Note: This is the final article of our annual series looking back on the Top 5 moments of the year. The previous entries in the series are linked at the bottom of the page.
Forget the Top 5 of 2025. This year’s No. 1 moment takes the undisputed top spot for 26 years of Riverhounds history.
When late club founder Paul Heasley saw his Hounds step onto a high school field for their first A-League match in 1999, he never would have imagined the scene this Nov. 22 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With nearly 10,000 fans in attendance and a national audience of more than a half million between national broadcasts on CBS, TUDN and SiriusXM FC, the Hounds played for their first-ever league title in this year’s USL Championship Final.
After 120 minutes of high drama, chances for both sides and outstanding defensive play and goalkeeping, it would be kicks from the penalty mark that settled the final. And that led to this moment that will live forever in club lore:
Beto Ydrach held his nerve and drove his penalty kick straight down the middle to cap a perfect 5-for-5 shootout by the Hounds, who lifted the trophy as 5-3 victors in the shootout after a 0-0 draw.
The shootout alone had its share of heart-stopping moments, from Eric Dick‘s save to deny Stefan Lukic — the only missed kick of the shootout — to the bar-down finish on the third kick by Chase Boone, the only player in the Hounds five who had not taken a penalty kick for the club.
And all that came after 120 minutes that included Luke Biasi nearly opening the scoring with a long-range wonder goal that instead hit the bar, while Dick summoned the bravery to make this extra time stop on Lukic, arguably the best save of the match by the MVP of the Final:
The victory was a monumental triumph in the club’s history and, for the first time, enabled the Hounds to claim a part of Pittsburgh’s history as the City of Champions. With attention from national and local media like never before after their win, as well as a celebration on Grant Street in front of the City-County Building on Dec. 4, the Hounds were able to bask in their achievement with a fan base and a city eager to cheer them on.
2026 is looming around the corner already, and the club’s sporting staff is plotting how best to launch the team’s title defense in the coming season. But because of the season-long effort and nerves of steel shown by the Hounds, nothing will be able to take away the moments that made 2025 the greatest year in Riverhounds history.
Previous entries in the Best of 2025:
#5 — Beto conquers NYC
#4 — The King hangs up his crown
#3 — Building for the future
#2 — Beasts of the East
