Another Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC season has begun. The team took the pitch for their 25th anniversary season with new kits, a refreshed grandstand, new faces — and back-to-back losses to overcome.
"Nothing's gonna come easy for us with this early schedule," head coach Bob Lilley told members of the media after the Hounds fell 0-2 to Orange County SC during their sellout home opener on March 16. "But it's also going to season us, it's gonna push us into better form quicker as long as we stay after it," he added.
The team next heads to division rival Louisville, the only USL Championship team with a longer playoff streak than the Hounds. Following that is a string of duels with perennial contenders Tampa Bay; newcomers Rhode Island, who lured away the Hounds' Golden Boot winner Albert Dikwa this offseason; last year's league champion Phoenix; and a home game versus Detroit, who shattered the Hounds' playoff dreams in 2023.
Lilley said he remains optimistic. "I see more positives that came out of this game than negatives for sure," he said. "We'll turn the corner hopefully sooner rather than later."
Lilley noted that, with lots of new personnel, including three new goalkeepers, "some guys are still learning the system." Other bumps in the road with new signings have included a groin injury to midfielder Bradley Sample and visa delays with English striker Kazaiah Sterling.
The 5,125 fans who packed Highmark Stadium for the Hounds' first home stand seemed undaunted by the team's early hiccups — the line to buy merch before kickoff snaked around a hallway and back into the stadium's pub. A particularly popular item was the team's new black primary jersey with the Riverhounds Academy alum and Duquesne breakout Nate Dragisich's No. 17 on the back.
That jersey is part of the team's new contract with Mexico-based apparel company Charly, which is making a big push into the U.S. soccer market. The Riverhounds' director of communications Matt Grubba told Pittsburgh City Paper that the multi-year deal gives the team greater flexibility than its previous deal with Adidas.
"While we were happy with our deal with Adidas, we were looking for the ability to do more customization [and] to do more things in terms of our own distribution," Grubba says, which includes "getting the jerseys and merchandise available in more local outlets."
In a city that loves to celebrate itself, the black jerseys, emblazoned with a stylized golden suspension bridge and water patterns with a “412” on the back collar, already seem to be going over well. They also, importantly, looked great on the pitch and made for an attractive contrast with Orange County SC's new orange jerseys.
"They're not like anything we've ever had before," Grubba says of the Charly kits. "I think they're pretty unique, just across the league."
Beyond the new look for the team, Highmark Stadium has also gotten some aesthetic upgrades. Gone are the old blue seats spelling out "HOUNDS" — the team just finished a seating upgrade featuring yellow HOUNDS lettering, evidenced by a row of taped-offed seats below the press box and some tan lines where gold paint got beyond the drop cloth.
The stadium also boasts new multicolor LED lights, which the team deployed to fans' delight ahead of the second half. The colorful spotlights and club-like effects were complemented by light-up boomwhackers the Hounds gave out to fans headed into the stadium. Grubba says fans can expect other goodies at upcoming home games, including, on June 1, a Kenardo Forbes bobblehead. There will also be a '90s celebrity night to throw it back to the team's founding days.
As the Hounds turn 25, they boast veterans like Forbes, fresh talent (including goalkeeper Eric Dick, who Lilley said was "fantastic" during the Hounds' season-opening loss in New Mexico), airtime on KDKA+ and Sportnet Pittsburgh, and new two-game broadcast deals with CBS Sports Network and ESPN2.
"For the team to still be continuously operating … in a pretty tough market, with the Steelers and Penguins and Pirates to compete with, just says a lot for the soccer fanbase in Pittsburgh and sort of the resiliency of the team," Grubba says.
What the team needs now is a win.
There were the building blocks of one during the Hounds' home opener. Forbes, who has relinquished team captaincy to midfielder Danny Griffin as he transitions into a player-coach role, showed his usual prowess, and Dragisich had a stoppage-time header on goal that went just wide.
It wasn't enough to overcome a third-minute goal from Orange County's Bryan Iloski and another from Cameron Dunbar in the 76th minute — the team's only two shots on goal were both successful. Things got chippy as the game wore on, with OCSC drawing four yellow cards and Pittsburgh drawing two. Lilley lamented the over-aggressive shooting, saying some players were "swinging for the fences on low-percentage balls."
But faithful Hounds fans still had 12 attempts, nine corner kicks, several daring saves, lots of canny passing, and last year's Players' Shield to cheer for. Fans were loud, lines were long, and Hounds supporters seemed hopeful the team could continue its winning ways with a refreshed roster.
This tough early stretch will be an important indicator of whether the road back to victory will be more Bigelow Blvd. or Canton Ave.
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Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will play Louisville City away on Sat., March 23 on Sportsnet Pittsburgh. They return home to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Sat., April 6.
