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(Oct. 4, 2025) — Things began brightly for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, but a second-half flurry by Miami FC sent the Hounds to a 3-1 defeat tonight at Pitbull Stadium in Miami.

Florida native Charles Ahl opened the scoring for the Hounds (10-10-7) with a top-notch volley that sent the team to the halftime break in the lead. But Tobias Zárate scored twice after the break, and substitute Allen Gavilanes added a late goal to help Miami (6-15-6) stave off elimination in the playoff chase.

The Hounds’ first loss to Miami in their past nine meetings leaves the team in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, missing out on an opportunity to leap to fourth with a win.

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First half

The Hounds were dominant in the first 45 minutes, outshooting the hosts by a 15-1 margin and keeping play largely in the Miami half. Ahl was at the center of that, recording five shots in the match, including a 10th-minute effort from the top of the box that went just over the crossbar.

Ahl got his goal in the 22nd minute on a play that began with his own free kick hitting the Miami wall. The Hounds cycled the ball to the right, where Luke Biasi crossed, and the Miami defense could only get a glancing header away. Ahl was in a perfect position on the opposite side, and he hit a confident right-footed volley to turn the ball into the far side of the net.

It was the fourth goal of the season for Ahl, the most among the Hounds’ first-year pros, and three of his four goals have come against Florida teams — Miami twice and the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

The Hounds could have doubled the lead in the 33rd minute when Bradley Sample put a deft touch on a bouncing ball to create space in the box. Sample fired toward goal, but his shot struck the left upright and stayed in play.

Biasi finished the half with a good chance bolting into the right side of the box, but his hard shot was palmed away by one of five saves by Miami goalkeeper Nicolás Cardona.

Second half

As good as the Hounds were in the first half, Miami turned the tables, and it began quickly.

Zárate got between defenders and onto the end of a ball lofted into the right side of the box before cutting back onto his left foot. He fired quickly, and his low shot had enough pace to beat Hounds goalkeeper Jacob Randolph in the 48th minute.

Zárate got his second in the 59th minute after Miami’s Cristian Vázquez was able to block a Hounds clearance. Francisco Bonfiglio was first to the loose ball and played it back to Vázquez, who passed to the late-arrive Zárate for a finish into the top left corner of the net.

Miami added its insurance goal in the 82nd minute with a skillful finish by Gavilanes, who received an arcing diagonal ball from Gerald Diaz on the left side of the box. Gavilanes took one touch to control, and his second touch was a low finish with his left foot back across the goal.

It was the first time the Hounds have conceded three goals to a USL opponent since March 23, 2024 against Louisville City FC, a span of 63 matches in all competitions against USL clubs.

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Man of the Match

Charles Ahl was a bright spot playing back in his home state, where he produced an excellent opening goal. The first-year pro was active all night in the attack with five total shots — three on goal — three free kicks won, four crosses and a chance created. 

What’s next?

The Hounds are back at home at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, when they will host an Indy Eleven side still hovering near the playoff line in the Eastern Conference. Indy (9-13-5) is holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, despite falling Saturday to Louisville, 2-0.

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Riverhounds SC lineup (3-4-2-1) — Jacob Randolph; Guillaume Vacter, Sean Suber, Beto Ydrach; Junior Etou (Jorge Garcia 76’), Bradley Sample, Danny Griffin, Luke Biasi (Jackson Walti 63’); Charles Ahl, Bertin Jacquesson (Chase Boone 63’); Augi Williams (Brigham Larsen 76’)

Miami FC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Nicolás Campisi; Jonathan Ricketts, Nicolás Cardona, Daltyn Knutson, Tulu (Alejandro Mitrano 86’); Diego Mercado, Matias Romero; Sebastián Blanco (Gerald Diaz 72’), Tobias Zárate (Brandon Bent 86’), Cristian Vázquez (Allen Gavilanes 77’); Francisco Bonfiglio

Scoring summary

PIT — Charles Ahl 22’
MIA — Tobias Zárate 48’ (Matias Romero)
MIA — Tobias Zárate 59’ (Cristian Vázquez)
MIA — Allen Gavilanes 82’ (Gerald Diaz)

Discipline summary

MIA — Nicolás Cardona 27’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Bertin Jacquesson 45+1’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Luke Biasi 58’ (caution – reckless foul)
MIA — Daltyn Knutson 70’ (caution – tactical foul)
MIA — Gerald Diaz 73’ (caution – reckless foul)
MIA — Alejandro Mitrano 90+2 (caution – reckless foul)

PITTSBURGH (Sept 28, 2025) — Augi Wiliams converted from the penalty spot in the 30th minute, and that would prove to be the only goal as the Pittsburgh Riverhounds won for the second straight match, defeating Las Vegas Lights FC tonight at Highmark Stadium, 1-0.

