Match Previews

Match info

Riverhounds (5-2-5) vs. Phoenix Rising FC (4-3-4)
Date: Saturday, June 3
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds: Hounds -160 / Draw +290 / Phoenix +350 (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: #PITvPHX and #HOUNDTAHN

PITTSBURGH (June 2, 2023) — Riding a five-game overall winning streak and undefeated in their last eight matches in all competitions, the Hounds are back home this weekend for a Saturday night matchup with perennial Western Conference power Phoenix Rising FC at Highmark Stadium.

It is the first time in nine years the two teams have met and the first since Phoenix’s rebranding from their former Arizona United moniker, and the visitors have had quite a good run in the time in between. Phoenix missed the playoffs last season for the first time in six years, but the Western Conference champions in both 2018 and 2020 seem to be regaining their old form in the first full season under head coach Juan Guerra.

While the Hounds haven’t hosted the Rising in recent years, Phoenix has no shortage of players familiar with the Hounds and Highmark, including leading scorer Manuel Arteaga (formerly of Indy Eleven), goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo (Atlanta United 2) and forwards Jackson Conway (Atlanta United 2) and Danny Trejo, who netted a game-winner against the Hounds last season for Las Vegas.

The Hounds have their own Phoenix connection in center back Joe Farrell, who was an integral part of Rising’s success during a five-year run with the club before coming to Pittsburgh via an offseason transfer. The team also has the benefit of a nearly clean injury report, as Dani Rovira is upgraded from out to questionable with his knee injury, freeing up the entire roster for selection both Saturday and in Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal in Cincinnati.

Albert Dikwa, who was given last week’s match in Loudoun off after a starring performance against the Columbus Crew, remains tied for the USL Championship lead with nine goals, placing him level with former teammate Russell Cicerone of Sacramento. Additional scoring has begun to emerge for the Hounds in recent matches, led by Edward Kizza‘s two-goal showing against Las Vegas and center back Arturo Ordóñez, who has scored in each of the past two league matches on plays beginning from a corner kick.

The home crowd will have plenty of reason to arrive early for the match, as the return of the always-popular $1 beer promotion is back with discounted 12-ounce Bud Light from 5 p.m. until kickoff. The special will be available at locations around the stadium, including the pub, Tailgate Zone and Hungry Hound concession stand, and new monthly burger and nacho specials will be unveiled Saturday.

Saturday is also Pride Night, held in conjunction with the City of Pittsburgh’s Pride parade and festivities, and with sunny weather in the forecast, another big crowd is expected on the heels’ of the Hounds’ stadium record attendance of 6,107 set May 24 in the Open Cup against Columbus. The halftime entertainment will be jumping, as well, as the XPogo crew will perform their high-flying, acrobatic routine on the field.

Tickets for Saturday’s game are still available via Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office. The match will also be the first of three in June to air live locally on Pittsburgh’s CW, and coverage also can be streamed via ESPN+.

Downloadable Game Notes

Match info

Riverhounds (4-2-5) vs. Loudoun United FC (3-7-1)
Date: Sunday, May 28
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Segra Field, Leesburg, Va.
Odds: Hounds +115 / Draw +245 / Loudoun +190 (DraftKings)
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #LDNvPIT and #HOUNDTAHN

LEESBURG, Va. (May 27, 2023) — The Hounds will look to complete an undefeated month of May and win a fifth consecutive match in all competitions when they face Loudoun United FC on Sunday night at Segra Field.

The teams enter the match in vastly different form, as the Hounds come in off the high of defeating the Columbus Crew in front of a record crowd on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup and having not dropped points since a 2-2 draw on May 5 at Monterey Bay. Loudoun, on the other hand, began the season very well, but the home team has dropped six consecutive matches — five in the USL Championship and a defeat at the hands of the Crew a round earlier in the Open Cup.

That Wednesday match leaves coach Bob Lilley with some lineup decisions to make, as he will need to consider the value of fresh legs against keeping together the group that effectively counter-punched against a possession-reliant Crew side. The decision comes with many options, as Dani Rovira remains the only Hounds players ruled out, though he did return to full training this week. Striker Edward Kizza is available to the Hounds after being sent off against Columbus; his suspension for that red card will be served during the team’s next cup match against FC Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, the Hounds have gone from preparing to face Zelarayán to prepping for Zach Ryan, Loudoun’s 24-year-old leading scorer with five goals and two assists on the season. The former New York Red Bulls players leads a Loudoun side that — while no longer a D.C. United reserve team — still brings plenty of youth and willingness to press to the field. Ryan is joined in attack by former Hounds forward Tommy Williamson, and the hosts also have former Hounds Academy goalkeeper Dane Jacomen. Jacomen has two appearances this year serving as the backup to starter Hugo Fauroux, who had success against the Hounds last season with Charleston.

