# 2019 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC season

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

    As of match played October 1, 2019
| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Signed in | Previous club | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Kyle Morton | GK | (1994-03-31) March 31, 1994 (age 30) | 2018 | Rochester Rhinos | 26 | 0 |
| 22 | Ben Lundgaard | GK | (1995-09-02) September 2, 1995 (age 29) | 2019 | Columbus Crew SC (loan) | 4 | 0 |
| 23 | Austin Pack | GK | (1994-02-15) February 15, 1994 (age 30) | 2019 | Portland Timbers 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Tobi Adewole | DF | (1995-10-14) October 14, 1995 (age 28) | 2017 | George Washington Colonials | 74 | 3 |
| 3 | Uchenna Uzo | DF | (1992-12-27) December 27, 1992 (age 31) | 2019 | Phoenix Rising | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | Dani Rovira | DF | (1996-12-15) December 15, 1996 (age 27) | 2019 | Vermont Catamounts | 9 | 0 |
| 5 | Jordan Dover | DF | (1994-12-14) December 14, 1994 (age 29) | 2018 | Rochester Rhinos | 55 | 3 |
| 7 | Ryan James | DF | (1994-04-21) April 21, 1994 (age 30) | 2019 | Nashville SC | 33 | 0 |
| 13 | Caleb Smith | DF | (1996-10-15) October 15, 1996 (age 27) | 2019 | SMU Mustangs | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Prosper Figbe | DF | (1996-10-30) October 30, 1996 (age 27) | 2019 | Virginia Cavaliers | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Joseph Greenspan | DF | (1992-09-12) September 12, 1992 (age 32) | 2018 | Minnesota United FC | 65 | 7 |
| 26 | Todd Pratzner | DF | (1994-08-10) August 10, 1994 (age 30) | 2019 | Memphis 901 | 21 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 6 | Sammy Kahsai | MF | (1995-03-05) March 5, 1995 (age 29) | 2019 | UMBC Retrievers | 16 | 1 |
| 10 | Kevin Kerr | MF | (1989-01-12) January 12, 1989 (age 35) | 2013 | SC Wiedenbrück | 191 | 32 |
| 11 | Kenardo Forbes | MF | (1988-05-15) May 15, 1988 (age 36) | 2018 | Rochester Rhinos | 68 | 9 |
| 14 | Noah Franke | MF | (1995-03-25) March 25, 1995 (age 29) | 2018 | Creighton Bluejays | 29 | 0 |
| 15 | Anthony Velarde | MF | (1996-03-08) March 8, 1996 (age 28) | 2019 | Fresno Pacific Sunbirds | 27 | 4 |
| 17 | Thomas Vancaeyezeele | MF | (1994-07-27) July 27, 1994 (age 30) | 2018 | Charleston Golden Eagles | 67 | 5 |
| 21 | Mouhamed Dabo | MF | (1996-01-02) January 2, 1996 (age 28) | 2018 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 45 | 1 |
| 24 | Robbie Mertz | MF | (1996-12-04) December 4, 1996 (age 27) | 2019 | Michigan Wolverines | 27 | 6 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 8 | Steevan Dos Santos | FW | (1989-09-17) September 17, 1989 (age 35) | 2019 | Ottawa Fury FC | 33 | 9 |
| 9 | Neco Brett | FW | (1992-03-22) March 22, 1992 (age 32) | 2018 | Portland Timbers 2 | 66 | 29 |
| 12 | Christian Volesky | FW | (1992-09-15) September 15, 1992 (age 32) | 2019 | OKC Energy | 25 | 3 |
| 16 | Mark Forrest | FW | (1996-12-03) December 3, 1996 (age 27) | 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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 34 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 68 | Conference Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Nashville SC | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 59 | 26 | +33 | 67 | Conference Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Indy Eleven | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 48 | 29 | +19 | 63 | Conference Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Louisville City FC | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 60 | Conference Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 61 | 33 | +28 | 58 | Conference Quarterfinals |