Goalkeeper Jacob Randolph made four saves to record his third shutout in six matches across all competitions — and his first in USL Championship play — this season for the Hounds (10-9-7).

The match was originally scheduled to be played last night, but it was moved by the USL after Las Vegas (6-13-7) had its travel plans unexpectedly disrupted, preventing the Lights from arriving until late Saturday.

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First half

Both teams made quick attempts to get around the defense and create from the goal line. The Lights’ Patrick Leal got a dangerous ball into the Hounds box that was cleared from the front of goal by Guillaume Vacter minutes into the match, and shortly afterward, Junior Etou combined with Robbie Mertz to get to the end line, but his low cross was smothered by Lights goalie Raiko Arozarena.

That early move by Etou signaled what was to come, as Mertz played him through again in the 28th minute. The Hounds wing back cut toward the goal before being tripped by the sliding challenge of Younes Boudadi, causing referee Amin Hadzic to point immediately to the spot.

Williams stepped up to convert the penalty kick on the half-hour mark, scoring to the bottom right corner past the dive of Arozarena. It is the team-leading eighth goal of the season for Williams, who is a perfect 3-for-3 from the penalty mark with the Hounds.

Randolph was largely untested in the first half, but he did make his first save in the 37th minute to catch a curling effort by Lights leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez.

Second half

The Hounds could have doubled their lead five minutes after the break when Luke Biasi picked out a pass to hit Bradley Sample arriving late into the penalty area. Sample had time to take a settling touch before firing a shot that struck the crossbar squarely and bounced back into play.

Traffic continued moving mostly in the Hounds direction — the team outshot Las Vegas by a 19-6 margin — but the Lights did put three more shots on goal, including a free kick by Gennaro Nigro that Randolph caught cleanly in the 68th minute.

Randolph’s best save came in the 81st minute, when he got low again to deny and hold a shot through some traffic by Giorgio Probo. Minutes later, the Hounds had another great chance go wanting, as Chase Boone’s flicked header to the back post fell to the feet of Vacter, whose volley attempt went over the bar.

In stoppage time, Arozarena came up with the biggest of his five saves to deny Brigham Larsen from getting his first Hounds goal. Las Vegas has one last chance when a long goal kick by Arozarena was flicked forward, but Rodriguez couldn’t find the target as he tried to chip Randolph with the ball bouncing in front of him.

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Modelo Man of the Match

Junior Etou was everywhere along the left side during his 80 minutes on the pitch. The wing back won the penalty kick that was the game’s only goal, totaling four touches in the Las Vegas box, six clearances defensively and winning 9 of 12 duels overall.

What’s next?

On an unexpected short week, the Hounds now prepare to head south to face Miami FC at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. Miami (5-15-6) has struggled through September with three 1-0 defeats in four matches, but they did draw 1-1 with the Hounds in their first meeting July 29 in Pittsburgh.

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Riverhounds SC lineup (3-4-2-1) — Jacob Randolph; Guillaume Vacter, Sean Suber, Beto Ydrach; Junior Etou (Illal Osumanu 80’), Bradley Sample (Jackson Walti 80’), Danny Griffin, Luke Biasi; Robbie Mertz (Bertin Jacquesson 72’), Charles Ahl (Chase Boone 72’); Augi Williams (Brigham Larsen 86’)

Las Vegas Lights FC (4-2-3-1) — Raiko Arozarena; Nate Jones, Elias Gärtig, Anthony Herbert, Younes Boudadi (Nighte Pickering 70’); Rory O’Driscoll, Giorgio Probo; Edison Azcona (McKinze Gaines 31’), Patrick Leal (Christopher Pearson 70’), Coleman Gannon (Gennaro Nigro 18’); Jonathan Rodriguez

Scoring summary

PIT — Augi Williams 30’ (penalty)

Discipline summary

None

(Sept. 20, 2025) — Chase Boone’s game-winning goal in the 89th minute handed the Pittsburgh Riverhounds a vital 2-1 win on the road against fellow playoff contender Hartford Athletic tonight at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, Conn.

