Match Previews

Match Info

Riverhounds (7-2-1) at Tampa Bay Rowdies (4-3-4)
Date: Saturday, May 21
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Odds: Hounds +260 / Draw +260 / Tampa Bay -120 (FanDuel)
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #TBRvPIT

(May 21, 2022) — Two teams that are used to being near the top of the Eastern Conference come together for the first time this season when the Hounds head to St. Petersburg, Fla. to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Fitting for two teams that have experienced similar levels of success under their respective fifth-year coaches, Bob Lilley and Neill Collins, the all-time series between the clubs sees the Hounds hold the slightest of edges at 4-3-4. And with one of those wins being the teams’ 2015 Cup match that went the Hounds way, the record is dead even in league meetings since the Rowdies joined the USL.

The Hounds are coming off back-to-back clean sheets, but both of those were at home, where the Hounds’ defense has been much more stingy. Seven of the eight goals allowed by the Hounds in league play have come on the road, and they will need to tighten up against a Tampa team with a diverse set of threats.

The Rowdies seemed to be slumping with a draw and consecutive losses to Memphis and San Diego, but they snapped out of it in a big way Sunday with a 5-1 win at Phoenix. Last season’s top scorer, Sebastián Guenzatti, has just one goal this season but remains a constant threat up top. Instead, it’s Jake LaCava, acquired from New York Red Bulls II before the season, who leads the Rowdies with five goals after getting another in the win at Phoenix.

The Hounds, meanwhile, are trying to regain a more consistent scoring touch. Excluding the team’s four-goal outburst in a rout of Atlanta, the Hounds have just two goals in their other five matches in all competitions since April 16. That has been a focal point for Lilley leading into the match, and he even spoke after last Saturday’s 1-0 win over El Paso about the team being wasteful in attack.

Dane Kelly still leads the Hounds — and is tied for the Championship lead — with six goals, but he hasn’t found the net since that April 23 win over Atlanta. Russell Cicerone has shown signs of heating up with two goals in his last four games, but he also let multiple chances slip away that could have turned the El Paso win into a much easier night.

The Hounds are betting underdogs in the match for just the third time this USL season (won at Memphis, lost at Louisville). With the Hounds at 2-2-1 on the road in the league and the Rowdies at 2-2-1 at Al Lang Stadium, perhaps the only sure thing in this matchup is that it will be unpredictable. The game will be televised on 22 The Point and streamed via ESPN+.

Match Info

Riverhounds (6-2-1) vs. El Paso Locomotive FC (4-5-1)
Date: Saturday, May 14
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Odds: Hounds -103 / Draw +275 / El Paso +195 (Bet Rivers)
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #PITvELP

PITTSBURGH (May 14, 2022) — With back-to-back league matches for the first time all season, the Hounds hope to keep their Highmark Stadium momentum going when they meet El Paso Locomotive FC for the first time.

The Hounds are coming off a 1-0 win over Birmingham Legion FC that was tilted a bit more in the home team’s favor than the final score indicated. Danny Griffin scored the only goal in the fourth minute, but the Hounds held 57 percent of possession, won a season-high nine corner kicks and held the Legion without a single shot on goal.

One goal might not be enough against a surging Locomotive team that has gone 4-1-1 since dropping its opening four matches of the season. No team has scored more goals than the Locomotive’s 24 this season, and the relatively new USL Championship side holds the distinction of being undefeated against Eastern Conference teams, which includes wins already this season over Tulsa and Loudoun.

The Locomotive’s attack is led by Luis Solignac (five goals, two assists) and Dylan Mares (four goals, three assists) and features dynamic 18-year-old U.S. Youth International Diego Luna (three goals, two assists). As if those weren’t enough weapons, it will also be a return to Pittsburgh for former Hounds winger Christiano François.

While El Paso hasn’t had trouble finding the net and converting a consistently high possession number, they have also been vulnerable going the other direction with 17 goals conceded. But Hounds coach Bob Lilley cautioned that El Paso’s xG metric — a measure of the expected number of goals a team should give up based on play — is much lower and only a couple goals worse than the Hounds xG number, indicating the Locomotive has been a bit unlucky or has run into some good finishing.

