Press Releases

PITTSBURGH (April 13, 2021) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has hired longtime sports executive Vic Gregovits as its new team President, bringing home a Pittsburgh native with more than 30 years of experience in sports management to lead the club’s front office.

“I’m honored to have the chance to return to Pittsburgh and lead one of the founding teams in USL,” Gregovits said. “The Riverhounds have a special place in both USL history and in Pittsburgh sports, and I look forward to helping the team continue its growth at Highmark Stadium.”

Gregovits was raised in West Homestead, Pa., and is a graduate of Bishop Boyle High School and Robert Morris University, where he received his degree in sports management. He is no stranger to soccer in Pittsburgh, as he began his career as an intern for the Pittsburgh Spirit indoor soccer team during the 1985-86 season.

From there, Gregovits embarked on a career that has included stints with the Minnesota Strikers indoor soccer team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cleveland Indians as Director of Ticket Sales, the Philadelphia Eagles as Vice President of Sales, the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football as President, and back home with the Pittsburgh Pirates as Vice President of Marketing and Broadcasting from 1997-2003.

After serving with the Pirates, Gregovits also returned to Robert Morris as the CEO of the school’s Island Sports Center Complex and had a second stint with the Cleveland Indians as Senior VP of Sales and Marketing, serving nine years in that role from 2004-13.

Most recently, he was President of the Louisville Bats, the Class AAA minor league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He also has consulted with sports franchises across multiple leagues with naming rights agreements, corporate partnerships and strategic planning.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to make the Riverhounds a top team, on and off the field, we’re thrilled to bring someone with Vic’s experience and leadership to Pittsburgh,” Riverhounds owner Tuffy Shallenberger said.

In addition to his sports roles, Gregovits has served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society and on the Robert Morris University Board of Trustees.

Vic and his wife, Patty, have two children, Jason and Samantha.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s full schedule for the 2021 USL regular season, a 32-game slate that begins May 8 and concludes Oct. 30, was announced Tuesday by the league.

Two consecutive away games to begin the season, followed by a newly scheduled home opener on Saturday, May 22, will be the start of the Riverhounds’ 22nd season of play. It will be the fourth season under head coach Bob Lilley, and the team is seeking a club-best fourth consecutive postseason berth.

For the second time in three seasons, the Hounds will begin on the road at the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The last time the teams met in Florida was the 2019 season opener won by the Rowdies, 2-0, which was the only time in the past nine years the Hounds have lost their first road match in a season. The Hounds are 3-2-4 in season openers since 2012, and this is the fourth straight year the team has opened its season away from home.

Also notable on the full schedule is a new first home date that will see the Hounds take to the turf at Highmark Stadium two weeks sooner than originally announced by the league. The Hounds will host the Charlotte Independence on May 22 in their first home game of the season, which is the team’s ninth year calling Highmark Stadium home. The team is 2-4-2 in home openers at Highmark.

Also on the team’s slate is a busy June with seven total matches, including first-time meetings at home with Austin Bold FC (June 6) and Miami FC (June 12). Charlotte returns to face the Hounds on Independence Day weekend match Saturday, July 3, and the Hounds have three home dates each month from June-October, closing the regular season with a two-game homestand against longtime foe Charleston Battery (Oct. 23) and newfound divisional rival Hartford Athletic (Oct. 30).

The full 2021 schedule is available at www.riverhounds.com.

Riverhounds SC is entering the 2021 season prepared to safely welcome its fans to Highmark Stadium. Current Pennsylvania regulations allow for capacity of 1,100 on match days, and the team’s plans will continue to evolve as state guidelines for outdoor gatherings change. Season and half-season ticket holders will be able to attend under the current guidelines, and further ticket sale and distribution policies will be announced at a later date.

PITTSBURGH (March 18, 2021) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has signed defender Casey Bartlett-Scott to a deal for the 2021 USL Championship season with a club option for 2022, pending USL and USSF approval.

Bartlett-Scott, 26, a native of Portsmouth, England, is joining the Hounds on his first professional deal and returning to the U.S., where he was an NAIA All-American at Columbia College (Mo.). “Casey is a left-footed defender who is quite good in 1-v-1 matchups. He will bring pace and intensity to our group of defenders, and we are looking forward to working with him during the 2021 USL Championship season,” Riverhounds head coach Bob Lilley said.

Bartlett-Scott was twice named a first-team All-American Midwest Conference selection before earning first-team All-America honors as a senior in 2019. That season, Bartlett-Scott started all 24 games, posting two goals and four assists, as Columbia College went 23-1, losing for the only time in the NAIA semifinals to Hastings College.