Sunday’s match broadcast will be a streaming-only contest, with coverage beginning shortly before kickoff on ESPN+.

Downloadable Game Notes

Match info

Riverhounds vs. Columbus Crew
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16
Date: Wednesday, May 24
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds: Hounds +220 / Draw +250 / Columbus +105 (FanDuel)
TV: Pittsburgh’s CW
Streaming: CBS Sports Golazo (national), Pittsburgh’s CW (local)
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvCLB, #HOUNDTAHN and #USOC2023

PITTSBURGH (May 23, 2023) — One of the biggest crowds in Highmark Stadium history is expected Wednesday night, when the Hounds play deeper into the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup than they have in 22 years with a Round of 16 match at home against the Columbus Crew of MLS.

It will be just the second time the South Side venue has hosted MLS opposition — the first being a 3-1 extra time loss to D.C. United in 2015 — and the first since Highmark’s 2018 supporters’ section expansion. With those factors and a forecast of warm, dry weather, a crowd pushing toward the stadium’s 6,073 record is expected for what will be a stiff test for the Hounds.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will advance to the Quarterfinals, where they will go on the road to face FC Cincinnati on June 6 or June 7. Cincinnati moved on Tuesday night by eliminating the New York Red Bulls on penalties, 5-3, after playing to a 1-1 draw.

As one of two USL Championship teams remaining in the hunt for the championship of U.S. Soccer, the Hounds still have “underdog” status in title. But after dictating play for stretches in the 1-0 road win last round over the New England Revolution, the Hounds are no longer catching anyone off guard, as evidenced by the betting odds of only +220 — a steep decline from the +550 price against the Revolution.

The last time the Hounds and Crew met in a competitive match, the Crew took a 1-0 win to eliminate the Hounds from the 2019 Open Cup at Mapfre Stadium in the Ohioan capital. The teams have also met frequently in the preseason, including this year, when the Crew hosted a closed-door scrimmage at their training facility. But that match, which featured a heavy dose of trialists and reserve players getting the majority of minutes, will have virtually no bearing on Wednesday night’s highly anticipated tilt.

The Crew come into the match off a tough 3-2 loss Saturday to their rivals, FC Cincinnati, but Columbus showed how lethal it can be in its previous match in the Open Cup, a 5-1 demolition at Loudoun United FC. If anything is working against the Crew, it is the fact this is the team’s fifth match in 14 days (as opposed to the fourth in 15 for the Hounds), so it will be seen at game time whether coach Wilfried Nancy will deploy attacking stars Lucas Zelarayán and Cucho Hernandez from the outset or hold them back as options off the bench.

The Hounds, meanwhile, were able to cut short the nights of influential players such as Albert Dikwa, Danny Griffin, Kenardo Forbes and Arturo Ordóñez on Saturday, as the team cruised to the finish line of a 4-1 win over the Las Vegas Lights. That leaves Bob Lilley the option of a full-strength lineup Wednesday, rather than needing to rest players as he did bringing on Dikwa and Forbes in the final half-hour of the win over New England.

Fans attending the game should be aware of a number of changes as a result of the sellout crowd expected.

Gates for the match will open an hour earlier at 5 p.m., and the Tailgate Zone entertainment — live music, beer specials and more — will only be accessible inside the ticketed area of the stadium. Hounds local television partner KDKA will be broadcasting live from the field pre-match, and the Hounds will debut their new “Summer Gold” alternate kits when they take the field at game time.

Parking in the West Lot is sold out, and only fans and VIPs with digital parking passes will be admitted. Fans who did not purchase parking in advance are advised to enter on the opposite end of Station Square and utilize the main parking deck or one of the lots on the East end of the stadium.

As of Tuesday night, very few seats remain, in addition to limited suites and standing-room only tickets, all of which can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the Highmark Stadium Box Office. The game will be shown locally on Pittsburgh’s CW, and the national stream will be free to watch through CBS Sports Golazo, which is accessible through the CBS Sports website and mobile app.