The Hounds hope their finishing takes a step forward after getting just one goal despite plentiful chances last week. The return of Dane Kelly from a one-match suspension should help in that department, as the USL Championship’s all-time goal scorer remains in a three-way tie atop the 2022 leaders with six goals thus far.

With that suspension served and a clean bill of health, Lilley will have a full squad to select from. How much he rotates from a week ago is yet to be seen, however, as he was reasonably happy with the win over Birmingham, and his team doesn’t face another two-match week on their schedule until the start of July.

Gates will open at 6 p.m. for the match, and the Tailgate Zone will fire into action at 5 p.m. DJ TJ Harris will be back on the music, and food trucks lining up this week will be The Sandwich Guy and Revival Chili.

Tickets for the match are available at Ticketmaster or via the Highmark Stadium Box Office. The match will air live on 22 The Point and be streamed on ESPN+.

Match Info

Riverhounds (5-2-1) vs. Birmingham Legion FC (3-3-3)
Date: Saturday, May 7
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Odds: Hounds +102 / Draw +260 / Birmingham +195 (Bet Rivers)
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #PITvBHM

PITTSBURGH (May 7, 2022) — After another setback on the road last week at Louisville, the Hounds are back at home and out to keep their perfect record at Highmark Stadium intact when they host Birmingham Legion FC tonight.

The Hounds have won all four matches — three in the league and one in the cup — at Highmark this season, most recently a 4-0 win over Atlanta United 2 on April 23. That represents the most recent matches of a 12-match unbeaten run at home dating back to last season, which is now the second-longest such streak since the team moved into their South Shore home.

On the topic of Highmark Stadium history, today’s match holds the distinction of being the 150th competitive Hounds match at the venue. The Hounds are 69-39-41 all-time at Highmark at this early point in their 10th season since moving into their soccer-specific home.

One thing match No. 150 won’t include is a Dane Kelly goal. The Hounds’ top scorer in 2022 and an April finalist for USL Championship Player of the Month is suspended for the match after being sent off for making contact with a high forearm last Saturday against Louisville. Surprisingly, the send off was categorized as violent conduct despite the fact Kelly was making a challenge for the ball — that normally would be termed serious foul play — but he still received the minimum suspension after the league’s review of the incident.

That leaves the offense at the feet of Albert Dikwa (four goals) and Russell Cicerone (two goals), amongst others, but the Hounds have been potent even when Kelly isn’t on the field. The team enters the game averaging two goals per game in USL play, tied for third-most in the league.

Birmingham, on the other hand, is still trying to find its offensive stride with just eight goals in nine games, three coming from top scorer Prosper Kasim. But the Legion have been a tough outfit to break down with just 10 goals allowed, which is why they have a perfectly .500 record at 3-3-3.

Among the back line players for the Legion are two former Hounds, Thomas Vancaeyezeele and Ryan James. This will be the first match for both against the Hounds since departing, and it will be the first time the Hounds have faced Birmingham at all since 2019 because of the pandemic realignment of the past two seasons.

Prior to the match, the Tailgate Zone will be open at 5 p.m. with music from DJ TJ Harris, food from Uncle Rick’s Smokehouse and The Sandwich Guy. Gates will open at 6 p.m., and tickets are still available via Ticketmaster. The match will air locally on 22 The Point and be streamed via ESPN+.

Match Info

Riverhounds (5-1-1) at Louisville City FC (5-0-3)
Date: Saturday, April 30
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Ky.
Odds: Hounds +295 / Draw +265 / Louisville -141 (BetRivers)
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #LOUvPIT

(April 30, 2022) — The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will meet for the first time in 2022 when Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC goes on the road to face Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

It is a renewal of acquaintances for the two clubs, who did not meet in 2021 because of the divisional alignment a season ago. That was the first time since Louisville joined the league in 2015 the teams did not play at least twice during a year, which they will do this year with today’s game and the return match in Pittsburgh on Sept. 10.

Unusually, history favors the road team in this series. The visitors are 9-2-4 in 15 previous meetings, which includes a 4-2-1 for the Hounds in the Derby City. The teams have met twice at Lynn Family Stadium, both in 2020. The Hounds won the first-ever match there, 3-1, but Louisville exacted a measure of revenge by knocking the Hounds of the playoffs, 2-0.

