Press Releases

PITTSBURGH (January 9, 2020) – Today, the USL Championship unveiled its 2020 regular season schedule, which has Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC geared up for a 34-game slate.

Pittsburgh will open the season on the road against the Charlotte Independence on Saturday, March 14 before returning to Highmark Stadium for its home opener on Saturday, March 21 against Louisville City FC.

For its annual July 4 match at Highmark Stadium, Pittsburgh will host North Carolina FC. The club will close its season against the Charleston Battery on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Highmark Stadium. All home matches will take place at Highmark Stadium.

Riverhounds SC will play each Eastern Conference team twice with the exception of Philadelphia Union II and Loudoun United FC. The club will face Philadelphia and Loudoun three times each with two away matches against Union II and two home matches against United FC.

Earlier this week, it was announced the Hounds will have three of their regular season games televised on the ESPN family of networks. This includes a match at the Tampa Bay Rowdies on March 27 (ESPN Deportes), a showdown at Louisville City FC on July 1 (ESPNews) and a home game against Miami FC on Oct. 9 (ESPN Deportes).

Home opener individual tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com. Individual tickets for all games will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 13 and can be purchased at https://www.riverhounds.com/tickets.

The full 2020 regular season schedule is below. Kickoff times are TBA.

2020 Season Schedule:

Saturday, March 14 – @Charlotte Independence

Saturday, March 21 – Louisville City FC

Friday, March 27 – @Tampa Bay Rowdies

Saturday, April 4 – Birmingham Legion FC

Saturday, April 11 – @Sporting Kansas City II

Saturday, April 18 – Loudoun United FC

Saturday, April 25 – Saint Louis FC

Saturday, May 2 – @North Carolina FC

Saturday, May 9 – Philadelphia Union II

Saturday, May 16 – Memphis 901 FC

Sunday, May 24 – @New York Red Bulls II

Saturday, May 30 – Hartford Athletic

Sunday, June 7 – @Miami FC

Sunday, June 14 – @Philadelphia Union II

Wednesday, June 17 – @Atlanta United 2

Saturday, June 20 – @Loudoun United FC

Saturday, June 27 – Indy Eleven

Wednesday, July 1 – @Louisville City FC

Saturday, July 4 – North Carolina FC

Saturday, July 11 – @Birmingham Legion FC

Saturday, July 18 – @Charleston Battery

Saturday, July 25 – Charlotte Independence

Saturday, Aug. 1 – Loudoun United FC

Wednesday, Aug. 5 – @Memphis 901 FC

Saturday, Aug. 8 – New York Red Bulls II

Sunday, Aug. 23 – Tampa Bay Rowdies

Saturday, Aug. 29 – Sporting Kansas City II

Friday, Sept. 4 – @Philadelphia Union II

Wednesday, Sept. 9 – @Hartford Athletic

Sunday, Sept. 13 – Atlanta United 2

Saturday, Sept. 19 – @Indy Eleven

Saturday, Oct. 3 – @Saint Louis FC

Friday, Oct. 9 – Miami FC

Saturday, Oct. 17 – Charleston Battery

PITTSBURGH (January 9, 2020) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC home opener individual tickets are now on sale. The club will face off against Louisville City FC at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 21 at Highmark Stadium.

Fans can purchase home opener individual tickets at ticketmaster.com.

This will mark the rematch of the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinal showdown, which saw two-time champion Louisville defeat the Hounds, 2-1, in extra time at Highmark Stadium.

Announced on Wednesday, the Hounds will be featured on three broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks in 2020. For more information, view yesterday’s press release.

The entire 2020 regular season schedule will be announced in the near future.

PITTSBURGH (January 8, 2020) – Announced today by USL Championship and ESPN, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will be televised on the ESPN family of networks for three 2020 regular season matches.

Riverhounds SC will play the most games on this family of networks of all other USL Championship teams.

The team will kick off this broadcast schedule with an away game at Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 27, which will be featured on ESPN Deportes.

The Hounds find themselves on ESPNews on Wednesday, July 1, when they face off against two-time champion Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium. This match will kick off at 7p.m.

