
Match info
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
#4 Riverhounds vs. #5 Hartford Athletic
Date: Saturday, Nov. 1
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Odds: Hounds -115 / Draw +240 / Hartford +300 at Fan Duel (After 90 minutes of play)
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: Radio Las Palmas, 92.9 FM HD2
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvHFD and #Grittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (Oct. 30, 2025) — It’s win or go home time in the USL Championship, and the Hounds will stand across the field from a familiar nemesis for the first time in the postseason when they host Hartford Athletic in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.
On paper, Hartford might seem to be the preferred opponent for the Hounds, who claimed a season sweep this year and hold a 13-2-2 record all-time against the Nutmeg Staters. But matches between the sides have been close in recent seasons, and the Hounds escaping Connecticut with a 2-1 win on an 89th-minute goal by Chase Boone will be fresh on the minds of both sides.
Hounds fans might remember — but likely would prefer to forget — the last time Hartford coach Brendan Burke was on the sideline for a playoff match at Highmark Stadium. Burke’s side spoiled the first-ever playoff match at the venue in 2018, when Bethlehem Steel upset the third-seeded Hounds on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Meanwhile, Hounds acting head coach Rob Vincent will be the first person other than Bob Lilley to direct the Hounds in a home playoff match in 19 years, going back to Gene Klein‘s first season as head coach and a loss to the Charlotte Eagles in the 2006 USL Second Division Playoffs.
The Hounds do have a healthy lineup, and after a 4-1-1 record to close the regular season, squad changes are expected to be minimal after the team trotted out the same starting lineup for the past two matches. That includes a defense with Sean Suber in the center of it, after the second-year Hounds defender became just the fourth player to play every minute of a regular season in team history and posted 204 clearances on the season, the third-highest total in USL Championship history since the stat was first tracked in 2017.
Hartford, meanwhile, comes into the playoffs on the heels of back-to-back road losses, 3-2 at Tampa Bay and 1-0 at Louisville. But on the balance of the season, Hartford was a good road team with a 7-6-2 record away from home, which doesn’t include winning the USL Jägermeister Cup, 1-0, on a cross-country trip to Sacramento at the start of October.
The biggest danger presented by the visitors, who were fourth in the Championship with 48 goals scored this season, is their variety of attacking options. That group includes top scorer Kyle Edwards (12 goals), late-season acquisition and former Golden Boot winner Hadji Barry, and speedy Michee Ngalina, who scored for Bethlehem in that 2018 playoff match and has four career goals against the Hounds.
The team to advance Saturday will move on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Nov. 8 against the winner between No. 1 Louisville and No. 8 Detroit. The higher seed will host, and time and TV listings for that match will be announced after the completion of the quarterfinal round.
For the playoff match, fans are encouraged to wear black as part of a “Black Aht” to set the stage, and in-stadium specials include the return of $1 IC Light before kickoff in the Tailgate Zone and the stadium. With the 6:30 p.m. kickoff time, the Tailgate Zone will open a half hour earlier at 4:30, and gates to Highmark Stadium will open at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday’s match will be shown live locally on both SportsNet Pittsburgh and SNP+. If coverage of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey runs long, the match will be shown in its entirety on SNP+ and joined in progress on SportsNet Pittsburgh. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and Radio Las Palmas, 92.9 FM HD2 will carry the Spanish-language radio broadcast.
Tickets for Saturday’s match are still available through Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office, and playoff bundles that will be good for all postseason matches at Highmark Stadium also are on sale.
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