With the 2019 regular season in the books, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC looks to turn the page this weekend when it hosts an Eastern Conference Quarterfinals playoff game at Highmark Stadium this Saturday night.
It’s been a memorable season for the Hounds and their supporters, one that saw the squad go unbeaten with an overall record of 10-0-7 on its home turf en route to capturing homefield advantage in the conference.
With that in mind, let’s look back at some of the most memorable matches from an incredible season at Highmark Stadium.
April 13: Hounds Score Three To Seal Win In Home Opener
The Riverhounds started off the 2019 campaign with four straight road games, losing to Tampa Bay in the season opener before earning a pair of back-to-back draws against the Swope Park Rangers and Bethlehem Steel FC, as well as a win over Louisville City FC to get in the “W” column for the first time.
The Hounds returned to Pittsburgh for their home opener against Hartford Athletic and put on quite a show in front of a packed house, earning a 3-1 win. Steevan Dos Santos got the ball rolling with a brilliant header in the 14th minute while Kevin Kerr and Neco Brett each tallied in the second half to start the home schedule off with a win.
April 27: Hounds Erase Two-Goal Deficit In Stoppage Time
Down 2-0 to Nashville SC in the waning moments of the match, it looked like it would take a miracle for Pittsburgh to come away with a point and avoid its first home loss of the season.
With the game seemingly put away, the Hounds began a comeback for the ages. Christian Volesky scored his first-ever goal with the Hounds in the 88th minute after a well-timed run into the penalty box and a perfectly placed ball from Jordan Dover to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.
Minutes later with stoppage time winding down, the Hounds would complete the improbable comeback courtesy of an unlikely source.
An effort into the penalty box from Ryan James coupled with traffic in front of the net paid off for Pittsburgh, as his cross deflected off Kosuke Kimura and into the net for an own goal that tied things at two with just seconds remaining.
June 22: Hounds Shut Out High-Flying Red Bulls II
The Hounds played host to New York Red Bulls II and its highly potent offensive attack in front of a strong crowd, shutting down New York’s attack and potting three goals of their own in a statement win in front of their fans.
Keeper Kyle Morton stole the show for the Hounds in the first half, making three tough saves on a flurry of shots from New York in the game’s opening 15 minutes to keep things even at zero and give Pittsburgh a chance to counter.
Neco Bett and Steevan Dos Santos teamed up on a brilliant passing display in the 40th minute to put the Hounds up 1-0 at the end of the first half. Dos Santos and Thomas Vancaeyezeele each added insurance goals in the second and Morton stood tall in net to earn the clean sheet and a resounding 3-0 win.
July 4: Hounds Take Down Bethlehem With Fireworks On and Off The Pitch
The Hounds’ 1-0 win over Bethlehem Steel FC on the Fourth of July was memorable for the level of play as well as the amazing visuals fans were treated to during the game.
After lightning and heavy rains caused the game to be delayed for over an hour, the action finally picked back up later in the night. Kenardo Forbes’ marker in the 57th minute catapulted the Hounds to their fourth straight win as the City of Pittsburgh’s fireworks display lit up the skyline of the city in the middle of the game.
The images of the Hounds and Steel playing under a sky lit up with red, white, and blue will go down as one of the more memorable games in Riverhounds history.
July 13: Hounds Honor Inaugural Hall of Fame Class at Halftime Versus Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh eared a point in a 1-1 draw against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on July 13, however the game was just as memorable for the halftime show as much as it was for the game itself.
Pittsburgh honored its first inaugural Hall of Fame class at midfield during halftime of the match. The club’s inaugural Hall of Fame class consists of Paul Heasley, John Kowalski, Dave Kasper, Justin Evans and David Flavius.
On the field, Kevin Kerr’s second-half tally off of a penalty kick helped Pittsburgh earn a point against the then first-place Rowdies.
Aug. 10: Hounds Score Twice In Second Half To Down Swope Park
Christian Volesky’s header in the 7th minute put the Hounds up early, however a penalty kick courtesy of Gedion Zelalem in the 33rd knotted things up at one and set up an important second half for the Hounds.
A deft touch from Neco Brett helped Pittsburgh regain in the lead in the 47th minute before a goal of the year candidate from Anthony Velarde four minutes later put the finishing touches on the win.
Velarde collected a ball at midfield before making a daring solo run into the penalty box, alluding a defender and blasting his effort into the upper-left corner for the eventual game winner.
Sept. 28: Hounds Top Indy 3-0 With Highlight-Reel Strikes
On a night when everything seemed to fall into place for the Riverhounds, the Black and Gold scored three times with each tally seemingly trying to out-do the previous one in terms of quality.
Neco Brett opened the scoring with an incredible strike from 30 yards out, crushing a free kick over a wall of defenders and past an outstretched Evan Newton in goal to put Pittsburgh up 1-0.
Kenardo Forbes scored on a rocket of his own from almost the exact same spot in the 40th minute, blasting a right-footed strike near-side into the upper-left corner to double Pittsburgh’s lead.
Forbes put the finishing touches on an incredible night for Pittsburgh in the 71st minute after some fancy footwork near the Indy goalmouth opened up some space for the strike, which slotted home a low effort from an almost impossible angle to possum the lead to 3-0 and move Pittsburgh into second place overall in the standings.