The final match will be featured on ESPN Deportes, as Pittsburgh hosts Miami FC at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9 at Highmark Stadium. This will mark the first-ever time Miami will visit the Hounds.

Earlier this week, the club announced its home opener against Louisville City FC, which is set for 7 p.m. on March 21 at Highmark Stadium. Tickets for the club’s home opener will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Thursday and can be purchased at https://www.riverhounds.com/tickets or by calling (412) 865-GOAL.

PITTSBURGH (January 6, 2020) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC will kick off its 2020 home schedule against Louisville City FC at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 21 at Highmark Stadium, announced today by the USL Championship.

Individual tickets for the home opener will go on sale at 10 a.m. this Thursday, Jan. 9 and can be purchased at https://www.riverhounds.com/tickets or by calling the club’s ticketing department at (412) 865-GOAL. Season tickets and Flexbooks are currently on sale and can be purchased online or by calling the aforementioned number.

The Hounds last clashed with Louisville during the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals, taking place at Highmark Stadium. Pittsburgh defender Thomas Vancaeyezeele scored a goal in the 11th minute, but Louisville ultimately won the match in extra time, 2-1.

In the Highmark Stadium era, the Hounds hold a 2-3-2 record in home openers and a three-game unbeaten streak (1-0-2) in such matches. The club defeated Hartford Athletic, 3-1, during last year’s home opener in front of a sellout crowd.

Also announced today, Riverhounds SC will travel to battle the Charlotte Independence in their home opener on Saturday, March 14. The entire 2020 schedule will be announced at a later date.

For more information on the home opener rollout leaguewide, visit uslchampionship.com.

PITTSBURGH (December 19, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has signed forward Lukas Fernandes to a one-year contract with a club option for the 2021 season, pending USL Championship and USSF approval.

Playing at Temple University from 2016-19, Fernandes led the team in points as both a junior and senior en route to being named All-AAC (American Athletic Conference) for each campaign.

“Lukas is a versatile player who can play any of the attacking positions,” head coach Bob Lilley said. “He has exceptional movement and works hard on both sides of the ball. We look forward to having him on our team for the 2020 season.”

Fernandes became a mainstay on the Temple attack during his junior season, posting a team-leading six goals in 19 appearances while being named the squad’s offensive MVP. As a senior, he started all 17 of his games played and tied for the team lead with three goals and paced the group with five assists.

In his collegiate career with the Owls, the Rochester, New York native recorded 55 games played (34 starts), 10 goals and nine assists.

Riverhounds SC now has nine players under contract heading into the 2020 season.

Roster breakdown for 2020 season:

Forwards (3): Steevan Dos Santos, Lukas Fernandes, Mark Forrest

Midfielders (4): Kenardo Forbes, Robbie Mertz, Dani Rovira, Anthony Velarde

Defenders (2): Ryan James, Thomas Vancaeyezeele

PITTSBURGH (December 4, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has announced its initial offseason roster plans, picking up the contract options of eight players.

The team has elected to pick up the options of the following players: Steevan Dos Santos, Kenardo Forbes, Mark Forrest, Ryan James, Robbie Mertz, Dani Rovira, Thomas Vancaeyezeele and Anthony Velarde.

Six players had their options declined by the club: Prosper Figbe, Sammy Kahsai, Austin Pack, Caleb Smith, Uchenna Uzo and Christian Volesky.

The subsequent nine players are currently out of contract: Tobi Adewole, Neco Brett, Mouhamed Dabo, Jordan Dover, Noah Franke, Joe Greenspan, Kevin Kerr, Kyle Morton and Todd Pratzner.

“We are currently assessing the market for potential free agent USL acquisitions as well as continuing conversations with our players who are out of contact,” head coach Bob Lilley said. “In addition to holding combines primarily for college players, we are also looking at foreign players who have not previously played in the USL Championship. Although we feel good about our returning core, we recognize the importance of building on the successes of the last two seasons with an even stronger roster in 2020.”

Returning to the club are two All-League honorees. Forbes, All-League First Team, led the club with nine assists and was a finalist for the USL Championship MVP award. Vancaeyezeele, All-League Second Team, demonstrated tremendous positional versatility within the midfield and backline this past season en route to starting 30 of 31 games played.