During his time as an amateur in the U.S., Bartlett-Scott also appeared for the Saint Louis FC U-23s and the Erie Admirals. He started for the Admirals against the Hounds in a 2018 second-round U.S. Open Cup match at Gannon University, which the Hounds won, 2-1. Most recently, Bartlett-Scott was playing in his native England for Fareham Town, an amateur club in the Wessex League in the lower divisions of English football.

The signing brings the number of players under contract for the 2021 season to 18. Players are slated to begin reporting to Pittsburgh next weekend for the beginning of preseason.

Players currently under contract:

Forwards – Russell Cicerone, Albert Dikwa, Alex Dixon, Josh Gatt

Midfielders – Danny Griffin, Kenardo Forbes, Louis Perez, Anthony Velarde, Todd Wharton

Defenders – Ezra Armstrong, Casey Bartlett-Scott, Jordan Dover, Preston Kilwien, Dani Rovira, Mekeil Williams

Goalkeepers – Jake Leeker, Chris Morrish, Danny Vitiello

PITTSBURGH (March 12, 2021) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has signed goalkeeper Jake Leeker to a one-year contract with a club option for 2022, pending USL and USSF approval. Leeker, 25, comes to the Hounds for his fourth pro season after debuting in the USL Championship in 2018 with Real Monarchs and spending the past two seasons with Portland Timbers II.

“We look forward to bringing Jake into our team for the 2021 USL Championship season. He is a very capable shot-stopper with athleticism and length that we feel will grow in our system,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said. “Along with Danny Vitiello and Chris Moorish, our goalkeeping group is young and talented and will continue to develop during the course of the season.”

A native of St. Louis, Leeker played his college soccer at the University of Memphis, where he recorded ten shutouts in his 47 matches for the Tigers from 2014-17.  Undrafted out of college, he signed with Real Monarchs as a free agent and had a successful rookie campaign with six shutouts in 17 starts, as he split time in net and helped the Utah club to fourth place in the Western Conference and a playoff berth.

Leeker then made the move to Portland, where he was a teammate for one season of newly acquired Hounds midfielder Todd Wharton. During his two years in the Pacific Northwest, Leeker made 25 appearances, recorded two shutouts, and made 90 saves for a Timbers 2 side that missed the playoffs both years and especially struggled defensively in 2020. In addition to his USL experience, Leeker has a big asset in his size at 6-foot-5, which makes him the tallest player on the Hounds’ roster currently.

The Riverhounds now have 17 players under contract for 2021, with just over two weeks until players begin to report for preseason at the end of March.

Players currently under contract:

Forwards – Russell Cicerone, Albert Dikwa, Alex Dixon, Josh Gatt

Midfielders – Danny Griffin, Kenardo Forbes, Louis Perez, Anthony Velarde, Todd Wharton

Defenders – Ezra Armstrong, Jordan Dover, Preston Kilwien, Dani Rovira, Mekeil Williams

Goalkeepers – Jake Leeker, Chris Morrish, Danny Vitiello

PITTSBURGH (March 10, 2021) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has added another veteran to its defensive group, signing Mekeil Williams to a one-year contract with a club option for 2022, pending USL and USSF approval.

Williams, 30, is a Trinidad and Tobago international whose club career has included stops in MLS with the Colorado Rapids and the USL with both the Richmond Kickers and Oklahoma City Energy. “Mekeil is a quality defender who can play anywhere across the back line,” Riverhounds head coach Bob Lilley said. “He is comfortable on the ball and is a seasoned pro who will add composure and leadership to our roster. We are excited to have Mekeil joining the Pittsburgh Riverhounds for the 2021 USL Championship season.”

A 6-foot-1 defender, Williams most recently played for top Guatemalan side Municipal. He signed with the club in December 2019 and made 12 appearances in what ended up being a Covid-shortened season. Williams’ experience in the U.S. includes spending 2016-17 with the Rapids, for whom he made a total of 38 league appearances. Williams then moved to USL with the Kickers in 2018, twice suiting up against the Riverhounds that season, and with the Energy in 2019, making a total of 55 USL appearances.

Before coming to the U.S., Williams’ career included a stint in Guatemala, stops with clubs in Poland and Denmark, and time at home in Trinidad and Tobago’s Pro League, where he made his professional debut in 2009 and helped his side, W Connection, win the title in 2014.

Williams has made 36 appearances for Trinidad & Tobago, appearing in both the 2015 and 2019 Gold Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the Soca Warriors. He also scored on his international debut in 2012 in a friendly against Finland.

