Riverhounds set to debut new 'dynamic' attack in season opener against Tampa Bay Rowdies

Two years ago, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds were the talk of USL Championship as they captured the Eastern Conference title with 68 points.

The Black and Gold have changed a lot since that season. Defender Jordan Dover and USL Championship all-time assists leader Kenardo Forbes are the only two players who remain from the group that went 19-4-11 in 2019.

Upper St. Clair native Robbie Mertz and defenders Ryan James and Thomas Vancaeyezeele, who were staples in Pittsburgh’s success the past three years, are gone, but coach Bob Lilley remains with the new-look Hounds.

During the preseason, Lilley has tried to shape his roster, which contains just seven players from last year’s team that went 11-4-1 in a pandemic-shortened season. Forbes and Dover are the mainstays, but goalkeeper Danny Vitiello returns and players such as forward Albert Dikwa, midfielders Danny Griffin and Anthony Velarde and defender Dani Rovira hope to make a difference.

“We’re ready to play games,” Lilley said. “There’s no doubt we learned a lot from our preseason games, but the true measure will be going to Tampa. The games count in the standings, and there’s added pressure. So we are definitely anxious to see how the guys respond.”

The Riverhounds, who went 3-1-2 during the preseason, will be on the road against the Tampa Bay Rowdies (1-0-0) for their season opener at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Rowdies opened their season with a 3-0 win over the Charlotte Independence.

The Riverhounds feature a mixture of players young and old, and Lilley’s main focus during the preseason was getting his new players on the same page. With veteran attackers Alex Dixon and Russell Cicerone, along with midfielder Josh Gatt, who previously played for Norwegian power Molde under current Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Riverhounds won’t be short on talent.

But Lilley wants to see how his team will mesh when the games count.

“I’m anxious to get our players up against (the Rowdies) because the sooner we know where we are, the sooner we can go to work,” Lilley said. “It’s a process, and we’re gonna go down there and do everything we can to win the game. We’re certainly not going to back off, and our mentality is every game is winnable and we have to approach it that way.”

Lilley said the Riverhounds attack will be more mobile and dynamic than in the past.

Four of Pittsburgh’s top six goal scorers from last year are gone. Anthony Velarde, who tallied five goals last season, and late addition Albert Dikwa, who tallied three goals in just 335 minutes, are the only ones who return. But, the addition of players such as Dixon, Cicerone, Gatt and 21-year-old Tommy Williamson, who is on a season-long loan from MLS side San Jose Earthquakes, will add a new dimension to Pittsburgh’s offense.

“They are quick, mobile players that also can be creative,” Lilley said. “We’re pretty dynamic with our personnel there and they are jelling, and we are seeing a lot of positives. So, hopefully, we can gain some consistency with that and be more dangerous and more explosive regardless of the opponent.”

Despite a second-place finish in their division last year, the Riverhounds had a plus-29 goal differential, which was tied with Phoenix Rising FC for the highest in USL Championship. This season, with Vitiello, who won last season’s Golden Gloves award, returning in net and a dynamic new attack, the Riverhounds will look to make a deeper postseason run.

They will start their season with two road games before returning home May 22 to take on Charlotte.