Boone’s goal was his first as a member of the Hounds (9-9-7), who won for the 13th time in 17 meetings with Hartford (10-10-5). Charles Ahl scored the opening goal for the Hounds in the third minute, before Hartford’s Adrián Diz Pe equalized in the 11th minute.

The match ended with stoppage time still to be played after an altercation that began with a clash between Hartford’s Marlon Hairston and the Hounds’ Danny Griffin. No cards were issued, but referee Greg Dopka ended the match after speaking with both coaches.

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First half

For the third time in the past four matches, the Hounds were on the board in less than five minutes. 

Luke Biasi served a high diagonal ball from the right into the penalty area that Hartford was unable to head clear. Ahl was waiting near the penalty spot, and he struck a low finish that got past Hartford’s Antony Siaha and into the net.

Hartford was back level only eight minutes later after a corner kick. Emmanuel Samadia lifted the set piece high into the penalty area, and Diz Pe timed his jump to be first to the ball at the center of goal and head it past Eric Dick for a 1-1 match.

Biasi was involved again in the 23rd minute after Hartford’s Michee Ngalina got control of the ball with Dick well off his goal line. The forward moved centrally to get around the goalkeeper, but Biasi retreated to the perfect position to stop Ngalina’s effort on goal from getting near the goal line.

Second half

Hartford made a halftime goalkeeper change, bringing John Berner into the match to replace Siaha, who was involved in a collision with Diz Pe late in the first half.

Neither team created much in the way of chances early, but Hartford leading scorer Kyle Edwards had a header from a driven Ngalina cross that flew just wide of the goal in the 67th minute. Shortly afterward, Biasi again had a late intervention, as his glancing header at the back post prevented Ngalina from getting an open look at goal.

As the match ticked into its final minutes Bertin Jacquesson lofted a ball forward into the box on the right side for Griffin. Griffin flicked the ball laterally to Brigham Larsen, whose shot from an angle was blocked. The rebound caromed free to the front of goal, where Boone was there to finish into the open net.

Hartford pushed forward for a tying goal, and a tackle near the top of the box where Hairston was dispossessed led to the start of the match-ending altercation, moments after six minutes of stoppage time was displayed by the fourth official.

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Modelo Man of the Match

Luke Biasi came up with a pair of big defensive plays to keep the match level at 1-1, first retreating to deny Ngalina at the goal line, and later coming up with a last ditch header to deny Ngalina a close-range chance at the back post. Biasi also contributed five clearances, recovered possession three times and served the cross that led to Ahl’s opening goal.

What’s next?

The Hounds head back home to close out September with a home match against Western Conference foe Las Vegas Lights FC at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 at Highmark Stadium. The Lights (6-12-7) were knocked off tonight by league-leading Louisville City FC, 3-1.  

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Riverhounds SC lineup (3-4-2-1) — Eric Dick; Guillaume Vacter, Sean Suber, Beto Ydrach; Junior Etou (Illal Osumanu 69’), Bradley Sample (Bertin Jacquesson 88’), Danny Griffin, Luke Biasi; Robbie Mertz (Jason Bouregy 81’), Charles Ahl (Chase Boone 69’); Augi Williams (Brigham Larsen 81’)

Hartford Athletic lineup (3-4-3) — Antony Siaha (John Berner 46’); Jordan Scarlett, Joe Farrell, Adrián Diz; Emmanuel Samadia, Samuel Careaga (Jack Panayotou 63’), Marlon Hairston, Sebastian Anderson; Michee Ngalina, Kyle Edwards, Junior Moreira (Adewale Obalola 63’)

Scoring summary

PIT — Charles Ahl 3’
HFD — Adrián Diz Pe 11’ (Emmanuel Samadia)
PIT — Chase Boone 89’

Discipline summary

HFD — Sebastian Anderson 58’ (caution – tactical foul)
HFD — Adrián Diz Pe 60’ (caution – reckless foul)