The 2019 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC season was the club's twentieth season of existence, their second consecutive season in the second tier of American soccer, and their ninth season in the league now named the USL Championship. The season covers the period from October 21, 2018 to the beginning of the 2020 USL Championship season. Bob Lilley returns for his second season as Riverhounds manager.
Roster
No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Signed in Previous club Apps Goals Goalkeepers 1 Kyle Morton GK 2018 Rochester Rhinos 26 0 22 Ben Lundgaard GK 2019 Columbus Crew SC (loan) 4 0 23 Austin Pack GK 2019 Portland Timbers 2 7 0 Defenders 2 Tobi Adewole DF 2017 George Washington Colonials 74 3 3 Uchenna Uzo DF 2019 Phoenix Rising 9 0 4 Dani Rovira DF 2019 Vermont Catamounts 9 0 5 Jordan Dover DF 2018 Rochester Rhinos 55 3 7 Ryan James DF 2019 Nashville SC 33 0 13 Caleb Smith DF 2019 SMU Mustangs 1 0 19 Prosper Figbe DF 2019 Virginia Cavaliers 0 0 20 Joseph Greenspan DF 2018 Minnesota United FC 65 7 26 Todd Pratzner DF 2019 Memphis 901 21 0 Midfielders 6 Sammy Kahsai MF 2019 UMBC Retrievers 16 1 10 Kevin Kerr MF 2013 SC Wiedenbrück 191 32 11 Kenardo Forbes MF 2018 Rochester Rhinos 68 9 14 Noah Franke MF 2018 Creighton Bluejays 29 0 15 Anthony Velarde MF 2019 Fresno Pacific Sunbirds 27 4 17 Thomas Vancaeyezeele MF 2018 Charleston Golden Eagles 67 5 21 Mouhamed Dabo MF 2018 Harrisburg City Islanders 45 1 24 Robbie Mertz MF 2019 Michigan Wolverines 27 6 Forwards 8 Steevan Dos Santos FW 2019 Ottawa Fury FC 33 9 9 Neco Brett FW 2018 Portland Timbers 2 66 29 12 Christian Volesky FW 2019 OKC Energy 25 3 16 Mark Forrest FW 2019 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 5 0
Non-competitive
Preseason The Riverhounds released their preseason schedule on January 18, 2019. The club played nine games in just over a month, with six coming against collegiate programs, one against a fellow USL Championship club, and two against clubs from USL League One. All nine games were played in Pittsburgh, with eight taking place at Highmark Stadium.
Competitive
USL Championship
Standings
Results by round
Match results On December 14, 2018, the league announced the home openers for every club. Pittsburgh's home opener at Highmark Stadium will be played on April 13, as the six-year anniversary of the stadium's opening will be marked with a game against expansion club Hartford Athletic. The Riverhounds will also take part in the home opening matches for two other clubs, facing Tampa Bay Rowdies on March 16 and Swope Park Rangers on March 23.
The full Riverhounds schedule was released on December 19, 2018. The season will once again consist of 34 matches, with home and away matches against each Eastern Conference opponent. The Riverhounds will face league newcomers Birmingham Legion FC, Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United FC, and Memphis 901 FC for the first time ever, and will renew their series with Saint Louis FC and Swope Park Rangers as those two clubs move back over from the Western Conference.
USL Cup Playoffs
U.S. Open Cup
As a member of the USL Championship, the Riverhounds entered the tournament in the second round, to be played May 14, 2019.
