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Even the pros like to have some fun once in a while, and that’s how practice began on a rainy day.

The group was divided into teams to play a hybrid handball/ultimate frisbee/soccer variant as a warm-up activity, with players throwing the ball to one another while still trying to score with headers in front of the net. Perhaps inspired by a question on last night’s Season Ticket Holder Virtual Event asking who would be the best Hounds teammate to choose for a 3-on-3 basketball game, the warm-up game was a good way to get the legs moving and get competitive, even if it exposed which of the players aren’t nearly as comfortable throwing and catching as they are kicking.

Once that was done, the field setup was already set up to transition into some short-sided games, and an otherwise normal-looking practice ensued. Another common drill with the team operating in 5-on-4, rapid-fire rush situations was on the day’s ledger, as the Hounds will look to improve their goal-scoring output Saturday against Philadelphia Union II after netting just one goal across their last 180 preseason minutes.

Friday’s practice — the last of the preseason — will likely be more of a walkthrough with a match on Saturday before preparations for the Tampa Bay Rowdies begin in earnest.

While Wednesday is usually an off day during regular-season match weeks, the team came to the stadium on this Wednesday to shake off the Tuesday malaise that afflicted them a day ago.

The Hounds turned in a much crisper, shortened session on the field after players went through their regular recovery and treatment regimen, getting things back on track for a strong performance in Saturday’s preseason finale.

While most of the players will be taking the evening off and the Academy takes over the Highmark Stadium field, there is a little extra pro team action on the schedule today. This evening, Jordan Dover and Danny Vitiello will join coach Bob Lilley and new team president Vic Gregovits tonight in a Zoom call with season ticket holders, who were asked to submit questions for the players and staff in advance.

The special event is just one more indication the season is nearly here, and both Dover and Vitiello came off the field eager to talk to the fans who will be able to fill the seats again and see them in person starting May 22.

A few good performances in preseason matches isn’t going to cause the Hounds’ coaching staff to stop pushing them ahead of a difficult season-opening trip to Tampa Bay, and the players saw that firsthand in today’s training session.

It was a day that, frankly, felt Floridian with temperatures in the 80s and high humidity with rain in the forecast later in the week, and that heat seemed to take its toll during a session that had some sluggish moments and uncommon miscues. Though the drills and exercises were similar or the same to ones earlier in preseason, things seemed just a step off on this day.

Whether the reason was the heat or the grind of being in the final week of preseason, the lack of sharpness led to the coaching staff having to deliver some words of criticism after practice. But with the criticism came encouragement, as the players were asked to rest, recover and regroup for better sessions the rest of the week ahead of Philadelphia Union II’s arrival for a noon Saturday kickoff.

The final week of preseason kicked off with the team having recovered from a third consecutive road preseason match, this one a 1-1 draw against an Indy Eleven team they will face again in less than two months.

Looking back on that match, the team’s biggest positive moment — the goal by Russell Cicerone — was reflection of the players taking what has been drilled in practice and putting it into effect in a game situation. The build-up leading to what Cicerone called “a great team goal,” saw Alex Dixon get a ball played through behind the Indy defense, exactly the areas head coach Bob Lilley has pushed his players to exploit.

“I don’t remember exactly how it started, but I know we built up from the back. There was good movement from everyone involved,” said Dixon, who went on to describe the goal.

“I made a darting run forward, and Jordan (Dover) found me with a good ball. I had a good first touch, a little bit toward the touchline, and I whipped in a good ball to Russ, whose finish was a great finish — first time, hard and high, and didn’t give the keeper much of a chance. I think that was probably one of the best goals we’ve scored in the preseason so far.”

Along with the positives come some negatives. The team’s marking was lacking on the one goal conceded, while giving up a penalty kick — though it was eventually saved — also highlighted a moment for improvement.

Dixon spoke a little about how those moments, the clinical finishing in front of goal and how a team handles crucial game moments inside their own penalty area, are some of the hardest to prepare for with so many new faces around.

“The longer we play together, the more intuitive becomes, to the point where we don’t even have to speak as much, we just know the right spots to be at,” Dixon said. “I think we’re getting there, but the goal we gave up is a symptom of that. We still have kinks to work out, but we’re almost there.”

While much of the USL Championship begins this weekend, if they haven’t already, the Hounds still have one more preseason match to work out those kinks. Philadelphia Union II — now no longer a USL Championship side — comes to Highmark Stadium at noon this Saturday, a match that will bring the preseason to its close and send the Hounds into their first game week of 2021.

Miss any of the posts, photos and videos from earlier in the preseason? You can find prior weeks here:

Preseason Week 1

Preseason Week 2

Preseason Week 3

Preseason Week 4

One of the RDA’s youngest teams took over top billing last weekend.

The 2011 Girls put together four great matches to win their division at the Club Ohio Nike Challenge Cup in Dublin, Ohio, finishing off Sunday with a 7-1 win over Century United in an all-Western Pa. final.

The team outscored their opponents 22-1 on the weekend, cruising through the group stage with three consecutive shutouts, while Lilia Bhuta and Gianna Marts paced the scoring effort throughout the tournament.

