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The Riverhounds return to Highmark Stadium after recording their first win of the season in dramatic fashion on the road at Charleston this past Saturday, as Corey Hertzog placed a diving header into the net in extra time to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 win. Off a short week, the Hounds (1-1-1) now turn their focus to Saint Louis FC (2-0-1) for a match at 7 p.m. this Wednesday.

Depth at the midfield

In the 13th minute against Charleston this past weekend, midfielder Ben Swanson sustained an ankle injury that forced him out of the game. Abuchi Obinwa subbed in for Swanson, making his first career Hounds appearance and logging 77 minutes in the process. As Swanson may miss extended time, Obinwa could be a key piece in the midfield moving forward.

Counterattack emerging

Head coach Dave Brandt’s counterattack scheme is starting to hit its stride. This offensive approach culminated on Hertzog’s game-winning tally against Charleston on April 8. Pittsburgh will continue to rely on counterattack opportunities, such as this one, in its match against Saint Louis FC.

Angulo returns to Highmark

Saint Louis FC forward José Angulo returns to Pittsburgh on Wednesday after spending the 2013-14 seasons with the club. Angulo scored the first-ever goal at Highmark Stadium – only a day removed (April 13, 2013) from the date of tonight’s match – and is tied for fourth all-time in team history with 23 career goals in 47 appearances. 

Pittsburgh has five players who have played every minute thus far of the 2017 campaign. Jamal Jack, Rich Balchan, Victor Souto, Kevin Kerr and Hertzog have each started all three matches and recorded 270 minutes. Look for these five to lead the Hounds on the field this Wednesday.

After recording only three shots at halftime, the Hounds fired up their offensive attack and launched 10 shots in the second half against Charleston. For Pittsburgh to keep pace on Wednesday, it will need to place consistent pressure on the Saint Louis defense, which has tallied one clean sheet in three games this year.

After completing a two-game home stint to start the season, the Riverhounds (0-1-1) hit the road for the first time this campaign, battling the Charleston Battery (2-0-0) at 7 p.m. this Saturday, April 8, at MUSC Health Stadium. Charleston currently sits second in the USL Eastern Conference standings with six points.

Controlling the middle

Columbus Crew loanee Ben Swanson and rookie Victor Souto played well in the midfield, starting their first game together against FC Cincinnati this past weekend. Both players recorded four tackles against Cincinnati, and Souto leads the Hounds with 11 tackles for the season. The more Swanson and Souto can control the ball in the middle of the field, the more opportunities will open up for forwards Corey Hertzog and Kevin Kerr on the frontline.

Playing Banjo

In the first two games this season, Kay Banjo has entered the game as a sub in the second half to bolster the Hounds attack. The rookie forward registered his first shot against FC Cincinnati this past weekend and had his playing time increase from 13 to 27 minutes. As Banjo becomes more comfortable on the frontline, he will see additional scoring opportunities – a trend that could continue against Charleston.

Filling the void

After starting the first two matches of the season, Gale Agbossoumonde will be absent from the Hounds’ lineup on Saturday, as he was issued a red card against FC Cincinnati on April 1. The Hounds may turn to wingback Rich Balchan, who slid inside to Agbossoumonde’s position after the red card, to help solidify the center of their backline. Agbossoumonde has two tackles and four clearances in 98 minutes this season.

Entrenched in the middle of the Pittsburgh defense, Jamal Jack leads the team with nine clearances this year. Last time out against FC Cincinnati, Jack cleared seven balls from the Hounds’ goal. The Black and Gold will further rely on Jack against Charleston this weekend, especially in Agbossoumonde’s absence.

Scoring a goal in two straight games to start the season, Forrest Lasso paces the Battery in the category. Despite playing on Charleston’s backline, he has found opportune times to contribute on the attack. In his last time out against Charlotte, Lasso was on the receiving end of a free kick from about 35 yards out. The 6-foot-5-inch defender went up for the ball inside of the 18-yard box and headed it past the goalkeeper. The Hounds must not lose track of Lasso in free and corner kick situations.

The shirt came off.

Dave Brandt was just weeks into his coaching tenure with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, but he was already making himself comfortable.

Wanting his team to push through a fitness session in the summer heat, Brandt shouted orders and ran alongside his players, throwing his shirt aside in the process.