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 9 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Stadium | A | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A |
| Result | L | D | D | W | W | D | D | D | D | L | D | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | D | | |

#### 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

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | USLC | USLC | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | USA | Kyle Morton | 23 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | USA | Tobi Adewole | 33 | 2 | 29+1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NGA | Uchenna Uzo | 9 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | COL | Dani Rovira | 9 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | GUY | Jordan Dover | 23 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ETH | Sammy Kahsai | 16 | 1 | 7+6 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | CAN | Ryan James | 33 | 0 | 28+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | CPV | Steevan Dos Santos | 33 | 9 | 25+5 | 9 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | JAM | Neco Brett | 30 | 14 | 24+4 | 12 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | SCO | Kevin Kerr | 27 | 5 | 24+3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | JAM | Kenardo Forbes | 34 | 5 | 28+3 | 4 | 1+2 | 1 |
| 12 | FW | USA | Christian Volesky | 25 | 3 | 9+15 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | USA | Caleb Smith | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | USA | Noah Franke | 19 | 0 | 8+8 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | USA | Anthony Velarde | 27 | 4 | 11+13 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Mark Forrest | 5 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | GUF | Thomas Vancaeyezeele | 32 | 2 | 28+1 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | NGA | Prosper Figbe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | USA | Joseph Greenspan | 31 | 4 | 28+1 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | SEN | Mouhamed Dabo | 20 | 0 | 12+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | USA | Ben Lundgaard | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | USA | Austin Pack | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | USA | Robbie Mertz | 27 | 6 | 18+6 | 6 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | USA | Todd Pratzner | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left Pittsburgh during the season: ||||||||||
| 33 | MF | USA | Ethan Kutler | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Pittsburgh stats

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Name | USLC | USLC | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Total |
| 2 | DF | Tobi Adewole | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | Dani Rovira | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Jordan Dover | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Sammy Kahsai | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Ryan James | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | Steevan Dos Santos | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Neco Brett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Kevin Kerr | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Kenardo Forbes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Christian Volesky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Anthony Velarde | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Mark Forrest | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Thomas Vancaeyezeele | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 20 | DF | Joseph Greenspan | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 21 | MF | Mouhamed Dabo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Robbie Mertz | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Source: Pittsburgh stats

### Clean sheets

| No. | Name | USLC | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Games Played |
| No. | Name | 1 | Kyle Morton | 11 | 1 | 12 | 23 |
| 22 | Ben Lundgaard | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 23 | Austin Pack | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Source: Pittsburgh stats

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes | Date |
| 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. | Player | Parent club | Length/Notes | Beginning | End | Source |
| GK | Ben Lundgaard | Columbus Crew SC | Duration of the 2019 USL Championship season. | Mar 6, 2019 | Jun 21, 2019 | |
| GK | Ben Lundgaard | Columbus Crew SC | Duration of the 2019 USL Championship season. | Oct 7, 2019 | Nov 3, 2019 | |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes | Date |
| 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 Week :
| Week | Starters | Bench | Opponent(s) |
| 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 FC Charlotte Independence |
| 21 | | Anthony Velarde | Hartford Athletic |
| 22 | Kenardo Forbes | | Memphis 901 |
| 23 | Robbie Mertz | | Swope Park Rangers |
| 24 | | Joseph Greenspan | New York Red Bulls II North 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 901 Indy Eleven |
USLC Player of the Week :
| Week | Player | Opponent |
| 15 | Steevan Dos Santos | Atlanta United 2 |
| 26 | Neco Brett | Ottawa Fury FC |
| 30 | Kenardo Forbes | Memphis 901 Indy Eleven |

## Kits

| Home | Away | Third |
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Record |
| Home | Gold | Black | Gold | Match 2 vs. Swope Park / 5–6–2 |
| Away | Black/Gray | Gray | Gray | Match 1 vs. Tampa Bay / 2–1–2 |
| Third | White | White | White | Match 5 vs. Hartford / 12–3–1 |