Pittsburgh Riverhounds honor inaugural Hall of Fame class

In honor of the club’s 20th anniversary, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC announced and honored its inaugural hall of fame class this past weekend.

This Friday, we induct five Pittsburgh soccer greats into our inaugural Hall of Fame class. We reflect on this class this week, starting with our founder Paul Heasley. #UNLEASH #HoundsHOF pic.twitter.com/tW5aSuVSkh

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) July 8, 2019

During a ceremony at halftime of their home match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday at Highmark Stadium, the Riverhounds inducted founder and former owner Paul Heasley, former general manager Dave Kasper, first head coach John Kowalski, former midfielder Justin Evans and former forward David Flavius into the Riverhounds Hall of Fame.

Tonight we inducted 5 members into our inaugural Hall of Fame class. Congrats to David Flavius, Paul Heasley (?: Lucas Heasley), John Kowalski, Justin Evans, and not pictured Dave Kasper #UNLEASH #HoundsHOF pic.twitter.com/KR05Dz94JL

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) July 13, 2019

In 1998, Heasley founded the club, and with help from Kasper as the GM and Kowalski as the head coach, the Riverhounds achieved success within their first year. In 1999, the Riverhounds were named the United Soccer League A-league Organization of the Year.

All five inductees contributed to that historic first season. Heasley and Kasper built a team Kowalski led to a 16-12 record and a fourth-place finish in the Northeast Division. The Riverhounds also earned their first playoff appearance and captured their first playoff victory with a 4-3 win over the Long Island Roughriders. The Riverhounds lost to the Rochester Rhinos in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Evans was the first player chosen by the Riverhounds in the 1999 expansion draft. He scored 50 points in 101 career appearances for the Hounds. Evans and Flavius were two of four players to reach the 100-career appearances and 50-points bench mark in Riverhounds history.

Flavius holds records in both categories. He appeared in 183 games and also scored 141 points. He holds the all-time club record with 58 career goals.

The Riverhounds (6-3-8) played to a 1-1 tie with the Rowdies (11-1-7), who are in first place in the Eastern Conference and have a USL high 40 points through their first 19 games. The Riverhounds sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.