The mood on Saturday at Highmark Stadium was not one of a festive atmosphere the building usually channels when the local 11 from the Riverhounds are home to play. All season, as in the recent few campaigns, sellout crowds are mostly a raucous group, full of optimism.

That festive mood was amiss Saturday when the Indy Eleven came to town, chasing a playoff spot, just two points behind eighth-place Rhode Island while the Riverhounds needed three points to secure an eighth straight playoff ticket, all coming under manager Bob Lilley.

But late Friday night, the Riverhounds issued a cryptic statement that put the winningest coach in club history on administrative leave. Team media relations manager Matt Grubba clarified that Lilley “is still the head coach” of the team.

With practically no additional news on the subject, the team moved assistant coach Rob Vincent into the acting head coaching spot.

Coming off what had to be the team’s worst effort of the season a week ago in a 3-1 loss at Miami — one where the team led 1-0 at half and dominated play, only to fall flat in the final 45 minutes — the Riverhounds came out and grabbed a late first-half goal in route to a 2-1 win, locking up an eighth consecutive playoff appearance in front of 5,618 fans on fireworks night.

Captain Danny Griffin put home a well-placed pass from striker Augi Williams, who found a long cross and sent it off his right foot into the 6-yard box where Griffin had an open net to record his fifth goal of the season in the 38th minute. It was Williams’s first assist of the season and the captain confirmed the striker placed a well-placed pass on his doorstep.

“A lot of times I run to the box and try to free myself to pick up a second shot, whether it’s a knockdown like the one in Charleston,” Griffin said. “Augi played a great ball on the cross and I threw my body at it.”

The outcome on any other night would have been enough to tell the story of the game but given the nature of the news and the impact Lilley has had on the franchise, it was far from what really mattered to both Griffin and the team.

“Obviously, we were surprised,” Griffin said. “(Lilley) knows I have his back. He’s my coach. He knows I have his back. He has my full support.”

Owner Tuffy Shallenberger was in attendance in his owner’s suite but would not speak to the media.

The Riverhounds iced their playoff hopes in the 73rd minute of play when defender Sean Suber placed a shot behind Indy keeper Hunter Sulte for his first goal of the season to make it 2-0 Pittsburgh. Indy did score a late goal, but it was not enough to draw even, putting their hopes of reaching the postseason on life support.

Vincent spoke about the mood of the team over the past 24-hours.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest,” he said. “Obviously, it was after training yesterday. We got the guys together on a call last night and explained the situation and how things were going to work today,” Vincent said. “We tried to make it the terms of business as usual.”

As for the result, Pittsburgh stayed locked into the sixth spot of the USL’s Eastern Conference standings. Two points separate four teams between third and sixth.

With just two games left in the regular season, seeding is far from determined. The Riverhounds trail Hartford, Loudon United and North Carolina FC, with the last two holding the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh. The Hounds swept Hartford and have that card in hand if it comes down to that.

As for the next opponent, the Riverhounds must travel to California for a penultimate date with Monterey Bay, a team that sits near the bottom of the Western Conference standings and is out of playoff contention. The match will take place at 10 p.m. Saturday.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)