Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2
A yellow-on-black circular badge with a shield at center depicting a soccer ball and a paw print.
Founded2013 (13 years ago) (2013)
Stadium
OwnerTuffy Shallenberger
ManagerJosh Kremers
LeagueUSL League Two
Websiteriverhounds.com

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2 are the men's reserve team of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, a soccer club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team competes in USL League Two (USL2), in the amateur fourth tier of the United States league system, and plays their home games at Highmark Stadium. Originally founded as Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23, the team played three seasons in the Great Lakes Division of the Premier Development League (now USL2) between 2014 and 2016, before folding. The team is being revived for the 2026 season.

History

Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23 (2014–2016)

On November 26, 2013, it was announced that the Pittsburgh Riverhounds had secured a Premier Development League franchise that would begin play during the 2014 PDL season. At the time, no official name was unveiled but it was indicated that team would play under the Riverhounds umbrella.[1] Riverhounds CEO Jason Kutney stated that the purpose of the team would be to provide standout local college players a place to play in the summer, something that they had not previously had. Kutney also believed that providing the opportunity to stay fit and play soccer in the region year-round would attract more players to the area in addition to providing players with the opportunity to be observed by USL and Major League Soccer scouts. At this time, it was also announced that the team would play their home matches at Highmark Stadium, likely as double-headers with their parent-club's matches.[2]

The club's first head coach was Oz Bakirdan who was also head coach of the Illinois Central College Cougars at the time.[3] The club's first match was scheduled for May 23, 2014 on the road against Chicago Fire Premier at Toyota Park.[4][5] The Riverhounds went on to lose the match 1–2.[6] The club played its inaugural home match at Highmark Stadium on June 4, 2013. The match ended in defeat also, with the Riverhounds losing 0–4 to the Michigan Bucks.[7] The Riverhounds U23 finished the season in last place in the Great Lakes Division with 7 points from 14 matches.[8] For their inaugural season, Geordhy Pantophlet was the team's top scorer with 7 points (3 goals, 1 assist) in 10 matches played.[9] During the club's first season, at least 12 players from local colleges appeared on the 26-man roster.[10]

Prior to the 2015 PDL season, Josh Rife replaced Oz Bakirdan as head coach.[11] Riverhounds U23 finished the season slightly improved over the previous with one more win and draw. However, the team again finished 6th in the Great Lakes Division and missed the playoffs.[12] Lucas Silva and Jason Twum led the team in scoring with two goals each.[13] In April 2016 it was announced that Rife was replaced as head coach by Englishman and former Arsenal F.C. youth coach James McCaig.[11][14] Riverhounds U23 again competed in the Great Lakes Conference of the Central Division. The club opened its season on May 25, 2016, against the Michigan Bucks.[14] The club was disbanded following the 2016 season with limited resources being cited as the cause.[15]

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2 (2026–present)

Following the club's title win in the 2025 USL Championship, the Riverhounds announced the re-establishment of a USL League Two team, to be called Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2, for the 2026 season.[16][17] Josh Kremers, the Boys Regional League Director for the Riverhounds Academy, was announced as the team's head coach.[18]

Stadium

Team

Notable former players

Players who have signed for the Riverhound's first team:

Players who have signed for other professional clubs:

Seasons

List of Pittsburgh Riverhounds men's reserve team seasons
Season League Pl W D L GF GA GD Pos Playoffs Top goalscorer Ref.
2014 PDL 14 2 1 11 13 37 –24 6th of 6 DNQ Netherlands Geordhy Pantophlet (3) [19]
2015 PDL 14 3 2 9 10 31 –21 6th of 7 DNQ Brazil Lucas Silva and England Jason Twum (2) [12]
2016 PDL 14 2 4 8 14 30 –16 5th of 7 DNQ United States Anthony Virgara (3) [20]
2026 USL2 Future season

Managerial history

# Head coach Seasons W L T App W L T W L Honors
PDL Regular Season PDL Playoffs U.S. Open Cup
1 Oz Bakirdan[19] 2014 2 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Josh Rife[12] 2015 3 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 James McCaig 2016 2 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Josh Kremers[21] 2026

References

  1. ^ "Riverhounds Add PDL Franchise". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  2. ^ Veronica, Nick (November 26, 2013). "Riverhounds become Major League Soccer affiliate". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  3. ^ "Rife Appointed As Riverhounds U23 Coach". USL PDL. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  4. ^ Snyder, Larry (February 11, 2014). "Pittsburgh Riverhounds Sign Six Before Heading To Houston For Preseason Camp". cityofchampionssports.com. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  5. ^ "2014 PDL Schedule". United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  6. ^ "Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23 at Chicago Fire U-23 1:2". PDL. Retrieved August 7, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ^ "RIVERHOUNDS U-23 TEAM DROPS INAUGURAL MATCH AT HIGHMARK STADIUM TO MICHIGAN BUCKS". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  8. ^ "PDL 2014 Standings". United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on November 9, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  9. ^ "2014 Stats". PDL. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  10. ^ Powell, Mark. "Panthers become Riverhounds for the summer". The Pitt News. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Nightingale, Richard. "A MESSAGE FROM TEAM PRESIDENT RICHARD NIGHTINGALE". Steel Army. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "2015 PDL Standings". PDL. Archived from the original on November 9, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  13. ^ "2015 Stats". USL PDL. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  14. ^ a b "HOUNDS APPOINT MCCAIG TO LEAD PDL TEAM". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  15. ^ Krysinsky, John. "Hounds Form Affiliate Partnership with PDL Nor'easters". Pittsburgh Soccer Report. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  16. ^ Scott, Caitlyn (December 22, 2025). "'Champ-Yinz' winning Riverhounds to hold open tryout, add lower division team". Pittsburgh's Action News 4. Archived from the original on December 23, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  17. ^ "Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2, the club's men's Second Team, will compete in USL League Two". WPXI News. December 22, 2025. Archived from the original on December 23, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  18. ^ "Kremers named Hounds 2 head coach". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  19. ^ a b "2014 PDL Standings". PDL. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  20. ^ "2016 Season". PDL. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  21. ^ "Kremers named Hounds 2 head coach". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Riverhounds_U23