While the Run for the Roses isn’t until next week in Louisville, the Hounds’ horses up front have been running wild through the first two months of the season. Dane Kelly shares the USL Championship lead with six goals, and Albert Dikwa is just behind him with four. Together, they are the highest scoring pair of players in the league at 10, and that doesn’t even factor in 2021 top scorer Russell Cicerone, who picked up his second goal of the year last Saturday against Atlanta.

In perhaps a bit of a role reversal, the Hounds’ offense is best in the league on a goals-per-game basis, while Louisville has made its way to the top spot with the league’s stingiest defense at just four goals allowed in eight games. That includes a league-best five clean sheets for former Hounds goalkeeper Kyle Morton, who has started every game for Louisville since coming over in the offseason from the Houston Dynamo of MLS.

The two teams already have an idea of how they stack up this year after having played out a 1-1 draw in Pittsburgh during the preseason on Feb. 26, when an early goal by City’s top scorer Wilson Harris was negated by an Alex Dixon penalty kick. But that game, with its unlimited substitutions, should have little bearing on the first regular-season meeting in more than 21 months between the only two teams to reach the Eastern Conference playoffs in all of the past five seasons.

The game will be shown locally in the Pittsburgh market on 22 The Point, and it will be streamed via ESPN+. It is only this second USL match this season in which the Hounds have been a betting underdog; the first was the season opener in Memphis won by the Hounds, 3-0.

Match Info

Riverhounds (4-1-1) vs. Atlanta United 2 (2-5-0)
Date: Saturday, April 23
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Odds: Hounds -250 / Draw +350 / Atlanta +550 (FanDuel)
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #PITvATL

PITTSBURGH (April 23, 2022) — For the first time in 2022, the Riverhounds have to try and bounce back from a loss in USL Championship play (or a losing streak counting the extra time cup loss Tuesday to FC Cincinnati), and they will do so against Atlanta United 2 at 7 p.m. tonight at Highmark Stadium.

The good news for the Hounds is they are a perfect 3-0-0 in all competitions on their home turf this season. In fact, the team hasn’t lost at home since Aug. 11 of last season — a string of 11 matches with an 8-0-3 record — and has won 16 of its past 17 matches against MLS reserve sides.

Among each of those streaks is the last meeting between these two teams, a 4-1 Hounds win on Aug. 22, 2021. In that game, Russell Cicerone netted his first career hat trick on his way to a USL Championship Player of the Week honor, spoiling the return to Pittsburgh of Upper St. Clair grad Robbie Mertz and former Pitt defender Bryce Washington.

Washington now occupies a spot on Atlanta’s MLS roster, but Mertz has been the constant in the Atlanta 2 midfield, playing in every match this season the team’s captain. He is the veteran presence in a lineup that includes 20-year-old Jackson Conway, who leads the team with four goals and is already in his fifth season appearing in the USL after debuting with Atlanta as a 16-year-old Academy player.

For the Hounds, injuries are not a concern, but fatigue might be after road matches in Las Vegas and Cincinnati over the past seven days. Cicerone and Alex Dixon both played the full 120 minutes in the cup loss, and Danny Griffin and Arturo Ordóñez played all 210 minutes across the two matches.

On the other hand, the Hounds’ schedule is favorable with nothing but Saturday matches until the start of July, so head coach Bob Lilley will have to make a decision as to whether he rests players or rolls the dice with a potential 300-minute week for some before the players fall into a more comfortable week-to-week routine.

Also at stake — a win would ensure the Hounds remain in second place in the Eastern Conference, which would set up a juicy top-two matchup next weekend when the team goes back on the road to face first-place Louisville City FC, the last undefeated team remaining in the USL Championship.

The weather is expected to be the warmest all season for a Hounds match. Temperatures are forecast to be in the high 70s through the 7 p.m. kickoff, which should be welcome news for what is anticipated to be the largest crowd at Highmark Stadium thus far in 2022.

The Tailgate Zone starts rocking at 5 p.m. with music from TJ the DJ and food from Uncle Rick’s Smokehouse (barbeque) and Hoshi (hibachi). As always, Riverhounds Amber Lager by Straub will be on tap, though tomorrow is also the debut of the team’s exclusive beer in cans, both at the stadium and at beer distributors around the area. Assuming the good weather in the forecast holds true, the popular post-match autograph session with players on the field also will return after the match.

