Creating early-season momentum with a pair of home wins last week, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds have set themselves up with a chance to advance into the next round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. On Tuesday, they host fourth-division Virginia Dream FC, which is based in Falls Church, Va., and competes in the National Premier Soccer League.
For the local 11, a win most likely would mean a third-round meeting with an MLS club on April 14 or 15 at a site to be determined. Last season, the Hounds benefited from a home draw versus NYC FC and defeated the MLS club 1-0 in the final seconds of extra time on a Beto Ydrach header.
The Riverhounds’ start in USL Championship play was sluggish, to say the least, being outscored 7-3 and posting a 1-2 record. But the club has responded with back-to-back wins, first taking down amateur club Steel City FC, 2-1, the first derby in 69 years between local teams.
The Riverhounds followed that up by defeating league newcomer Sporting JAX, 3-2, on Saturday in the official home opener at Highmark Stadium. Despite a 3-0 lead early in the second half, the Riverhounds broke down again on defense, allowing their opponent to score twice in a 4-minute span, changing the momentum of the contest and turning what looked like a comfortable win into a nail-biter.
The fast start and subsequent struggles in the final 40 minutes were not lost on Hounds manager Rob Vincent.
“We made it a lot more difficult that it needed to be.” Vincent said after Saturday’s game. “I don’t really think it’s a case of dropping off on our levels. They got the first goal off a set piece. (First) 60 minutes were good, got ourselves in a great position and made it more difficult.”
Looking at positives, the team did register five goals over the past week, with Albert Dikwa adding a pair of strikes in Saturday’s win. His second came on a penalty and was the 40th of his career in black and yellow, placing him second all-time in club history.
And a defensive effort from Ydrach that saved a first-half goal proved to be an important moment given the club’s second-half meltdown.
As for the next opponent, Virginia Dream FC, in just its third season, pulled off a road win a few weeks ago when it defeated Carolina Core FC of MLS Next Pro, 2-1, to advance into the second round. In 2025, Dream FC defeated the Richmond Kickers of USL League One, so playing and beating professional teams is not an unfamiliar scenario for this visitor.
Dream FC manager CJ Taylor, in his second year leading the club, spoke about what playing the defending USL Champion Riverhounds means to his young side.
“Where we started in 2024 as a very local amateur adult team, we really didn’t have the vision to see opportunities like this when we started.” Taylor said. “Now in our third year, we are starting to put ourselves on the map. To play a second-division club is what our ownership, coaching staff and the players have worked towards.
“To be able to have this platform, where we’re from in the (Washington) D.C. area, to showcase all this against a strong Riverhounds team that had an incredible run to become champions last year, we’re just super excited to represent the NPSL.”
No matter what happens, the Riverhounds must then turn their sights to Saturday’s road test at the Indy 11, with goalkeeper Eric Dick awaiting the club he helped lead to last season’s title.
Tuesday’s Open Cup game is scheduled to kick off just after 7 p.m. at Highmark Stadium and will be televised on Paramount+.