Downloadable Game Notes

Match info

Riverhounds (3-2-5) vs. Las Vegas Lights FC (0-3-6)
Date: Saturday, May 20
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds: Hounds -195 / Draw +300 / Birmingham +450 (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: #PITvLV and #HOUNDTAHN

PITTSBURGH (May 19, 2023) — May momentum is on the Hounds’ side, and they’ll try to keep that going Saturday night when the team hosts Las Vegas Lights FC at Highmark Stadium for the first time at 7 p.m.

The match, which will be shown live on Pittsburgh’s CW and streamed via ESPN+, will see the Hounds try to remain undefeated at home in 2023. The team has a 3-0-1 record at Highmark in all competitions this season, most recently winning last week in a tussle with frequent playoff foe Birmingham, 2-1. The match will be the first time the Hounds have played consecutive games at home all season, and tickets are still available through Ticketmaster or at the Highmark Stadium Box Office.

Perhaps more relevant than the team’s home record is their record this month, two wins and a draw, including the massive May 9 U.S. Open Cup win at the New England Revolution. That three game stretch coincides with the return of Danny Griffin to the Hounds, and the fourth-year pro has already been impactful to the team’s numbers when it comes to ball-winning, possession and even scoring — Griffin scored the winner against New England and would have had his first league goal Saturday against Birmingham if not for a whistle awarding a foul that none of the replay cameras was able to detect.

Though Griffin’s goal did not stand, both strikes by Albert Dikwa did. That gave the 25-year-old striker nine goals in the first 10 matches of the league season, a Hounds record. Currently the USL Championship scoring leader, Dikwa will try to keep up his current impeccable form that has seen him score five goals over the past three USL matches.

On the other side of the coin, the Lights come into the match as the league’s last remaining winless team, but also as one of the harder teams to beat with six draws in their opening nine games. Apart from a single outlier — a 4-1 loss at Miami last month — the Lights have played nothing but one-goal games, including a narrow defeat against defending champion San Antonio.

The Lights, with nine goals in nine matches, are the third-lowest scoring team in the league currently, ahead of only Detroit and Indy in that regard. Lucas Stauffer, a former New York Red Bulls II player, leads the way with two goals and two assists in his first year back in the U.S. after time in the German lower leagues. But Las Vegas does have some proven firepower stashed away, most notably former Middlesborough and FC Cincinnati man Emmanuel Ledesma, who has one goal this season.

Highmark Stadium is expected to be packed once again after consecutive league sellouts, and the match will feature the second guest of the 412 Celebrity Series when former Pittsburgh Pirates NL East-winning catcher and former Gold Glove winner Mike LaValliere presents the game ball pre-match and joins fans for a special meet & greet. Saturday is also Mental Health Awareness night, part of the USL-wide “Need Support?” campaign which launched last week.

The Tailgate Zone will open at 5 p.m. to begin the night’s festivities, and gates open at 6 p.m.

Downloadable Game Notes

Match info

Riverhounds (2-2-5) vs. Birmingham Legion FC (5-4-1)
Date: Saturday, May 13
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds: Hounds -105 / Draw +240 / Birmingham +240 (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: #PITvBHM and #HOUNDTAHN

PITTSBURGH (May 12, 2023) — The Hounds are back with a league match on home turf for the first time in 28 days when they welcome Birmingham Legion FC to Highmark Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff Saturday.

This will be the first repeat opponent of the season for the Hounds, who drew 1-1 with the Legion in this year’s season opener on March 11 in Alabama. Robbie Mertz netted the tying goal for the Hounds in that match after Alex Crognale scored off a first-half corner kick for the hosts. Of course, the Hounds and Legion have more notable recent history after last year’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, a 2-2 thriller that saw the Hounds come from behind twice through Edward Kizza goals before winning on the 10th kick from the penalty mark, 8-7.

The Hounds’ history at home against the Legion has been good, with the team winning all three matches played at Highmark Stadium, including a 1-0 win almost a year ago to the day, May 7, 2022. But nothing will be easy against a team that finds itself in second place in the Eastern Conference, as well as being the only other USL Championship team to join the Hounds in the U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 16.