Match Info

Riverhounds vs. FC Cincinnati
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round
Date: Tuesday, April 19
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Odds: Hounds +370 / Draw +280 / Cincinnati -160 (FanDuel)
Streaming: ESPN+
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #CINvPIT and #USOC2022

CINCINNATI (April 19, 2022) — After a handful of near misses over the past eight years, the Riverhounds will get another chance to knock off an MLS side when they face FC Cincinnati in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The Hounds, who are 1-5 all-time against MLS teams, have suffered some narrow (and in some cases, unlucky) losses against teams from the higher division since 2014. In that year, the team was knocked out 2-1 by the Chicago Fire in a match that was abandoned in the 48th minute due to weather.

The next year, the Hounds hosted D.C. United and took them all the way to extra time before falling 3-1 after playing to a 1-1 score through 90 minutes. And in the most recent edition of the cup before the pandemic, the Hounds were beaten 1-0 on the road at the Columbus Crew, a match where the Crew had the better of play, but the Hounds still had their chances to steal a result.

If they are to secure the win, it will take a reversal of history against FC Cincinnati, which had the Hounds’ number during their time in USL. The Hounds are 0-5-4 all time against FCC, and though the Hounds did take a 2-1 win in the 2021 preseason, that match is hardly instructive with the amount of lineup shuffling and roster turnover for both clubs in the year since.

The Hounds still have a clean bill of health coming off Saturday’s first loss of the year in Las Vegas, and they were able to keep a handful of regulars fresh for the match. Jelani Peters did not play a league match for the first time in 2022, while Dani Rovira, Albert Dikwa, Alex Dixon, Nate Dossantos and Luis Argudo all played off the bench in varying amounts. Second Round goal-scoring star Toby Sims also did not play Saturday, while history suggests two games in four days is nothing that will keep Danny Griffin from his spot in the middle of the park.

FC Cincinnati’s selection will be interesting to watch. The team played in Atlanta last Saturday, but their reserve team played at New England on Sunday, which might limit any potential roster shuffling ahead of the match. Brandon Vazquez has scored five of Cincinnati’s eight goals this season, and Luciano Acosta remains their most dynamic midfield creator, but both have played nearly every minute after seven MLS matches. If they give way to less-seasoned replacements, it could make the match even less predictable.

The forecast calls for a chilly morning in Cincinnati, but temperatures are expected to steadily rise, hitting the high of 53 shortly before kickoff. And take note: It’s a 7 p.m. start after originally being announced at 7:30.

The match will be streamed via ESPN+, but if you don’t have the streaming service, another great option is visiting our partners at Mike’s Beer Bar, who will be hosting the team’s official watch part on the North Shore.

Match Info

Riverhounds (4-0-1) vs. Las Vegas Lights FC (3-3-0)
Date: Saturday, April 16
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Cashman Field, Las Vegas, Nev.
Odds: Hounds -152 / Draw +270 / Las Vegas +320 (BetRivers.com)
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #LVvPIT

PITTSBURGH (April 16, 2022) — The Hounds are one of four unbeaten teams remaining in the USL Championship, and they will look to keep it that way in their first-ever meeting with Las Vegas Lights FC.

Once again, the Hounds are making a new acquaintance on the road; this will be their third consecutive road match against a first-time opponent after trips to Detroit and Tulsa over the past three weekends. And while many people travel to Vegas hoping for a big score, the attacking talent in Saturday’s game could result in the scoreboard posting some big numbers.

The three top scorers in the USL Championship could end up on the field at the same time, as Las Vegas’ Danny Trejo (five goals, four assists) and the Hounds’ Albert Dikwa and Dane Kelly (both with four goals, two assists) should be on the team sheets. Trejo has been involved in nine of the Lights’ 11 goals in their first six league matches, while the Hounds have scored 12 in just five matches — good enough to put Pittsburgh tied for third in total goals and tied for second in goals per game (2.4) league-wide.