Other notable players returning include Dos Santos, who posted a career-high 24 points (10 goals and four assists) in 2019, James, who led the club with 74 interceptions this past year, and Mertz, a Pittsburgh native who logged six goals and four assists in his rookie campaign.

In addition, Forrest, Rovira and Velarde return to the club for a second straight season after completing their rookie campaigns.

This past weekend, the Hounds held their annual open tryouts, which had more than 80 athletes participate. The club will hold its invitational trial this coming Saturday and Sunday.

PITTSBURGH (November 19, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC center back Joe Greenspan has been named USL Championship Defender of the Year.

Greenspan earned 61 percent of the vote to take the award, beating out Indy Eleven’s Neveal Hackshaw and Louisville City FC’s Oscar Jimenez.

This season, the Westfield, New Jersey native led the team with 151 clearances, which ranked fourth in the entire USL Championship. In addition, he helped the club to a league-high 17 clean sheets, which tied a team record. The 27-year-old also played every minute during the team’s 698-minute shutout streak, which was the second-longest such streak in USL Championship history.

The United States Naval Academy product added 27 tackles and 44 interceptions while starting 31 of 32 games played for 2,754 minutes.

In the attacking third, the 6-foot-6-inch defender served as a key contributor on set pieces, as all four of his goals stemmed from corner kicks. He set a career high in goals (four), assists (two) and points (10) this season.

In addition to this honor, Greenspan was named Championship All-League First Team last week. In 2018, he was nominated for Defender of the Year but did not win the award.

This is the second time in team history a Hound has been named Defender of the Year. Shintaro Harada won this award in 2010, when the team competed in the USL Second Division.

The 2019 USL Championship Awards were voted on by team management and a league-wide media panel, which included representation from every USL Championship market, at the conclusion of the regular season. For more information on the 2019 USL Championship awards, visit uslchampionship.com.

PITTSBURGH (November 13, 2019) – Four members of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC have been announced as USL Championship award finalists. The club has the most nominees of any team in the entire league.

The following have been nominated for year-end awards: Kenardo Forbes for Most Valuable Player, Joe Greenspan for Defender of the Year, Kyle Morton for Goalkeeper of the Year and head coach Bob Lilley for Coach of the Year. This is the second straight year Greenspan and Lilley have been announced as finalists for Defender of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively.

Forbes displayed a masterful display of ability in the midfield, leading the team with nine assists. In addition, the team captain and All-League First Team selection recorded four goals en route to a career-high 17 points. Perhaps the defining moment in his Most Valuable Player candidacy came during the team’s road win against Loudoun United FC on Oct. 1. With the team down 1-0 in the 53rd minute, the Kingston, Jamaica native was subbed into the match. He led the break on one goal and assisted the other, as Pittsburgh jumped out ahead of Loudoun, 2-1, within nine minutes of the midfielder stepping on the field.

Another Hound to be named All-League First Team earlier this week, Greenspan helped the club to a league-high 17 clean sheets, including a team-record seven straight shutouts. The Westfield, New Jersey native’s 151 clearances led the squad and ranked fourth most in the league.

With Greenspan on the backline, Morton pieced together a tremendous season in net. The goalkeeper set a team record with 13 shutouts in the regular season and added another clean sheet in the postseason. In addition, the West Chester, Pennsylvania native finished second in the USL Championship with a 0.83 goals against average.

As a whole, Riverhounds SC had one of its best campaigns in team history under Lilley’s leadership. For the first time since 2004 and just the second time in their history, the Hounds won their conference/division regular season title while logging a franchise-record 19 victories. Lilley was named Coach of the Month in September during an all-time great stretch of suffocating defense when the Hounds posted 698 consecutive minutes of shutout soccer – the second longest such streak in USL Championship history.

Goalkeeper of the Year and Defender of the Year awards will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 19, Coach of the Year honors will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and the Most Valuable Player selection will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 21. For more information on award finalists, visit uslchampionship.com.

