Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC began its initial offseason roster plans last week, picking up the contract options of eight returning players from the 2019 squad that finished with a No. 1 seed in the USL Championship Eastern Conference.
Just last year, the Hounds returned 10 squad members after the 2018 campaign and went on to have arguably their best season in club history in 2019. Now they are looking to repeat that success in 2020 after re-signing a number of key players.
Finally, a look at the returning forwards for the Black and Gold.
The Returners: Defenders
The Returners: Midfielders
The Cape Verde native was a force to be reckoned with all over the pitch for the Riverhounds in 2019, racking up 10 goals and adding four assists in 33 appearances for the Black and Gold.
Steevan Dos Santos’ 10 goals were second most on the team behind only Neco Brett in 2019, as was his total of 29 shots on target. Dos Santos was prolific in his first season with the Riverhounds since first joining the squad after two years with Ottawa Fury FC, and will look to build off that momentum in 2020.
He added an assist on a Neco Brett goal in Pittsburgh’s 7-0 win over Birmingham Legion FC in the opening round of the 2019 postseason to record his first-ever playoff point with the Hounds as well.
Although Mark Forrest was used sparingly during the 2019 campaign, the rookie still managed to make an impact when the team needed it most, scoring the go-ahead goal late in Pittsburgh’s regular season finale against Birmingham that sealed the win and clinched the No. 1 seed in the playoffs for the Hounds.
The Douglassville, Pennsylvania native completed over 70 percent of his passes during the year, making one start and eight total appearances over the course of the season.