The Riverhounds now have 16 players under contract for the 2021 USL Championship season, with players slated to arrive to start preseason at the end of March and the regular season scheduled to kick off in early May.

Players currently under contract:

Forwards – Russell Cicerone, Albert Dikwa, Alex Dixon, Josh Gatt

Midfielders – Danny Griffin, Kenardo Forbes, Louis Perez, Anthony Velarde, Todd Wharton

Defenders – Ezra Armstrong, Jordan Dover, Preston Kilwien, Dani Rovira, Mekeil Williams

Goalkeepers – Chris Morrish, Danny Vitiello

PITTSBURGH (February 19, 2021) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has signed veteran midfielder Todd Wharton to a one-year contract with a club option for 2022, pending USL and USSF approval.

Wharton, 27, most recently played for Saint Louis FC in the club’s final season in the USL Championship. He appeared in all but one match last season, as SLFC qualified for the 2020 playoffs on the final day of the season and reached the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“Todd is a proven veteran in the USL. He brings a professional mentality and technical quality to the group and has been a versatile midfielder with all of his teams,” Riverhounds head coach Bob Lilley said. “We look forward to having his consistency and talent here in Pittsburgh for the 2021 season.”

Wharton brings five years of USL experience, including his first three seasons with Rio Grande Valley FC from 2016-18 and the 2019 season with Portland Timbers 2. With Rio Grande Valley, Wharton worked his way into the lineup over his three seasons, making 61 total appearances and scoring six goals over that span. After making the move to join Portland, Wharton had a career-best six goals while playing all 34 matches for the Western Conference side.

Wharton entered the professional ranks after a successful college career at Virginia, where he was part of the Cavaliers’ NCAA Championship victory in his junior season of 2014. A Richmond, Va., native, he scored 11 goals in 85 matches during his four years in Charlottesville but went undrafted in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, leading him to sign with Rio Grande Valley as a free agent.

The addition of Wharton brings the Hounds’ roster to 16 players under contract for the 2021 season. The Hounds are striving for a club-record fourth consecutive playoff berth, having made the postseason each year under Lilley’s leadership.

Players currently under contract:

Forwards – Russell Cicerone, Albert Dikwa, Alex Dixon, Josh Gatt

Midfielders – Danny Griffin, Kenardo Forbes, Louis Perez, Anthony Velarde, Todd Wharton

Defenders – Ezra Armstrong, Alex DeJohn, Jordan Dover, Preston Kilwien, Dani Rovira

Goalkeepers – Chris Morrish, Danny Vitiello

PITTSBURGH (February 17, 2021) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has signed midfielder Louis Perez to a one-year contract with a club option for 2022, pending USL and USSF approval, adding another talented young player to boost the side in the middle of the field.

Perez, 23, is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where the first-year pro had a decorated career as an outstanding playmaker for the Golden Knights.

“We are excited to welcome Louis Perez on board for the 2021 USL season,” Riverhounds head coach Bob Lilley said. “He is a gifted passer who makes good decisions on the ball. His ability to find his teammates and generate goal-scoring chances will be an asset in the final third, and he is quite capable on restarts, as well.”

In 2019, his last full season for UCF, Perez was the team’s second-leading scorer with four goals and 11 assists, one-off a school single-season record. The 11 assists were fourth in the NCAA and led to a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection and a listing in TopDrawerSoccer.com’s top 100 college players, where he currently ranks 66th. As a sophomore, Perez was named the AAC Midfielder of the Year and a third-team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches, all while leading the Golden Knights to the AAC regular-season title.

In three postseasons with UCF, Perez’s team reached the AAC final all three years and was selected for the NCAA tournament in 2018 and 2019, reaching the third round (Round of 16) in 2019, losing in overtime to Southern Methodist, 2-1. Originally from Villennes-sur-Seine, France, Perez played his youth soccer with some of his home country’s top clubs. He competed for the Paris Saint-Germain U-17 side before finishing his youth career, playing three seasons with ESTAC Troyes, for which he scored five goals and four assists in the French U-19 national league.

With Perez added to the mix, the Hounds now have 15 players under contract for the 2021 USL Championship season, which is tentatively slated for a late-April or early-May beginning.

Players currently under contract:

Forwards – Russell Cicerone, Albert Dikwa, Alex Dixon, Josh Gatt

Midfielders – Danny Griffin, Kenardo Forbes, Louis Perez, Anthony Velarde

Defenders – Ezra Armstrong, Alex DeJohn, Jordan Dover, Preston Kilwien, Dani Rovira

Goalkeepers – Chris Morrish, Danny Vitiello