The Hounds will have some fresh legs despite their famous midweek win over the New England Revolution. Kenardo Forbes and Albert Dikwa both came in off the bench late to seal the win against the MLS team, while the Hounds midfield depth got another boost with the surprise inclusion of Junior Etou, who entered in the waning moments for his first appearance since breaking his arm March 28 against FC Tulsa.

The Legion have one fewer day of rest from their cup win at home over fellow USL team Memphis 901 FC, and they also will be without their captain Phanuel Kavita after the Congolese defender was sent off with a second yellow card in their match last weekend against Oakland. But Birmingham has no shortage of attacking depth, where ageless Hounds nemesis Enzo Martinez is in fine form with five goals on the season, and former Hounds Neco Brett and Tyler Pasher also loom large.

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Match info

Riverhounds vs. New England Revolution
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32
Date: Tuesday, May 9
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Odds: Hounds +550 / Draw +330 / New England -250 (FanDuel)
Streaming: U.S. Soccer Federation YouTube
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #NEvPIT, #HOUNDTAHN and #USOC2023

(May 8, 2023) — For the second year in a row, the Hounds will get a crack at an MLS team on the road when they face the New England Revolution in the Round of 32 of this year’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The match is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Facing the co-leaders of MLS’ Eastern Conference will be a tall order for the Hounds, who are 1-6 all-time against MLS opponents, which includes an 0-5 record away from home. But all six of those losses for the Hounds have either been by one goal or in extra time, the latter of which was the case in the Third Round last year when the Hounds fell 2-0 at FC Cincinnati after 120 minutes.

The game pits the all-time wins leader of the USL Championship, Bob Lilley, against Major League Soccer’s wins leader, Bruce Arena, in a one-of-a-kind matchup. Lilley has 337 wins as a pro coach — many pre-dating the modern USL Championship — while former U.S. National Team coach Arena has 318 victories in the pro ranks, all in MLS after a long, successful run at the University of Virginia. Even the two clubs have plenty of history, as the first-ever meeting between the two sides is the only Round of 32 contest pairing a USL team and an MLS team that both have been in existence since the 1990s.

Team selection will be a question mark for both sides. The Revolution are on three days’ rest, while the Hounds had four days of rest but traveled from Monterey, Calif. to Pittsburgh to Foxborough in those 96 hours.

Albert Dikwa has been the man on fire for the Hounds. The Cameroonian striker shares the USL Championship lead with seven goals after scoring twice in the Hounds’ 2-2 draw at Monterey Bay FC. Conversely, New England is led by a pair of players with just three goals — Bobby Wood and Giacomo Vrioni — but the Revolution have gotten balanced scoring and been stifling defensively, allowing just nine goals so far on their way to a 7-3-1 league record.

The Hounds do have a trio of players who spent time in the Revolution’s system, led by striker Edward Kizza, who was New England’s first-round draft pick in 2021.

Kizza, who scored in the Third Round cup win over the Maryland Bobcats, signed with the Hounds this offseason after New England declined to pick up their third-year option. Hounds defenders Mike DeShields and Trevor Zwetsloot played last season with New England Revolution II in MLS Next Pro, but they also signed with the Hounds as free agents this offseason.

Fans will be able to watch the match live via a free stream on the U.S. Soccer Federation’s YouTube channel.

Downloadable Game Notes

Match info

Riverhounds (2-2-4) vs. Monterey Bay FC (3-2-3)
Date: Friday, May 5
Time: 10 p.m.
Location: Cardinale Stadium, Seaside, Calif.
Odds: Hounds +195 / Draw +230 / Monterey Bay +120 (FanDuel)
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #MBvPIT and #HOUNDTAHN

SEASIDE, Calif. (May 4, 2023) — Another first-time matchup is on tap with the Hounds ready to take the field on California’s Central Coast to face Monterey Bay FC at Cardinale Stadium in a 10 p.m. ET kickoff.

The match completes a challenging opening quarter of the season with 7 of 9 USL Championship matches on the road, and it is the first of three road trips to California this season, this one to the region known for Pebble Beach and John Steinbeck novels.

While it’s an unfamiliar venue, there will be plenty of familiar faces among the opposition with Monterey Bay relying on three former Hounds — Alex Dixon, Hugh Roberts and Christian Volesky — in key roles.

