Match Info
Riverhounds (7-3-2) vs. Detroit City FC (7-2-3)
Date: Saturday, June 4
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Odds: Hounds -110 / Draw +250 / Detroit +240 (FanDuel)
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #PITvDET
PITTSBURGH (June 4, 2020) — The Hounds return to Highmark Stadium for their only home match in a five-game stretch when they host Detroit City FC at 7 p.m. tonight.
With a perfect record at home in 2022 and a run of 14 matches unbeaten at home dating back to last season, the Hounds have recent form trending their way on the Highmark turf. But Detroit comes to town with the best record of any visiting opponent this year, and with both teams capable of moving up to second in the Eastern Conference with a win, the match shapes up to be one of the best of the weekend in the USL Championship.
The teams met earlier in the season at Detroit’s Keyworth Stadium home, and the teams powered through below-freezing wind chills to play out a 1-1 draw on March 26. Albert Dikwa put the Hounds ahead early with a poacher’s strike from a corner kick, but Detroit tied the match in the 73rd minute when Maxi Rodriguez converted a penalty kick.
This will be the first time the teams have met in an official match at Highmark Stadium, though Detroit did make the trip in the 2020 preseason while still playing in the third tier as a member of NISA. That meeting saw limited action for the starters and both teams rolled through plenty of substitutions in a scoreless draw.
Alex Dixon and Russell Cicerone have been the hot players offensively for the Hounds over the past three matches. Each has two goals and two assists to account for all four of the team’s goals in that stretch, and Dixon (47 goals, 29 assists) needs one more helper to become the fifth player in USL Championship history to hit 40 goals and 30 assists in his career. Cicerone, meanwhile, became the 10th player in Hounds history to reach 20 goals with the club after getting credit for the team’s first goal last Saturday in a 2-2 draw at Miami.
Detroit, meanwhile, has regained momentum after the disappointment of being knocked out by Louisville on penalties in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. The team has wins over Loudoun and Atlanta bookending its own draw in Miami, 1-1, and those results moved them ahead of the Hounds in the standings.
Antoine Hoppenot, another longtime USL veteran, has been the offensive catalyst for Detroit with five goals and four assists to lead the team in both categories. They have also been sound at the back end, with goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher allowing just 11 goals while starting all 12 games thus far.
Both teams will be without one player from their usual 18, as Hounds defender Mekeil Williams (Trinidad & Tobago) and Detroit forward Billy Forbes (Turks & Caicos Islands) have been called up to their respective national teams for CONCACAF Nations League matches beginning this weekend.
As usual, the Tailgate Zone at Highmark Stadium will open at 5 p.m. with music from DJ TJ Harris and food from the trucks of Los Gingos Tacos and Uncle Rick’s Smokehouse. Drinks, including the Hounds Amber Lager from Straub, will be available as soon as the Tailgate Zone opens, and gates will open at 6 p.m.
Fans driving to the game are advised of a scheduled PennDOT road closure this weekend on West Carson Street southbound between Commerce Drive (Station Square Garage entrance) and the Smithfield Street Bridge. Northbound traffic will be maintained through the work zone.
Tickets for the match are still available through Ticketmaster or by visiting the Highmark Stadium Box Office. The game will be shown on 22 The Point and streamed via ESPN+.