“Everyone was just like, ‘who is this guy?’” said midfielder Nick Thompson. “I think it just embodies him well. He’s intense and he wants a lot from the guys, but he also cares about the guys he coaches.”

Unlike most players at the time, Thompson was already familiar with Brandt’s expectations, having played for him at Messiah College and coached under him at the United States Naval Academy.

“It’s been great to be back in his system and his way of coaching and teaching,” Thompson said. “I think he’s teaching a lot of good life lessons for guys and it’s good to always be growing and pushing yourself in that way, so it’s always good to be around him.”

Brandt first played at Messiah from 1981-84 before accepting an assistant coaching position at his alma mater in 1988. Nine years later, he grasped the head-coaching reigns of the team and steered it to national prominence.

In their third season under Brandt’s direction, the Falcons won their first NCAA Division III Championship. This greatness was sustained throughout Brandt’s 12-year coaching stint with Messiah, as the program won a grand total of six national titles.

“The process at Messiah was turning a quite good program into a great one,” Brandt said. “We really kicked the door in and made it a dynasty.”

Brandt won his sixth and final championship at Messiah in 2008. The following year, he would accept the head coaching position at Navy, where he would reside for seven seasons until landing with the Hounds almost two months into their 2016 campaign.

When Brandt arrived in Pittsburgh, he reached out to a former player who could help establish his system – a player who was part of his 2008 national championship team and volunteered as an assistant coach under him with the Midshipmen.

Thompson received a call from Brandt while coaching at Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts and was asked to come play in Pittsburgh. Soon after the phone call, the two were reunited with the Black and Gold.

“He really wants to be successful,” Thompson said. “He has this hunger and drive in him that’s like ‘I need to win. I need to be successful. I’ll do whatever it takes.’”

Rebuilding a Program

In the midst of freezing January temperatures, the Hounds kicked off their 2017 training camp at Highmark Stadium.

Pittsburgh was alone in its efforts, as no other professional team had yet commenced its training sessions for the upcoming season.

“They committed to that,” Brandt said. “It’s been a consistent effort. They’re grinding pretty well.”

Despite missing the postseason, Pittsburgh improved under Brandt throughout its 2016 campaign and finished with a 3-3-3 record in its final nine games. Now as the coach prepares for his first-full season with the Hounds, he finds himself in familiar territory.

“At Navy, it was the process of inheriting a struggling D-I program and turning it into a very good one,” Brandt said. “I think it’s the experience of having done that.”

When he first began his stint at Navy in 2009, Brandt led the team to four more victories than its previous season. The soccer program steadily improved, eventually winning 27 matches from 2013-14, tying the highest two-year win total in school history.

Similar to when he acquired the Navy coaching position, the Hounds were sputtering and held a 1-4-3 record at the time he was introduced as the head coach. Just as he did at the collegiate level, Brandt now takes another attempt at rebuilding a program.

Brandt said he does not believe there are many differences from the collegiate to the professional game and players at both levels tend to function in the same ways.

“In many ways he’s the same coach,” said assistant coach Dan Visser. “He’s going to demand a lot from guys and hold guys to really high standards.”

Like Thompson, Visser originally played for Brandt at Messiah before following him to Navy as an assistant coach. Now a member of the Hounds staff, Visser will help Brandt make his coaching imprint on the team.

When Brandt took the head coaching position in Pittsburgh, he implemented a system that features an aggressive, attacking approach. One forward in particular welcomed this new philosophy.

Corey Hertzog’s 2016 season started relatively slow, as he scored two goals in the first eight games. Like the rest of the team, Hertzog would benefit from Brandt’s ideas.

“When Brandt came in it was more of my style of play,” Hertzog said. “I think that benefited both of us very quickly.”

With this new style of play, Hertzog broke out of his early season slump. The forward went on to lead the team with 13 goals for the season, scoring 11 times in Brandt’s offensive attack.

“We have the same attitude,” Hertzog said. “We just want to win. And we’ll do anything possible for that to happen.”

Pushing the Wheel

Brandt established three goals for his team the first night they met this season – to win the USL title, for each player to grow personally as men and for the 2017 campaign to be the most life-impacting season of their careers.

For these things to happen, the head coach told his players they need to be completely open to new ideas, work harder than ever before, be held to higher standards, become an “elite mentality” and be willing to be challenged to become better men.

“A better man makes a better Riverhound,” Brandt said.