Dixon is the top scorer in the USL Championship with six goals — one ahead of Albert Dikwa — and his strike rate has been superb having done that on just eight shots. Roberts, meanwhile, captains the home side and has been a steady force on the Monterey Bay back line since the team’s inception, and Volesky is the team’s top secondary scorer with three goals and two assists of his own.

High-scoring games have been the norm for the team led by longtime MLS coach Frank Yallop, as Monterey Bay’s 15 goals scored lead the league, but their 12 allowed is fourth-worst through the season’s first eight weeks.

The Hounds, on the other hand, haven’t quite hit their scoring stride. The team has scored multiple goals only twice in league play so far, but they also have conceded multiple goals only once on the year, setting up a stylistic contrast entering Friday’s game.

The Hounds’ big news of the week came Wednesday, when it was announced that midfielder Danny Griffin would be returning to the team via a transfer from Huntsville City FC of third-division MLS NEXT Pro. The team was aiming to have Griffin as an option as early as this week, a move that would allow Kenardo Forbes the freedom to roam higher up the field and helps cover for the loss of Junior Etou, who remains on the mend from the broken arm he suffered March 28 at Tulsa but should return later this month.

The late-night match — the first to start this late for Hounds fans back in Pittsburgh since 2014 — will only be available by streaming through ESPN+. Local viewers at home will be able to catch the Hounds back on their Pittsburgh’s CW home beginning with next week’s match against Birmingham.

Downloadable Game Notes

Match info

Riverhounds (2-2-3) vs. Indy Eleven (1-3-2)
Date: Saturday, April 29
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.
Odds: Hounds +135 / Draw +220 / Indy +185 (FanDuel)
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #INDvPIT and #HOUNDTAHN

(April 28, 2023) — Fresh off a Third Round U.S. Open Cup win, the Hounds return to USL Championship play and head back on the road to face Indy Eleven for the first time this season on Saturday night at Michael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis.

Both teams are in need of a win to keep pace with the Eastern Conference leaders, as the Hounds currently sit fifth while Indy is in a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the early-season standings. If that wasn’t enough reason to expect a tight match, consider that the Hounds and Eleven have been separated by one goal or fewer in 9 of their 11 meetings since Indy first joined USL.

The Hounds have had the edge the past two seasons, winning a 1-0 match in Indianapolis in 2021, a 1-0 match in Pittsburgh in 2022, and a 2-0 contest in the teams’ most recent battle last year at Carroll Stadium.

Some key players were able to rest their legs in Tuesday’s cup win over the Maryland Bobcats. Kenardo Forbes, Albert Dikwa and Jahmali Waite all got the night off, while Marc Ybarra and Arturo Ordóñez both helped close the match out by entering in the 84th minute and effectively playing 10 minutes after stoppage time. All of those players should be ready for a full workload Saturday, and among regular starters, only Pat Hogan and Luke Biasi played 90 minutes against Maryland.

For Indy, goals have been hard to come by in the early going. They have just four in six matches despite some accomplished attacking pieces along their front line.

Longtime Tampa Bay Rowdies striker Sebastián Guenzatti is Indy’s most-decorated target man and has one goal so far this season. The match also will feature three of the top four assists men in USL Championship history, as Forbes (55) is likely to be joined on the pitch by Aodhan Quinn (49) and Solomon Asante (48) for a total of 152 assists between just the three players.

Indy also had one day fewer to prepare for Saturday’s match, as they were knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday by one of the Hounds’ preseason opponents, the Columbus Crew of MLS. Still, expect the home side to push for a result and try snap a three-game losing streak with another two road matches looming after hosting the Hounds.

Fans who want to tune in to the match live will be able to stream the action via ESPN+.

Downloadable Game Notes

Match info

Riverhounds vs. Maryland Bobcats FC
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round
Date: Tuesday, April 25
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds: Hounds -550 / Draw +500 / Maryland +1000 (FanDuel)
Streaming: B/R Football YouTube & B/R Football mobile app
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvMD, #HOUNDTAHN and #USOC2023

PITTSBURGH (April 24, 2023) — Back at home after a Saturday setback in league play, the Hounds will play for the first time in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when they host Maryland Bobcats FC of the National Independent Soccer Association in a Third Round match starting at 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.

The Hounds advanced to this point of the competition by way of a forfeit win over Rochester New York FC, as the MLS Next Pro side folded prior to their season but after the Second Round draw. The visiting Bobcats had to put out much more effort to advance, but they prevailed 3-2 in extra time over the Ocean City Nor’easters of USL League Two in a match that both teams finished with 10 men after a pair of first-half red cards.

