inc.
2011–2012	Umbro	#1 Cochran
2013–2014	Nike [24]
2015–2017		AHN
2018–2021	Adidas [25]
2022–2023		AHN (home) 84 Lumber [26] (away)
2024–present	Charly [27]

• Source(s): ^{[28] [29]}

Stadium

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has played at Highmark Stadium, a 5,000 seat soccer-specific stadium in Station Square, since 2013. The stadium is owned and operated by the Riverhounds organization. ^[30]

• 
  Highmark Stadium as seen from Mount Washington
• 
  Highmark Stadium main stand
• 
  Highmark Stadium

Supporters

In November 2007, the first supporters group of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds was formed, The Steel Army. The Steel Army held their first meeting at Piper's Pub in Pittsburgh's South Side. The group started as 5–10 local people interested in supporting the reorganized Riverhounds Soccer Club and in supporting the efforts of growing the sport of soccer in Western Pennsylvania as well. ^[31]

Members are from Pittsburgh and nearby states like Ohio and distant states such as Oregon and Florida. Membership in the Steel Army is also international. Members have joined from Portsmouth, Sunderland, Surrey and Derbyshire in the U.K., Bray in the Republic of Ireland, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. ^[31]

The section of Highmark Stadium where the Steel Army stands and supports the Riverhounds is located at the South Gate end of the stadium. The terrace there holds 1,000 supporters. On August 1, 2015, the supporters' section was renamed the Paul Child Stand in honor of Pittsburgh soccer legend Paul Child. ^[32] The Steel Army had fierce rivalries with United Soccer League clubs Penn FC (Sons of Susquehanna) and the Rochester Rhinos (Oak Street Brigade) before both clubs moved to USL League One. ^{[31] [33]}

• 
  Steel Army during the first match at Highmark Stadium
• 
  Steel Army in 2013
• 
  Steel Army during friendly with Wigan Athletic
• 
  Rob Vincent tifo during 2015 US Open Cup

Players and staff

Current roster

As of March 8, 2024 ^[34]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   USA Eric Dick 2 MF   USA Danny Griffin 3 DF   USA Patrick Hogan 4 DF   COL Dani Rovira 5 DF   USA Sean Suber 7 FW   USA Langston Blackstock 8 MF   CGO Junior Etou 9 FW   USA EJ Johnson 10 MF   USA Aidan O'Toole 11 MF   JAM Kenardo Forbes 12 GK   PAR Gabriel Perrotta 13 DF   USA Luke Biasi

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 MF   USA Robbie Mertz 15 MF   USA Bradley Sample 17 MF   USA Nate Dragisich 19 FW   UGA Edward Kizza 22 DF   USA Jake Lent-Koop 23 DF   USA Michael DeShields 27 FW   SEN Babacar Diene 28 DF   GHA Illal Osumanu 31 GK   USA Jacob Randolph 42 MF   USA Jackson Wälti 44 DF   FRA Pierre Cayet 45 FW   ENG Kazaiah Sterling

Team management

Front Office
Owner	Terrance "Tuffy" Shallenberger
President	Jeff Garner
Coaching Staff
Head Coach	Bob Lilley
Assistant Coach	Rob Vincent
Goalkeeping Coach	Jon Busch
Sporting Director	Dan Visser
Riverhounds Development Academy
Academy Director	Scott Gibson
Academy East Director	James Meara
Director of Goalkeeping	Jon Busch

Last updated: April 3, 2024
Source:

Honors

• USL Pro Soccer League
  • Atlantic Division Champions (1): 2004
• USL Championship
  • Players' Shield (1): 2023
    • Eastern Conference Regular Season Champions (2): 2019 & 2023

Record

Main article: List of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC seasons

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Riverhounds. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC seasons.

Season	League											Position		Playoffs	USOC	Continental		Average attendance	Top goalscorer(s)
	Div	League	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Conf.	Overall						Name	Goals
2019 [35]	2	USLC	34	19	4	11	58	30	+28	68	2.00	1st	2nd	QF	R4	DNQ		3,729 [36]	Neco Brett	14
2020 [35]		USLC	16	11	4	1	39	10	+29	34	2.13	3rd	5th	R1	NH			N/A	Ropapa Mensah	6
2021		USLC	32	17	8	7	52	34	+18	58	1.63	5th	7th	R1	NH			3,132	Russell Cicerone	16
2022		USLC	34	16	9	9	50	38	+12	57	1.32	5th	7th	QF	R3			3,934	Russell Cicerone	13
2023		USLC	34	19	5	10	50	29	+21	67	1.47	1st	1st	R1	QF			5,077	Albert Dikwa	20 ♦

^ 1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^ 2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

See also

• Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC records and results
• History of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
• Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23

References

1. "Hounds Look To Bounce Back vs. Wilmington". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
2. "awarded a Professional A-League Soccer Franchise". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on May 29, 2006. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
3. "Cup Clash Brings D.C.'s Kasper Home To Face Hounds". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
4. "Stadium". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
5. "New owner already looking ahead to 2014 season". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
6. "USL Profile". United Soccer League. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
7. Dulac, Gerry. "Outdoor pro soccer team coming in 1999". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
8. "Club Overview". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
9. "2015 Standings". USL. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
10. "Highmark Stadium". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
11. "Coaching Staff". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
12. "Pittsburgh Riverhounds-Stats". Soccerstats.us. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
13. "Nor'easters form exciting developmental partnership with Pittsburgh Riverhounds of USL". Ocean City Nor'easters. June 14, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
14. Ryan, Megan (July 4, 2015). "Riverhounds still have 'ways to go' before making MLS leap". post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
15. Kriger, Rachael (May 1, 2017). "Does the MLS have a chance in Pittsburgh?". caltimes.org. California University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
16. Kilpatrick, David (November 29, 2012). "A New Stadium in Pittsburgh". New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
17. "A Perfect Pitch to Lure MLS". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
18. Lindeman, Teresa. "Riverhounds scratch, claw for recognition". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
19. Zeise, Paul (July 13, 2007). "Riverhounds kick up ante". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved July 9, 2008.
20. McLeod, Scott (August 10, 2007). "Blues Partner Riverhounds". EvertonFC.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
21. "OFF-SEASON SPECULATION: 2015 KITS". Steel Army. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
22. "Riverhounds SC Unleashes New Era". United Soccer League. February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
23. "Riverhounds SC Unleashed New Era for Club". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
24. "Nike Extends Sponsorship Agreement With Pittsburgh Riverhounds". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
25. "Hounds Announce Partnership with Adidas". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
26. "Show".
27. "Hounds partner with CHARLY as new kit & apparel provider". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
28. "RIVERHOUNDS UNVEIL NEW UNIFORMS". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on May 29, 2006. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
29. Van Kirk, Celeste (May 7, 2006). "2006 Photo". Flickr. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
30. Camerato, Tim (April 12, 2013). "Pittsburgh Riverhounds Find Permanent Home with New Stadium". wesa.fm. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
31. "Steel Army". Steel Army. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
32. Krysinky, John. "VINCENT HAT TRICK HELPS HOUNDS END THREE-GAME SKID". Pittsburgh Soccer Report. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
33. Dykhoff, Johan. "Intervju med Dan Yost, styrelsemedlem i Pittsburgh Riverhounds-supporterklubben Steel Army" (in Swedish). www.svenskafans.com. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
34. "Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC roster". Riverhounds.com. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
35. "Pittsburgh Riverhounds Media Guide". Riverhounds.com. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
36. "2019 USL Attendance". Soccer Stadium Digest.

External links

• Official website
• Steel Army Supporters Group