PITTSBURGH (November 12, 2019) – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC midfielder Kenardo Forbes and defender Joe Greenspan have been named Championship All-League First Team whereas forward Neco Brett and midfielder Thomas Vancaeyezeele have been named Championship All-League Second Team.

This is the first time since 2013 (Matthew Dallman and José Angulo) the Hounds have had two players named All-League First Team. In addition, this is the first time since 2010 (Hunter Gilstrap, Shintaro Harada, Chad Severs and Jeremy Deighton) Pittsburgh has had four total players awarded All-League honors.

In the midfield, Forbes catalyzed the club on the pitch. The team captain led the team with a career-high nine assists. He also added four goals en route to setting another career high with 17 points. The Kingston, Jamaica native also led all USL Championship outfield players with 291 recoveries. In addition to his All-League First Team award this season, he previously was named All-League Second Team on two different occasions (2018 and 2016).

This is the second straight season Greenspan has been awarded All-League First Team honors. The center back led the team with 151 clearances, which ranked fourth in the league, and helped the team to a league-high 17 clean sheets. On the offensive end, the Westfield, New Jersey native recorded four goals and two assists – both career highs.

Brett and Vancaeyezeele each earned All-League honors for the first time in their respective careers. Brett, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, led Pittsburgh with 13 goals, 31 points and 36 shots on target. On the other hand, Vancaeyezeele scored two goals while ranking seventh in the league with 62 interceptions. The Caen, France native showed tremendous versatility throughout the year, playing at center back, holding midfield, attacking midfield and outside back.

For more information on 2019 USL Championship All-League teams, visit uslchampionship.com.

PITTSBURGH (November 12, 2019) – Today, Highmark Stadium is pleased to announce the hiring of Kim Robson as general manager.

She will begin her duties immediately and oversee all business operations of Highmark Stadium. In addition, she will provide support to business operations of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC professional team and Riverhounds Development Academy. Head coach Bob Lilley will head all Riverhounds SC professional team and personnel decisions.

“Kim will do an excellent job with managing the business side of Highmark Stadium,” Riverhounds SC and Highmark Stadium owner Tuffy Shallenberger said. “This past season, our organization has seen a lot of growth, setting record attendances and announcing a new state-of-the-art health and sports facility in Coraopolis with AHN. We’re confident Kim will help our business continue to grow in the years to come.”

In addition to Riverhounds SC games, festivals and other large-scale sporting and entertainment events, Highmark Stadium plays host to corporate meetings, private parties, weddings and additional functions. With Robson’s extensive experience and guidance, these aspects and opportunities at Highmark Stadium will continue to be brought to the forefront.

Robson has and will continue to work under Shallenberger at both the Pleasant Valley Golf Club and Aaron’s Building – Wedding and Events Center in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, where she directs a team overseeing golf and golf club outings, events from weddings to social affairs, and two bars/restaurants. She began her work as director of operations at both of these locations in September 2018, and has also assisted with private events and functions at Highmark Stadium over the course of this past year.

Before working under Shallenberger, Robson served as the director of resort events, recreation and design with the highly rated Nemacolin Woodlands Resort while also sitting on the resort’s operations board and mentor program committee. She managed a full-service event team while also handling customized and high-level corporate, social and uniquely specialized events including lead facilitation on the four years of the PGA Tour’s 84 Lumber Classic, presidential visits by President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush, the on-resort filming of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” as well as extensive celebrity social engagements. She brings with her a wealth of experience in team management, catering, overall logistics, operations and years of client successes.

“I’m looking forward to this tremendous opportunity,” Robson said. “Crafting the team to take existing momentum and build toward further and expanded client possibilities, and accomplishments, throughout the organization. Highmark Stadium is a terrific venue offering event opportunities of all kinds against a breathtaking backdrop of the Pittsburgh skyline.”

She began her career at the Hilton in Short Hills, a five diamond property, located in New Jersey. She acquired front of house experiences before advancing into food and beverage, banquets, catering, event planning and operations.

Robson graduated Penn State University with a degree in Hospitality, Recreation and Institutional Management. She currently lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and has one daughter in college and one son in high school.