PITTSBURGH (January 8, 2021) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has signed veteran forward Alex Dixon to a one-year contract with a club option for the 2022 season, pending USL Championship and USSF approval.
Dixon, 30, provides another attacking option for the Hounds capable of playing on the wing or as part of a strike partnership up top, and he reunites with Hounds head coach Bob Lilley, who coached Dixon for two years with the Rochester Rhinos. “Alex is a dynamic player who has a good understanding of how to get into dangerous spaces,” Lilley said. “He can play multiple positions, can score goals, and will help provide leadership in the locker room. We are excited to have him in Pittsburgh for the 2021 season.” A longtime presence in USL, Dixon has only become more seasoned as a goal scorer at each stop in his career.
The 5-foot-8 forward spent the past two seasons with Hartford Athletic, scoring 11 goals in 42 appearances after becoming one of the first players to sign with the expansion club. In total, Dixon has 37 league goals across six USL seasons with Rochester (2014-15), Oklahoma City (2017-18), and Hartford (2019-20), while also scoring twice in 2016 for the Jacksonville Armada of the NASL.
A Texas native, Dixon first broke into the pro ranks by signing as a homegrown player in 2011 with MLS’ Houston Dynamo after a three-year college career at North Carolina. He appeared in 13 matches for the MLS side and three more on a loan spell in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, but his first regular action as a pro came under Lilley with 22 USL appearances for Rochester in 2014.
Dixon was a key contributor in the Rhinos’ 2015 USL Championship-winning season, appearing in 24 regular-season and all three playoff matches that year. He has a history of scoring crucial goals at Highmark Stadium. He netted the only goal in a 1-0 Rhinos victory in 2014, and he struck again with the deciding goal in a 2-1 win for the visitors the next season.
Dixon’s addition brings the total number of Hounds players under contract for 2021 to eight, as the team builds in pursuit of a fourth consecutive postseason appearance.
Players currently under contract:
Forwards – Russell Cicerone, Albert Dikwa, Alex Dixon
Midfielders – Danny Griffin, Kenardo Forbes, Anthony Velarde
Defenders – Jordan Dover
Goalkeepers – Danny Vitiello
