Match info
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
#1 Riverhounds (19-5-10) vs. #8 Detroit City FC (11-15-8)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 21
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds (90-minute result): Hounds -240 / Draw +310 / Detroit +600 (FanDuel)
TV: KDKA+
Streaming: ESPN+ (national), KDKA+ (local)
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvDET, #HOUNDTAHN and #HuntAsOne
PITTSBURGH (Oct. 20, 2023) — The Hounds have put themselves in the best possible position to win the USL Championship for the first time after clinching home field throughout the postseason, and the march through the USL Playoffs begins Saturday night when the East’s No. 8 seed, Detroit City FC, comes to Highmark Stadium for a 7 p.m. Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
It will be the first time since 2019 — also the last time the Hounds finished atop the East — that the Hounds begin the playoffs on home turf. That year’s playoffs began with the Hounds running riot to a record-setting 7-0 win over Birmingham, but a similar result against a stout, defensive Detroit side seems highly improbable.
The Hounds and Detroit battled to a scoreless draw last week on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Michigan, while the Hounds took a 2-0 victory on July 15 in the previous meeting in Pittsburgh. Those scorelines fit the bill for how Detroit has played their entire season; Le Rouge recorded 11 shutouts in the regular season, only four behind the Hounds’ league-leading 15, but they also were shut out 17 times — exactly half of their matches.
The Hounds will have a full-strength squad to pull from for the playoffs. Expect a return to the starting lineup for goalkeeper Jahmali Waite, back from making his seventh appearance for Jamaica, as well as captain Kenardo Forbes and center back Nate Dossantos, who both came off the bench in a partially rotated lineup last week.
Albert Dikwa, now officially the USL Championship Golden Boot winner, will look to add to his haul of 21 goals in all competitions, which has his two away from tying the 20-year-old single-season club record set by Thiago Martins in 2003. Dikwa didn’t find the net this season against Detroit — Edward Kizza and Burke Fahling did that in the 2-0 win — but the Cameroonian striker did score in both matches against Detroit a season ago.
The biggest problems Detroit has caused the Hounds in two seasons’ worth of meetings have come through Maxi Rodriguez. The Texan midfielder scored twice against the Hounds in 2022 — once from the penalty spot — and he authored many of Detroit’s most dangerous chances last weekend serving in free kicks and 10 corner kicks that had to be turned away by the Hounds’ defense.
The venue should work in the Hounds’s favor. They have won six consecutive home matches since their only home loss of the season on July 26 against Indy Eleven, while Detroit, on the other hand, has won just four times away from home this season. Fans will make the match another White Out at Highmark Stadium, and a sellout crowd is expected with parking already sold out in the stadium’s West Lot. Limited tickets are still available as of Friday afternoon through Ticketmaster or at the Highmark Stadium Box Office.
As the first home match in October, Highmark Stadium will feature some new concessions items for the playoffs, including pizza logs at the Nacho Junction stand and the “Playoff Burger” with pulled pork, cheddar and BBQ sauce off the grill at the East End. With cooler weather moving through, hot chocolate will be available at the pub and in the kids’ zone.
The match will be shown live on the local home of the Hounds, KDKA+, and fans can catch the Hounds and the entirety of the USL Championship Playoffs streaming on ESPN+.
Downloadable Game Notes