The reason it is qualified that that three “could” be on the field at the same time boils down to a busy schedule for both teams. With a match at MLS club FC Cincinnati on Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup, Hounds coach Bob Lilley will likely be monitoring minutes and have a rotation in mind to combat two games in a 72-hour span, so Kelly or Dikwa occupying a spot on the bench would not be a shock. The Lights have no such worries, having been bounced from the cup in the last round by USL League One’s FC Tuscon and former Hounds midfielder Louis Pérez.

The good news for the Hounds is their clean bill of health through six matches in all competitions. While only those expected to be in the side made the trip to Las Vegas, all 24 members of the squad will be taking the trip to Cincinnati on Monday, and Lilley very well could utilize every single player in some capacity over the next three games in eight days — at Vegas, at Cincy and home next Saturday against Atlanta United 2.

Another concern for Lilley and his staff — and another reason squad rotation will be key — is the change in weather the Hounds will face. After playing their first handful of matches (and nearly all of their preseason) with temperatures never rising above 55, the team faced 70-degree afternoon heat last week in Tulsa, and some signs of late fatigue showed. That means today’s match, which will kick off at 4 p.m. local time in the Pacific Time Zone, will certainly be the team’s hottest so far this year with highs projected in the low 80s.

Still, the Hounds have momentum on their side, and taking anything from the match would make this the best six-game start to a league season in club history, surpassing the team’s 4-1-1 start to the 2000 season. The match will be shown locally on 22 The Point and streamed via ESPN+.

Match Info

Riverhounds (3-0-1) vs. FC Tulsa (3-2-0)
Date: Saturday, April 9
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: ONEOK Field, Tulsa, Okla.
Odds: Hounds +163 / Draw +215 / Tulsa +143 (BetRivers.com)
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #TULvPIT

PITTSBURGH (April 9, 2022) — The Hounds are aiming for their best five-match start to a league season in team history, but doing so will require getting a result in their first-ever meeting with FC Tulsa in a Saturday afternoon tilt in the Sooner State.

The club has never taken more than 10 points from its first five games in a season, so even a draw would cement this as the Hounds’ best five-game start, and only once before has the team been undefeated through five league matches — 2018 when the team started 2-0-3 in the first year under Bob Lilley.

The Hounds will have a full-strength lineup available after Tuesday’s 2-0 cup win over the Maryland Bobcats, as regulars including Kenardo Forbes, Dane Kelly, Shane Wiedt, Alex Dixon, Dani Rovira, Jelani Peters and — for the first time in his three-year career — Danny Griffin were out of the 18 or were unused as substitutes. Kelly has played just 30 minutes in the Hounds’ past three matches, but they were vital ones, as he scored his second and third goals of the young season to secure a 2-0 win over Loudoun United FC last Saturday.

Just like the Hounds, Tulsa was able to rest some players and still advance in a Tuesday cup match; they bested NPSL amateur side Tulsa Athletic, 2-1. That game came on the heels of an end-to-end win in Tulsa’s last league match, as they survived a challenge from 10-man New York Red Bulls II and came away with a 3-2 victory.

In joint top scorers J.J. Williams and Rodrigo da Costa, both with two goals each, Tulsa has quick and experienced attacking options, and behind them sits a familiar face to Hounds fans, midfielder Lebo Moloto, who had seven goals and eight assists while spending 2015-16 in Pittsburgh.

In addition to the potential for a record-setting start, the Hounds have their spot in second place in the Eastern Conference on the line with Tulsa just a point behind them in the standings. The match is also the start of what is now a three-game road stretch, as the Hounds travel to Las Vegas to play April 16, and they learned yesterday they will visit FC Cincinnati of MLS in their next cup match on April 19.

The game will be shown locally on 22 The Point, and it will be streamed on ESPN+.

Match Info

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Second Round

Riverhounds vs. Maryland Bobcats FC
Date: Tuesday, April 5
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Odds: Hounds -550 / Draw +500 / Bobcats +950
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Streaming: ESPN+
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #PITvMD

PITTSBURGH (April 5, 2022) — The U.S. Open Cup is back after a two-year pandemic hiatus, and the Hounds will try to mount another long cup run this season, beginning with today’s Second Round match against Maryland Bobcats FC of the National Independent Soccer Association.