Having just returned home Sunday from a road match in El Paso, Texas, the Hounds will field a shaken-up lineup to provide rest for some players. However, coach Bob Lilley boasts an unblemished record against lower-division opponents in cup play, including a 3-0 mark in such matches with the Hounds, and he will not want to let that mark vanish with a shot to be one of the last 32 teams standing in the Fourth Round.

The match is a rematch of the 2022 Second Round, where the Hounds took a 2-0 win over the Bobcats at Highmark. Toby Sims was the hero of that match with his first two professional goals, and the match should provide some of this year’s young players the opportunity to mimic the feat of Sims, who signed this winter with Harrogate Town in England’s League Two.

The Bobcats do present some danger having won their first two NISA matches, and their attack is led by Honduran forward/midfielder Darwin Espinal, who scored twice against the Nor’easters and has four goals in three competitive matches this season. It will be Espinal’s third chance to crack the Hounds defense in the cup, after his Tampa Bay Rowdies were shut out 1-0 by the Hounds in 2015 and the Bobcats were blanked last year.

Should the Hounds advance, it will be the fifth time in team history they have reached the Fourth Round of the cup, after doing so in 2001 — the quarterfinals were that year’s fourth round — 2014, 2015 and 2019.

For the special midweek cup night, all tickets are just $15, and all seating is general admission. Parking in the stadium’s West Lot will only be $5, and both tickets and parking passes are on sale through Ticketmaster. There will not be a Tailgate Zone for Tuesday’s match, which means food & beverage sales will begin when gates open at 6 p.m.

Downloadable Game Notes

Match info

Riverhounds (2-1-3) vs. El Paso Locomotive FC (2-3-1)
Date: Saturday, April 22
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Southwest University Park, El Paso, Texas
Odds: Hounds +220 / Draw +230 / El Paso +105 (FanDuel)
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #ELPvPIT and #HOUNDTAHN

(April 21, 2023) — The Hounds seek consecutive wins for the first time this season as they head back on the road for a 9:30 p.m. match Saturday at El Paso Locomotive FC at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas.

It is the fifth road match in the first seven games to start the season for the Hounds, and it is the third straight game against a Western Conference opponent. The Hounds toppled Rio Grande Valley at home last weekend, 2-0, but the week prior, they suffered their first loss of the season by a 1-0 score in the mountains of Colorado Springs.

There isn’t much history to go on between the two teams, whose only previous meeting was a 1-0 win for the Hounds last season at Highmark Stadium. Both teams are coming off wins, but the Locomotive haven’t taken the field since April 8, when they got a 1-0 win at home over Orange County.

For the Hounds, Albert Dikwa is coming off a game in which he picked up his fourth goal of the season — and 20th with the Hounds — which has him amongst a logjam of players tied for second in the USL Championship for goals. The striker got some scoring help from Kenardo Forbes, who headed in his first goal of the year, and the Hounds have been at their best when whipping the ball in from wide areas. Luke Biasi and Dani Rovira assisted the two goals last week playing left back and right back, respectively, and somewhat unusually, four of the Hounds’ five assists this season have come from defenders.

The Hounds’ defense, with four goals allowed in six matches, is shaping up to be one of the league’s best. Only Sacramento, which is off to a stifling start with one goal allowed in six games, has given up fewer goals than Pittsburgh. Opta’s xG metric — the expected goals allowed based on the course of play in a match — shows the Hounds xG at less than 0.5 goals in four of their six matches thus far, and only once was the number above 1.0, when the Hounds were reduced to 10 men and Jahmali Waite stopped a penalty kick against Colorado Springs.

El Paso has had a mixed bag of results but is trending in the right direction after losing their first three games. A surprising 3-0 win at Louisville got the Locomotive rolling, and Luis Solignac is back to his goal-scoring ways after getting his third of the season, the game-winning goal in their last match against Orange County.

The trip to El Paso is the first for the Hounds since a U.S. Open Cup win there in 2001, but the Hounds aren’t unfamiliar with Texas heat after playing away matches at San Antonio and RGV in recent summers. This visit is expected to be a bit more mild than those recent Lone Star visits, as the forecast calls for a high of 84 for a sunny Saturday evening match that will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Downloadable Game Notes