Team Announcements

PITTSBURGH (June 14, 2022) — Riverhounds goalkeeper Jahmali Waite was brought in as a late addition to the Jamaican National Team ahead of the squad’s final match in the current international window, a CONCACAF Nations League match again Mexico at 8 p.m. tonight in Kingston, Jamaica.

Waite, who started for the Hounds in their loss Saturday at the Charleston Battery, is expected to be one of two goalkeepers backing up Reggae Boyz starter Andre Blake. Blake is the longtime goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Union of MLS, where Waite was an academy player before beginning college in 2017.

Should Waite enter the match, it would be his first appearance for the senior national team of Jamaica. He previously represented the country at the Under-17 level.

The call-up is not expected to affect Waite’s availability with the Hounds. He is scheduled to rejoin the team in training Thursday ahead of the Hounds’ trip to face Rio Grande Valley this Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

PITTSBURGH (June 3, 2022) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is excited to announce a new partnership with King Orthodontics, who will be the presenting partner of the team’s postgame autograph sessions at Highmark Stadium.

For more than 30 years, King Orthodontics has helped children and adults to achieve confident smiles through their experienced staff, top technology, financing options available, and ease of online scheduling at their convenient locations in Wexford and Bridgeville. 

Founded by Dr. Earle King in the 1980s and expanding under the direction of his son, Dr. Bryan King, King Orthodontics is a leading provider of Invisalign in Western Pennsylvania with more than 6,000 patients of all ages treated with Invisalign.

“King Orthodontics is proud to partner with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Both organizations have a longstanding tradition that is focused on family. It is a natural fit for us,” said Anita King, Practice Director at King Orthodontics. “Being able to sponsor the autograph and photo session was a great way for us to work together. We love seeing our patients show off their confident smiles while doing what they love. It’s even better when they are on the field with players from the team!”

In addition to the postgame autograph sessions — on the field after every Hounds home match, weather permitting — King Orthodontics will have a noticeable presence around the Hounds. 

Fans will see King Orthodontics advertising around Highmark Stadium, and they also will be present at the Riverhounds Development Academy’s tournaments throughout the year, with venues including Highmark Stadium and the AHN Montour Health + Sports Medicine Center in Coraopolis.

“Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is incredibly excited to partner with King Orthodontics. Given the opportunity to engage with the community through game days at Highmark Stadium, as well as year-round programming at the soon-to-be-completed AHN Montour facility, we mutually felt that there was a perfect fit to partner with each other,” said Greg Pai, Riverhounds Director of Corporate Partnership.

The Hounds will be back in action at Highmark Stadium at 7 p.m. this Saturday, when they host Detroit City FC, and the match will be followed by the King Orthodontics autograph session on the field. Tickets are available for purchase through Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office.

PITTSBURGH (May 31, 2022) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC defender Mekeil Williams was called up to the Trinidad and Tobago National Team for the upcoming international window, which will see the Soca Warriors begin competition in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Williams, 31, has been a fixture in the Trinidadian lineup during his two seasons with the Hounds, which included featuring in all three matches of last year’s Gold Cup. In total, Williams has appeared 34 times for Trinidad at the senior level. Earlier this year, he earned the honor of captaining his nation for the first time in a friendly match against Bolivia.

The veteran of both MLS and European competition has appeared in 10 of 12 USL Championship matches for the Hounds this season. He will be unavailable for the Hounds in their next two games: June 4 against Detroit City FC at Highmark Stadium, and June 11 at the Charleston Battery.

Trinidad & Tobago has four matches in the two-week window, beginning with a road match at 10 p.m. Friday against Nicaragua in the capital, Managua. The Soca Warriors then host the Bahamas on June 6 in Port of Spain before playing two matches against St. Vincent and the Grenadines — June 10 in Arnos Vale, St. Vincent, and June 13 back home in Port of Spain. Games in the Nations League also serve as qualifying matches for the 2023 Gold Cup.

PITTSBURGH (May 17, 2022) — Goalkeeper Kevin Silva and forward Russell Cicerone both were selected to the USL Championship Team of the Week, the league announced this afternoon, giving the Riverhounds two of the league’s best 11 for Week 10 of the season.

Silva makes his first appearance in the league’s weekly awards after recording his third shutout of the season in the Hounds’ 1-0 win Saturday over visiting El Paso Locomotive FC. The goalkeeper made a season-high five saves to keep his clean sheet, none bigger than his 90th-minute penalty stop on Luis Solignac to keep the Hounds perfect at home this season.

It is the first time in 2022 a Hounds goalkeeper was named a starter on the Team of the Week; rookie Chase Vosvick earned a bench spot in the opening week of the season.

Cicerone makes his first Team of the Week appearance this year after earning the honor twice in 2021, his first season with the club. The forward scored the game’s only goal just 32 seconds into the second half against El Paso, controlling an Alex Dixon cross before composing himself and firing a shot under the bar for his third goal of the season. He also took a team-high four shots, was credited with three chances created and won 6 of 10 duels.

The Hounds now have had multiple players among the Team of the Week honorees (starter or bench) in three of the past four weeks. The full Team of the Week can be found at uslchampionship.com.

The Hounds go back on the road this Saturday when they face the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30 p.m. at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla. The match will be televised on 22 The Point and streamed via ESPN+.