While the young Hounds were taking care of business in Ohio, the older girls teams were hosting another ECNL weekend at Highmark Stadium and Montour Junction, as Ohio Elite and Racing Louisville provided the opposition Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

The 05 Girls were double winners on the weekend, but they didn’t make it easy in either game, pushing out to a big lead before holding on for a 3-2 victory in each match. Alexis Tylenda, Fiona Mahan and Lola Abraham scored in the opener, while Tylenda and two more from Mahan accounted for the Sunday goals. Lucia Wells also was outstanding for the Hounds, filling in with the team missing Ava Boyd for the weekend’s games.

The 07 Girls took four points from the weekend, as Simone Sharpless scored and Isabella Costa bagged the late winner in a 2-1 triumph over Ohio Elite. The team then battled in one of the weekend’s most even matches, a deserved 0-0 draw with Louisville.

Wrapping up the weekend with a win was the 02/03 Girls, who bounced back from a tough 3-2 loss for a convincing 3-0 win over Louisville behind a Melissa Riggins hat trick.

Other weekend matches saw the 08 East Boys snag a 2-1 win over the 08 RDA II Boys in an all-Hounds GLA matchup. For more from the weekend and throughout the spring season, visit the Live Results page.

Another brief walkthrough session ended the week before boarding the bus to travel to Indianapolis for Saturday’s fifth preseason game against Indy Eleven.

Both new forwards to the team, academy-contracted Wyatt Borso and on-loan Tommy Williamson, made the trip, so both potentially could see their first action in a Hounds uniform as the team tries to bounce back from being shut out for the first time this preseason by Louisville City last week.

Other things to watch for include a chance for the team’s other goalkeepers, after returning starter Danny Vitiello has played the previous three matches in net. Match fitness will also be tested, as the Hounds try to establish who is ready for a 90-minute shift in Tampa Bay in two weeks’ time.

Russell Cicerone caught up with #HoundsTV about upcoming opponent Indy Eleven, playing their third straight road preseason match, and how he and his teammates are getting used to each other and the City of Pittsburgh. 

It’s a typical Pittsburgh spring, as the 70-degree weather of the early week gave way to 30 degrees and snow flurries during this afternoon’s training session.

The cold puts an added importance on players taking care of their bodies during the preseason, which was one of the topics midfielder Anthony Velarde talked about in a post-practice chat.

Keeping up with a recent trend, the team was on and off the field after about 90 minutes of the scheduled hour, having gone through a quickly paced session and getting the necessary work done.

Players are never too old to work on fundamentals, and the session started with assistant coach Dan Visser leading the players through some basic touch and footwork drills, testing both the agility and technique of the players while getting them loose.

From there, the drills were variants on others used during preseason, including a short-field, 5-on-5 rush drill that again incorporated the goalkeepers taking some live fire.

After the official practice ended, many of the players elected to stay on the field and do some individual work. About eight or nine elected to try their luck from the penalty spot, a task for which goalkeeper Danny Vitiello was happy to provide the opposition.

The shooters had the upper hand in the early going, but Vitiello started to get a read on his teammates and ran off an impressive streak of four consecutive saves. That prompted Bob Lilley, who had been speaking with some of the players individually, to jump to the front of the line, much to the delight of his players.

Lilley took a deliberate run-up to the ball and showed he still has the touch from his pro playing days, deftly placing the ball under the crossbar and far enough toward the right corner that Vitiello couldn’t reach it. The goal was greeted with cheers — and a few playful jeers for Vitiello for letting the coach score — but it was the sort of lighthearted moment that can help break up the grind of a five-week preseason hitting its final week and a half.

Back on the practice field with only two weeks remaining in preseason, the Hounds honed in on some specific areas of improvement, including possession in tight quarters and finishing.

The latter was lacking in Saturday’s preseason match against Louisville City FC, a 2-0 setback that was the team’s first loss of the exhibition schedule. But counterintuitive as it may seem, the staff and players seemed more content with the all-around play at Louisville — one of the USL Championship’s top sides — than they did a week earlier with a win over FC Cincinnati, an MLS side.

“I think going into the game, we worked on some things like cleaning up our defense and not allowing so many chances in behind. Where Cincinnati created a few more, we did a lot to limit Louisville’s chances and create chances of our own,” midfielder Danny Griffin said.

Some of the more basic peripheral numbers indicated that, as the edge in shots, shots on goal and corner kicks all leaned the way of the black and gold. And, of course, finishing requires a little more in the timing and precision department, so it’s natural that would be the aspect of the Hounds’ game that needs a little more time to come together.

“Now being three weeks in, the attacking six kind of knows more about the kind of runs each other likes to make, the spots we take up, and you can definitely see that it’s getting more connected as we’re playing more, and it’s positive,” Griffin said.

Griffin had the best view of what was going on in the middle of the park Saturday, as he was the only field player to log a full 90-minute shift. Going into his second year with the Hounds, the 22-year-old has the opportunity to take on a larger role, and his fitness could play a big part of that.

“Just getting the 90 minutes in, I feel fit. I feel ready to go. I’m just looking to keep getting better before our first game against Tampa,” Griffin said. “You can see it building up, and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Of course, the other thing Saturday’s preseason match exposed the Hounds to was playing in front of a hostile crowd. The game at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville was the team’s first with fans in attendance, and of course, the team will begin the regular season with two consecutive road matches before finally playing a home date against Charlotte Independence on May 22.

Asked if he enjoyed playing in front of a crowd, Griffin said: “For sure. It was great seeing fans. I definitely miss that Steel Army and look forward to having them back at Highmark Stadium.”

Miss anything from last week’s preseason entries? Click your way back a week with the Week 3 Preseason Blog to get caught up.