Match info
Riverhounds (10-3-8) vs. Indy Eleven (5-7-7)
Date: Wednesday, July 26
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds: Hounds -185 / Draw +260 / Indianapolis +500 (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: #PITvIND and #HOUNDTAHN
PITTSBURGH (July 25, 2023) — The Hounds were left with no time to dwell on a setback, as the team comes off its first league loss in three months and faces a two-match week that begins with a Wednesday night visit from Indy Eleven at Highmark Stadium.
Last Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Charleston didn’t knock the Hounds from the top spot in the East, but it made their hold on first more tenuous to begin a critical four-match homestand to end the “Summer of Soccer.” Indy, on the other hand, finds itself on the wrong side of the playoff line by the slimmest of margins, but the Eleven has more than enough talent to be a threat, which the Hounds learned in a 1-1 draw April 29 in Indianapolis.
The Hounds have health concerns along the back line, where Mike DeShields has been ruled out after leaving the loss at Charleston with a concussion. Illal Osumanu and Nate Dossantos also continue on the road back to health with ankle injuries, though Dossantos is further along after rejoining training with the team Monday. That will press certain players into additional action, and coach Bob Lilley might have some limitations to the usual amount of rotation he would normally employ during a stretch with three games in eight days.
What the team will be hunting for is more offense after having scored multiple goals just once in five July matches, and the Hounds hope to create trouble for Indy by getting more players forward into the box than merely Albert Dikwa and taking some of the scoring burden off the shoulders of the league’s co-leader in goals.
Indy has had a up-and-down season thus far, and recent weeks have seen the team draw three of their past four matches. All of those results were in Indiana, but they were nonetheless impressive, taking points off three league leaders in San Diego, Charleston and Tampa Bay. Aodhan Quinn leads the Eleven with six goals on the season, and the veteran is surrounded by other experienced USL players such as Sebastián Guenzatti and Cam Lindley, to name just a few.
The all-time series between the teams is littered with tight matches, and only two of 12 meetings between the Hounds and Indy have been settled by multiple goals. If the Hounds are able to find more than one goal Wednesday, it will make history, as the team is just two away from scoring 1,000 goals in its 24 years of play.
Families are invited out to enjoy the midweek contest, which will feature Mascot Mania as part of the Family Fiesta series. More than 20 mascots from teams and businesses around the region are expected to be in attendance, so keep an eye out for them in the Tailgate Zone and in the kids’ area on the East End of the stadium.
For the older crowd, the Tailgate Zone will feature weekday Happy Hour specials from 5 p.m. until kickoff. I.C. Light cans will be just $5, and Auntie Anne’s pretzel products will be $3. The first 1,000 fans, 12 years old and under, who make their way into the stadium when gates open at 6 p.m. will also be able to grab special Riverhounds rally towels, sponsored by King Orthodontics. After the game, fans can stick around for the usual autograph session, as well as to watch the United States vs. Netherlands match in the Women’s World Cup starting at 9 p.m.
Wednesday’s game also will include a somber note, as the Hounds pay tribute to their former coach and general manager, Gene Klein, who died Monday after a battle with cancer. A moment of silence will be held prior to the match in remembrance of Klein, and the Hounds players will be wearing armbands in honor of the Hall of Famer.
Tickets for the match are still available through Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office. Those who can’t make it will be able to catch the action live on Pittsburgh’s CW, and streaming is available via ESPN+ nationally and on the KDKA/CW website in the Pittsburgh market.
Downloadable Game Notes
