It’s an unusually early weekend off for the Riverhounds SC pro team this weekend, yet the past couple weeks have been something of a whirlwind of new around the club.
Local, national and international media have been taking note of the big events happening around the club, and here’s a quick whip around some of the items you might have missed recently.
Hounds-CW partnership thriving
While the announcement that Hounds matches in 2023 would be shown locally on Pittsburgh’s CW (WPCW-19) came just prior to the season, the partnership has gotten off to a flying start.
KDKA sports anchor Rich Walsh was on site at last Friday’s home opener doing live sports reports from the field for sister stations KDKA and WPCW. He was even joined in his final segment by Hounds owner Tuffy Shallenberger, as the home season kicked off with a bang.
The local coverage rolled on later with a segment on the Hounds appearing on KDKA’s new afternoon program, “Talk Pittsburgh.” Head coach Bob Lilley, captain Kenardo Forbes and Pittsburgh native Robbie Mertz sat down to talk about the team’s growth and their goals for the 2023 season and beyond.
Jahmali making it big in Mexico
With everyone piling into Highmark Stadium to kick off the home schedule against Miami, one noticeable absence on the field was goalkeeper Jahmali Waite.
Waite was away for the team’s match Friday, but for good reason: He earned his first start in a competitive match (and third overall) for the Jamaican National Team, coming up big for the Reggae Boyz in a 2-2 draw with powerhouse Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The result ended Jamaica’s run in the CONCACAF Nations League, but the team did secure its spot in this summer’s Gold Cup with a runner-up finish in the group.
Bordoy signs out of the Riverhounds Academy
One of the biggest headlines of the month for the Hounds was the signing of Anders Bordoy, a senior at nearby Kiski Area High School and a player who has trained with the Riverhounds Academy for nearly a decade, to a USL Academy contract.
Bordoy became the second Hounds player to ink a deal with the First Team after Wyatt Borso did the same in 2021, making the jump from training with and playing for the Hounds’ top ECNL team to being a part of the professional team and eligible for selection in USL matches.
His story was featured this week in the Tribune-Review, and he also sat down with our in-house crew to talk about his journey in a feature shown on both Hounds social media channels and at halftime of the game against Miami on both ESPN+ and Pittsburgh’s CW.
Last, but not least…
And, of course, there was the aforementioned home opener, in which Burke Fahling ensured the Hounds would get something out of the match with his 85th-minute strike that finished runner-up in USL Championship Goal of the Week voting.
Here is how the match was described in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tribune-Review and on Pittsburgh Soccer Now, but most importantly, here’s one last look at Burke’s big finish.
