Match info
Riverhounds (7-2-6) vs. San Diego Loyal (6-4-5)
Date: Saturday, June 24
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds: Hounds -125 / Draw +250 / San Diego +300 (FanDuel)
TV: Pittsburgh’s CW
Streaming: ESPN+ (national), Pittsburgh’s CW (local)
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvSD and #HOUNDTAHN
PITTSBURGH (June 23, 2023) — The Hounds come back home with their unbeaten streak in league play up to eight matches, but that will be tested by one of the best in the West on Saturday night, when San Diego Loyal SC makes their first visit to Highmark Stadium.
It is the first-ever meeting with the Loyal, the last of the current USL Championship clubs the Hounds have not faced, and with that unfamiliarity comes some uncertainty in the matchup. Apart from a few players, such as one-time Indy midfielder Nick Moon, most of the Loyal roster and first-year San Diego coach Nate Miller have not faced the Hounds or a Bob Lilley-coached team.
San Diego has been good on the ball with an average of 55 percent of the possession in their matches, and they have a pair of potent goal scorers in former USL League One Golden Boot winner Ronaldo Damus and in-form Evan Conway, each of whom have five goals this season. The Loyal also has been battle tested the past three weeks, recording three straight draws in games against defending champ San Antonio, then-West-leading Sacramento, and a second time against San Antonio.
The Hounds will look to generate some offense against a Loyal team in the bottom half of the league with 21 goals allowed, but they will have to do so without the services of leading scorer Albert Dikwa, who returned to individual, non-contact training this week after surgery to repair a broken clavicle. Tola Showunmi has scored two of the Hounds’ three goals since Dikwa’s injury, and he is likely to be in the mix in some fashion again this week, while Kenardo Forbes remains one assist away from his 50th with the Hounds.
But the team’s recent success has been spurred by the defense, which has not allowed a goal to a USL opponent in 364 minutes.
Luis Zamudio picked up his first clean sheet with the Hounds on Saturday filling in for Jahmali Waite, who remains away with the Jamaican National Team. Meanwhile, the team’s rotation of center backs has been effective, and last week’s starting trio of Nate Dossantos, Joe Farrell and Mike DeShields is likely to be shaken up again as the Hounds keep players fresh and sharp with a busy July looming.
At the stadium, the Tailgate Zone will open at 5 p.m. with music, food and drinks. The Tailgate Zone will also be where our Pups Club members and their parents can go to pick up membership packages, and it’s not too late for Hounds fans ages 12 and under to sign up and become part of the Pups Club, sponsored by The Strong National Museum of Play.
Gates open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. kickoff, where the second honoree of our Change Makers series will be honored before the match. Tickets for Saturday’s contest are still available through Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office, and the match will be shown live locally on Pittsburgh’s CW (WPCW-19) and streamed nationally on ESPN+.
Downloadable Game Notes