Statistics
Appearances and goals
|colspan=10 align=center|Players who left Pittsburgh during the season:
Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name USLC U.S. Open Cup Total 2 DF Tobi Adewole210021 4 DF Dani Rovira100010 5 DF Jordan Dover500050 6 MF Sammy Kahsai100010 7 DF Ryan James301040 8 FW Steevan Dos Santos400040 9 FW Neco Brett100010 10 MF Kevin Kerr200020 11 MF Kenardo Forbes100010 12 FW Christian Volesky100010 15 MF Anthony Velarde200020 16 FW Mark Forrest010001 17 MF Thomas Vancaeyezeele210021 20 DF Joseph Greenspan511061 21 MF Mouhamed Dabo200020 24 MF Robbie Mertz500050
Clean sheets No. Name USLC U.S. Open Cup Total Games Played 1 Kyle Morton1111223 22 Ben Lundgaard2024 23 Austin Pack2137
Transfers
In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource DF Ryan James Nashville SC One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Nov 28, 2018 FW Steevan Dos Santos Ottawa Fury FC One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Jan 8, 2019 MF Anthony Velarde Fresno Pacific Sunbirds One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Jan 14, 2019 FW Christian Volesky OKC Energy One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Feb 7, 2019 DF Caleb Smith SMU Mustangs One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Feb 22, 2019 MF Sammy Kahsai UMBC Retrievers One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Mar 4, 2019 MF Ethan Kutler New York Red Bulls One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Mar 8, 2019 DF Dani Rovira Vermont Catamounts One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Mar 8, 2019 DF Uchenna Uzo Phoenix Rising One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Mar 8, 2019 DF Prosper Figbe Virginia Cavaliers One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Mar 29, 2019 FW Mark Forrest Lehigh Mountain Hawks One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Mar 29, 2019 MF Robbie Mertz Michigan Wolverines One-year contract with a club option for 2020. Mar 29, 2019 GK Austin Pack Portland Timbers 2 One-year contract with a club option for 2020. May 2, 2019 DF Todd Pratzner Memphis 901 Remainder of the 2019 USL Championship season. Sep 18, 2019
Loan in Pos.PlayerParent clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSourceGK Ben Lundgaard Columbus Crew SCDuration of the 2019 USL Championship season. Mar 6, 2019 Jun 21, 2019 Oct 7, 2019 Nov 3, 2019
Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource FW Kay Banjo Contract expired. Nov 13, 2018 FW Dennis Chin Richmond Kickers Contract option declined. Signed for Richmond on Jan 7, 2019. Nov 13, 2018 MF Ben Fitzpatrick Cleveland SC Contract expired. Signed for Cleveland on May 14, 2019. Nov 13, 2018 MF Bakie Goodman Detroit City Contract option declined. Signed for Detroit on Feb 4, 2019. Nov 13, 2018 MF Joe Holland Birmingham Legion Contract option declined. Signed for Birmingham on Nov 20, 2018. Nov 13, 2018 GK Nathan Ingham York 9 Contract option declined. Signed for York on Apr 8, 2019. Nov 13, 2018 GK Mike Kirk Lansing Ignite Contract option declined. Signed for Lansing for the 2019 USL League One season. Nov 13, 2018 DF Raymond Lee Hartford Athletic Contract option declined. Signed for Hartford on Jan 17, 2019. Nov 13, 2018 DF Andrew Lubahn Loudoun United Contract option declined. Signed for Loudoun on Feb 16, 2019. Nov 13, 2018 GK Daniel Lynd Contract option declined. Nov 13, 2018 FW Romeo Parkes Sligo Rovers Contract expired. Signed for Sligo on Jan 15, 2019. Nov 13, 2018 DF Todd Pratzner Memphis 901 Contract option declined. Signed for Memphis on Dec 13, 2018. Nov 13, 2018 DF Hugh Roberts Charlotte Independence Contract option declined. Signed for Charlotte on Jan 10, 2019. Nov 13, 2018 MF Ben Zemanski Contract option declined. Retired. Nov 13, 2018 MF Christiano François Ottawa Fury FC Pittsburgh receives an undisclosed transfer fee. Dec 3, 2018 MF Ethan Kutler No longer listed on roster. May 1, 2019
Awards +USLC Team of the WeekWeekStartersBenchOpponent(s)Link 3 Kenardo Forbes Swope Park Rangers 5 Joseph Greenspan Louisville City 6 Kevin Kerr Hartford Athletic 8 Ryan James Nashville SC 9 Kenardo Forbes Charleston Battery 15 Steevan Dos Santos Kenardo Forbes Atlanta United 2 16 Kenardo Forbes Steevan Dos Santos New York Red Bulls II 17 Robbie Mertz Kevin Kerr Birmingham Legion 18 Kenardo Forbes Bethlehem Steel FCCharlotte Independence 21 Anthony Velarde Hartford Athletic 22 Kenardo Forbes Memphis 901 23 Robbie Mertz Swope Park Rangers 24 Joseph Greenspan New York Red Bulls IINorth Carolina FC 25 Kyle Morton Loudoun United 26 Neco Brett Steevan Dos Santos Ottawa Fury FC 28 Kenardo Forbes Charleston Battery 29 Kyle Morton Nashville SC 30 Kenardo Forbes Kyle Morton Neco Brett Memphis 901Indy Eleven
+USLC Player of the WeekWeekPlayerOpponentLink 15 Steevan Dos Santos Atlanta United 2 26 Neco Brett Ottawa Fury FC 30 Kenardo Forbes Memphis 901Indy Eleven
Kits
Type Shirt Shorts Socks First appearance / Record HomeGoldBlackGoldMatch 2 vs. Swope Park / 5–6–2 AwayBlack/GrayGrayGrayMatch 1 vs. Tampa Bay / 2–1–2 ThirdWhiteWhiteWhiteMatch 5 vs. Hartford / 12–3–1
See also Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 2019 in American soccer 2019 USL Championship season
References