PITTSBURGH (January 26, 2018) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have added three players to their 2018 roster, signing midfielder Ben Fitzpatrick and goalkeepers Mike Kirk and Kyle Morton after the trio participated in the club’s invite combine this offseason.
All three have signed one-year deals with a club option for the 2019 season, pending USL and USSF approval.
As well as the signings of Fitzpatrick, Kirk and Morton, head coach Bob Lilley said he will bring several other players from the combine to training camp, set to kick off on Feb. 5.
“The group we signed from our combine were solid throughout,” Lilley said. “We’re excited and made it a point to get them on board right away. It will also be interesting to have a number of trialists from our combine invited into preseason to show what they can do against our contracted guys.”
Fitzpatrick, 23, rejoins the club after making nine appearances (four starts) for the Black and Gold as a rookie in 2017. The Hilliard, Ohio native made his professional debut at the Charlotte Independence on April 15. Prior to joining the Hounds, Fitzpatrick played collegiately for Ohio State University and Urbana University and also had a stint with PDL side Michigan Bucks.
“Ben was consistently dangerous throughout the combine and showed a creative flair that we’re looking to incorporate into our team,” Lilley said.
Kirk, 23, spent the past season with the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros in the USL’s Western Conference. A native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, he played collegiately at La Salle University from 2012-16.
Signing with Rochester prior to the 2017 season, Morton, 23, returns under Lilley and reunites with teammate Dan Lynd in goal. Also a Pennsylvania native (West Chester), Morton spent five seasons at James Madison University – he earned a medical redshirt during his sophomore season – where he was an All-Colonial Athletic Association standout.
“Mike and Kyle really stood out to us among the group of four keepers during the combine,” Lilley said. “With Dan, this is a very strong trio that are all young and have bright futures. We certainly expect to have heavy competition in training camp.”
Full details on the roster for 2018 can be found below.
Roster breakdown for 2018 season
Forwards (2): Kay Banjo, Romeo Parkes
Midfielders (4): Ben Fitzpatrick, Kenardo Forbes, Christiano François, Kevin Kerr
Defenders (4): Tobi Adewole, Jordan Dover, Joe Greenspan, Raymond Lee
Goalkeepers (3): Mike Kirk, Dan Lynd, Kyle Morton