This will be the third cup competition for the team under Bob Lilley since he became the Hounds’ head coach in 2018, and the Hounds picked up at least one win in each of those seasons. The team’s last cup match was a 1-0 loss in the 2019 Fourth Round on the road at the Columbus Crew of MLS.

Overall, the Hounds are 8-5-2 in the cup against lower-division opponents, but Lilley boasts an impressive record with just one loss to a lower-division side — that came all the way back in 1998, his second year as a pro head coach with the Hershey Wildcats.

At stake is a spot in the Third Round, where the 31 winners from the Second Round will be joined by 17 MLS teams in pairings to be drawn this Friday. The Hounds’ last match against an MLS team was the 2019 loss to the Crew, while an MLS team last visited Highmark Stadium in 2015, when D.C. United slipped past the Hounds in extra time, 3-1.

The visiting Bobcats, who finished ninth in the NISA Fall Standings a year ago, are off to a good start to the year with a 1-0-1 record after a 6-1 win last Saturday over Flower City. The Bobcats have one former Hounds player on their roster, forward Kay Banjo, who scored three goals in 20 games for Pittsburgh in 2017.

The Hounds are also unbeaten in the league season with a 3-0-1 mark, and both teams are on equal rest after Dane Kelly scored twice last Saturday to give the Hounds a 2-0 win over Loudoun United FC.

All tickets for the Second Round match are just $5, and seats are available at Ticketmaster or by visiting the Highmark Stadium Box Office. The Tailgate Zone will open at 5 p.m. as usual, with live music played by TJ the DJ, Riverhounds Amber Lager by Straub on tap and food from The Sandwich Guy food truck.

The match will not be televised locally, but it will be streamed online via ESPN+.

Match Info

Riverhounds (2-0-1) vs. Loudoun United FC (2-0-1)
Date: Saturday, April 2
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Odds: Hounds -370 / Draw +420 / Loudoun +800 (FanDuel)
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: 22 The Point
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtag: #PITvLDN

PITTSBURGH (April 2, 2022) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC looks to keep its undefeated start to 2022 intact in its second home game of the year when the team hosts Loudoun United FC at 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.

The Hounds (2-0-1) have a chance to equal the best four-game start in team history with a win; the only other time the club took 10 points out of 12 from its first four matches in a season was the team’s second year of play, 2000. Loudoun (2-0-1), on the other hand, has been one of the league’s biggest surprises to start the year, winning its first two after a last-place finish in 2021 and last week scoring a 0-0 draw on the road in Miami.

Defense has been the story for both teams in the opening three weeks of the season. Loudoun has yet to concede a goal in three matches, and goalkeeper Luis Zamudio has not had to make more than two saves in any of his three shutouts, an indication that the early success has been no fluke.

But Loudoun getting a result in Pittsburgh would require them to break the historic trend. The Hounds are 8-1-0 all-time against their D.C.-area opponents, which includes a perfect 4-0-0 mark at Highmark. Loudoun’s only win in the series came by a 2-1 score on June 30 of last season in Virginia, but even that was the only points the Hounds dropped in four meetings, which includes a 5-0 rout the last time the two met on Sept. 11.

The Hounds have been good but not flawless defensively with only two goal allowed in three matches — that total includes the one in last week’s 1-1 draw at Detroit, which came via the penalty spot. Center backs Jelani Peters and Arturo Ordóñez have played all 270 minutes so far this season, along with holding midfield stalwart Danny Griffin, providing the defensive stability Bob Lilley seeks from his side.

Offensively, Albert Dikwa became the first Hounds player to bag multiple goals this season when he netted his second of the year in his first start this season at Detroit. The Hounds already have shown a willingness to rotate players in and out of the lineup at the forward spots, a trend that should continue with the first midweek match of the season looming Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup.

Fans coming to the match will be able to check out the Tailgate Zone beginning at 5 p.m., where Totopo and Hoshi will have their food trucks parked for folks enjoying the live music played by TJ the DJ and drinks including Riverhounds Amber Lager by Straub.

Tickets for the match are available via Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office, and don’t forget to check out @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter for details about a special BOGO ticket offer for the two USL Championship home matches in April.

The game will be televised locally on 22 The Point and streamed via ESPN+. Temperature at kickoff is expected to be a cool 51 degrees, but no precipitation is in the forecast for the entire day.