This season, Brandt wants to continue to build cohesiveness throughout the team, which is something he has been striving toward since he accepted the position last year. Acquiring players who act as one group is at the forefront of his focus.

This process has led to a large roster turnover this past offseason, as less than half of the current players returned from the 2016 season.

“I think the guys who are here from last year clearly want something more and are clearly committed to that,” Brandt said. “They have been surrounded now by a different group they need to lead.”

An analogy Brandt uses to convey the concept of one group working toward its goals involves a large flywheel. This wheel is heavy and requires everyone to move in the same direction to turn it.

“It’s all about starting something and creating momentum through constant effort in the same direction,” Brandt said.

Brandt keeps notebooks filled with ideas, philosophy and quotes that influence his coaching. One of these quotes comes from President George Washington who says, “Tis not in mortals to command success, but we’ll do more, we’ll deserve it.”

Being an avid reader, the head coach seeks inspiration and learns from others’ experiences. Observing others’ successes and failures is something he has and will continue doing during his coaching career.

“I like to watch people in organizations that are successful and dig into them and find out why,” Brandt said. “I’ve learned so much from things like that.”

As the Riverhounds Development Academy (RDA) moves from its Winter Technical Training Academy to its Spring Training Academy, it reflects on a widely successful March campaign.

“March was a monster month for us in the way of high-level team competition and individual success stories,” said Academy/Youth Development Director Jason Kutney. “It has been great to see the positivity as we power into tryout season.”

Here is a review of this month’s achievements and news for the road ahead.

TOURNAMENT RECAP

On the RDA boy’s side, teams faced competition in the Ohio Elite Showcase, Richmond Ultimate Cup, Jefferson Cup Tournament and Las Vegas Players Showcase. At the Jefferson Cup Tournament, the 2004 Boys team finished on top with the championship. The 2003 and 2005 boys teams also had strong showings at the Jefferson Cup Tournament, both finishing in second place.

The RDA girl’s side participated in the Jefferson Cup Tournament and Las Vegas Players Showcase as well. Notable finishes include the 2003 Girls team making the championship game at the Jefferson Cup Tournament (the title match was canceled) and the 1998 Girls and 2000 Girls teams both placing second place at the Las Vegas Players Showcase. The girl’s side also participated in Baltimore Mania and the Jefferson Cup Showcase. The 2006-07 girls finished in second place at Baltimore Mania whereas the 1999 Girls team took home the title at the Jefferson Cup Showcase.

In addition to tournament play, the RDA 2000/1999/1998 boys battled Gannon University to a close 2-1 defeat on March 26 in Erie, Pennsylvania. This is the first of more “RDA College Prep” matches, as the 1998 Girls team will play Slippery Rock in late April.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND NOTES

From March 5-13, RDA goalkeeper Dane Jacomen participated in the United States Under-16 Boy’s National Team Camp. He has been a member of RDA since 2014, competing under head coach Niko Katic on the 2000 Boys team. For further information on Jacomen’s experience, click here.

The RDA boy’s side also featured 2004 Boys team members Seth Basinger, Sean Ahia and Marshall Richter participating in the US Club Soccer id2 program in Indiana this month.

In addition to the boy’s side’s achievements, RDA girls Tatum Gretz, Molly Piso, Mia Bhuta and Kendall Walton were selected into the 4/22-4/23 US Soccer National Training Center. In addition, 11 RDA girls were selected into the 3/27 US Soccer Regional Training Center. These athletes include Kate Friday, Sydney Gray, Ava Wert, Irene Doleno, Kyndall Jenkins, Jaime Dermotta, Brenna Springer and the four aforementioned girls players.

RDA COACHING SPOTLIGHT

Check out our March Spotlight feature on RDA coach Dave Nicholas, as he details his past coaching experiences across the United States and in England. To learn about Nicholas’ soccer career and coaching philosophy, click here.

ROAD AHEAD

The Riverhounds Academy 2017 summer camps are now open to registration. For more information on our summer camps, visit here.

Additionally, registration for the RDA’s tryouts for the 2017-18 season is officially open. Announced earlier this week, interested applicants can learn more at www.riverhounds.com, here.

Tournaments and events for the RDA in April include the PDA Spring Kickoff (boys and girls), Adidas Blue Chip Showcase (boys and girls) and the ECNL Composite Event (1998-99 girls).