PITTSBURGH (May 12, 2022) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is teaming up with local brand Brochachos Salsa to bring their delicious salsa varieties to Highmark Stadium and introduce a Hounds-label salsa coming soon.

Brochachos Salsa, established in nearby Canonsburg in 2020, makes California-style salsa based on an old family recipe. They have sold nearly 200,000 jars of their Mild, Hot and Smoked varieties — all of which will be available at Highmark Stadium in select concession stands — and they also have a fresh, homemade line only available at farmers’ markets.

“Brochachos Salsa is excited to be the official specialty salsa of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Highmark Stadium. We look forward to a blossoming partnership for many seasons to come,” Brochachos owner Edward Martinez II said.

The Riverhounds featured label salsa will be a smoked variety, with their peppers and tomatoes smoked for three hours over mesquite wood to produce a medium heat and unique flavor. The Pittsburgh skyline will be showcased on the Hounds featured label with both the Brochachos logo and Hounds crest appearing on the jar.

Hounds-label salsa will be sold at all six Giant Eagle Market District Locations and at farmers’ markets around the Pittsburgh area with a tentative release date in June.

“In this partnership with Brochachos Salsa, we are able to bring another quality food option to our fans at Highmark Stadium, and more importantly, partner with another local, family-owned Western Pennsylvania business that produces a great product,” Riverhounds SC President Vic Gregovits said.

The Hounds will be back in action at Highmark Stadium this weekend, when they host El Paso Locomotive FC at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for the match are still available through Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office. 

PITTSBURGH (May 10, 2022) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC defender Nate Dossantos was selected to the USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 9, the league announced this afternoon.

Dossantos, a first-year pro out of Marshall University, receives the honor for the first time after a solid defensive performance and an assist on the lone goal of the Hounds’ 1-0 win over Birmingham Legion FC last Saturday. The left back made an overlapping run down the wing and sent a low cross to the feet of Danny Griffin, who turned and finished in the fourth minute of the match.

In addition to recording his third assist of the season, Dossantos connected on 30 of 35 passes — a team-best 86 percent completion rate — and he also added a pair of clearances and shared the team lead with four passes intercepted.

Dossantos is the fifth different Hounds player to earn a starting spot on the Team of the Week in 2022, and he is the first of the Hounds’ eight rookies to be in the top 11; rookie goalkeeper Chase Vosvick did earn a bench spot after posting a Week 1 shutout.

Griffin also was honored for the first time this season with a spot on the Team of the Week bench. In addition to the game-winning goal, he won possession nine times, won 4 of 7 duels and made 19 passes in the final third.

The full Team of the Week can be seen at USLChampionship.com.

The Hounds are at home again this Saturday, when they host El Paso Locomotive at 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the Highmark Stadium Box Office.

PITTSBURGH (May 5, 2022) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC forward Dane Kelly is one of five finalists for the USL Championship Player of the Month for April, the league announced this afternoon, and fan voting can help propel him to the award.

Kelly scored five goals in five April matches, the most of any USL Championship player in the month, and he currently sits tied for first in the league with six on the season. Though he appeared in all five April matches, he started only three, giving him an outstanding rate of 1.68 goals per 90 minutes. He also scored his five goals on only 13 total shots, giving him a 38.5 conversion rate, and he twice was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week during April.

A newcomer to the Hounds in 2022, Kelly is the USL Championship’s all-time leading scorer with 105 goals. He is the first Hounds player to be a finalist for Player of the Month since both Russell Cicerone and Alex Dixon made the top five in August 2021.

Fan voting for Player of the Month can be found at USLChampionship.com. The fan vote comprises 51 percent of the final vote, with the rest of the vote coming from the USL Technical Committee (25 percent) and a national media vote (24 percent).

The winner and complete voting results will be announced on May 12.

PITTSBURGH (April 26, 2022) — The Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC duo of Dane Kelly and Kenardo Forbes was honored this afternoon with both players taking spots on the USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 7.

For Kelly, it is already the third such honor in his first season with the Hounds, while it is the first of 2022 for Forbes, the Hounds’ captain and longest-tenured player. The Jamaican pair were joined in the weekly honors by Hounds’ midfielder Luis Argudo, who was named to the Team of the Week’s bench after scoring his first goal with the club in the Hounds’ 4-0 win Saturday over Atlanta United 2.

Kelly scored two goals in the victory, which pushed him into a tie atop the Championship’s goal scoring list with six this season. It was his second multi-goal game of the season, and the tallies give him 105 goals in his decorated USL career. He also completed 9 of 11 passes while playing 62 minutes i the win.

Forbes added two more assists to his record totals in USL (49) and with the Hounds (35), as he set up Kelly’s second goal and Russell Cicerone’s strike that ended the scoring with a pair of well-weighted passes through the Atlanta defense. He was a constant offensive threat Saturday, recording three other chances created and putting three shots on goal. Forbes is tied for the league lead in assists this season with four.

The complete USL Championship Team of the Week can be found at uslchampionship.com.

The Hounds are next in action at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, when they face Louisville City FC in a battle for first place in the Eastern Conference. The game at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky., will be aired on 22 The Point (WPNT) and streamed on ESPN+.