Pittsburgh hosts rally for Riverhounds' USL Championship title

Snow flurries, cold temperatures and 13 mph winds couldn’t keep Pittsburgh’s soccer lovers inside, as a boisterous crowd of roughly 100 Pittsburgh Riverhounds fans huddled together Thursday outside the City-County Building in Pittsburgh.

The crowd chanted and cheered through clouded breaths to celebrate a USL Championship trophy — nearly 30 years in the making.

“We’ve gone to games where we wipe snow off the chairs to sit down …. this is nothing,” said Kathy Kosarich, a 73-year-old Pittsburgh resident.

Fans, players and city officials gathered for a championship rally to celebrate the Riverhounds’ winning season.

Last month, the Riverhounds defeated FC Tulsa in a penalty shootout, a game that was preceded by several thrilling moments throughout the season, including a total of 632 consecutive scoreless minutes.

Goalkeeper Eric Dick had a record-breaking playoff run by not allowing a single goal throughout the entire playoffs. Interim head coach Rob Vincent, 35, became the youngest championship head coach in USL Championship history.

“I joined the Riverhounds in 2013. I learned very quickly just how much winning and championships meant to Pittsburgh,” Vincent said. “We’ve set the standard now, the championship is the goal every year, and hopefully we can do it again.”

Several public officials made an appearance at the championship rally, including: Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, Rep. Daniel J. Deasy, D-Westwood, Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato.

“They (Riverhounds) now share in the Pittsburgh title legacy of being part of the city of champions,” Fontana said.

Hyping up the crowd was Riverhounds’ mascot, Amo, a dog whose name stands for the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers in Pittsburgh.

Fans gathered into a line that stretched from the portico to wrap around the building at Forbes Avenue to take photos with the USL Championship trophy.

@triblive The Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Nov. 22 took home the USL Championship title for the first time in franchise history after winning 5-3 in a penalty shootout against FC Tulsa at ONEOK Field. They celebrated today with fans ⚽️ #riverhounds #pittsburgh #usl #soccer #soccertiktok ♬ original sound - TribLive

Coraopolis resident Alma Rettinger and her sons Clayton,13, and Maylon, 7, said they usually spent Saturday home game in the stands.

Both boys play soccer with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy, which teaches players between the ages of 3 and 18 years old, according to the website.

“We’ve always been into soccer. We went to our first game about three years ago,” Alma Rettinger said.

Kosarich and Derek Wright, 71, of North Side, have been Riverhounds fans for eight years, but never thought a championship could happen.

“It was a nervous wreck, and when they got that last goal in… we were jumping and screaming. Oh man, you can’t explain that feeling,” Kosarich said about watching the Riverhounds’ championship winning game.

During the rally Pittsburgh Riverhounds owner Terrance “Tuffy” Shallenberger Jr. spoke about the team’s next goal — a renovated 15,000-seat multi-purpose Highmark Stadium — which was announced in August, and is expected to be finished by 2028.

“I’ll probably get emotional here,” Shallenberger said. “This is something I dreamt of, well, 12 years ago.”