September 5, 2015
Final: Riverhounds 1, Battery 1
Looking ahead to kickoff …
Match: Riverhounds (10-9-5) vs. Charleston Battery (10-6-9), 7 p.m., Highmark Stadium
TV, video: 22 The Point, USL YouTube
Online: Live stats | Multimedia | Media notes
Pittsburgh Riverhounds
August 29, 2015
Final: Riverhounds 1, Louisville City FC 0
Looking ahead to kickoff …
Match: Riverhounds (9-9-5) vs. Louisville City FC (13-4-6), 7:30 p.m., Slugger Field, Louisville, Ky.
Video: USL YouTube
Online: Live stats | Multimedia | Media notes
August 22, 2015
Final: Independence 2, Riverhounds 1
Looking ahead to kickoff …
Match: Riverhounds (9-8-5) vs. Charlotte Independence (6-6-8), 7:10 p.m., Ramblewood Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
Video: USL YouTube
Online: Live stats | Multimedia | Media notes
Mike Tomlin looks toward the big scoreboard in Jacksonville last Friday. -- GETTY
August 21, 2015
Friday Insider: Tomlin takes charge … and how
LATROBE, Pa. — For a coach who claims to not care in the slightest about public perception of the Steelers, Mike Tomlin sure does care a lot about … well, precisely that.
At least inasmuch as it impacts his players.
With first-round draft pick Bud Dupree pretty much losing his marbles and Antonio Brown petulantly losing his patience Wednesday at Saint Vincent College, the Tomlin damage control apparatus was put into motion.
Ben Roethlisberger, who hadn’t spoken to the media en masse since the second day of camp, curiously walked over to the assembled reporters after this practice and took questions for an unusally long eight minutes. Including about the scraps: “Well, it’s about time. It’s the last week, and we’ve been going against each other for a while and … it was bound to happen at some point. But it happens between the lines. When it’s out of the lines, it’s over.”
Riverhounds goalie Ryan Thompson punches away a cross Saturday night. -- TERRY O'NEILL/RIVERHOUNDS
August 15, 2015
Hounds miss chance, can’t close out Charlotte
On first glance, the Riverhounds’ USL home record of 6-2-4 looks strong.
But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that three of those ties at Highmark Stadium saw the home team carry a lead into the 80th minute. Saturday’s 1-1 draw marked another of those letdowns, as the Charlotte Independence stole a point on Ryan Finley‘s headed equalizer with 85 minutes gone.
Although the Riverhounds have allowed later decisive goals this season, this one stung a bit worse for two reasons. First, Charlotte was playing a man down due to a first-half red card. Second, it signified a missed opportunity to climb out of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s not a good feeling, I can tell you that,” coach Mark Steffens said. “They tucked one in and it’s disappointing.”
August 15, 2015
Final: Riverhounds 1, Independence 1
Looking ahead to kickoff …
Match: Riverhounds (9-8-4) vs. Charlotte Independence (6-6-7), 7 p.m., Highmark Stadium
Video: USL YouTube
Online: Live stats / Multimedia / Media notes
Todd Reirden, now with the Capitals, had been sure he'd stay on the Penguins' staff last summer. -- GETTY
August 14, 2015
Friday Insider: Penguins nearly kept Reirden
The Penguins are perfectly pleased with their coaching staff. Their stance is that Mike Johnston did an admirable job under difficult circumstances in his first season, that Rick Tocchet got the most of the team’s talented forwards and that … well, they absolutely love the job Gary Agnew did with the blue line.
Agnew almost didn’t have the chance.
Dan Bylsma and Tony Granato immediately saw the writing on the wall after the Penguins lost Game 7 to the Rangers that spring, realizing that they would be looking for work elsewhere. Todd Reirden, however, was fully anticipating that he would remain with the Penguins. In fact, he almost did.
August 8, 2015
Final: Riverhounds 3, Toronto FC II 1
Looking ahead to kickoff …
Match: Riverhounds (8-8-4) vs. Toronto FC II (4-10-3), 8 p.m., Ontario Soccer Centre, Vaughan, Ontario
Video: USL YouTube
Online: Live stats / Multimedia / Media notes
J.A. Happ allowed four runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings Tuesday in losing to the Cubs. -- GETTY
August 7, 2015
Friday Insider: Pirates’ players expected more
The Pirates’ players aren’t exactly pouting. They aren’t about to pick up their bats and balls and stomp home in disgust. But that shouldn’t be taken to mean they’re delighted by the front office’s work at the Major League Baseball trading deadline last week.
Far from it, actually.
If anything, they’re still hoping — actively, openly — that Neal Huntington can come through with more help before the Aug. 31 non-waiver deadline.
The Downtown view -- behind the Riverhounds' Rob Vincent -- is a huge asset for Highmark Stadium -- RIVERHOUNDS
August 5, 2015
Five Qs at 5: Venues, new analytics, Ray Rice
Before I get going today, I have to address how surreal this is. I started following Dejan Kovacevic‘s work when he was with the Post-Gazette, and his regular Penguins mailbag feature was what drew me in.
Now here I am, about 15 years later, writing something similar on Dejan’s own site. Follow your dreams, kids.
E: What sports venue (not necessarily in Pittsburgh) do you most enjoy as a fan? As a writer?
MG: I’m starting with an “easy” one to get warmed up. Don’t judge.
Rob Vincent races to the Steel Army supporters after his first of three goals. -- TERRY O'NEILL / RIVERHOUNDS
August 1, 2015
Vincent’s dream season rolls on with hat trick
For all Rob Vincent had done over the course of this ongoing dream season, he hadn’t scored a hat trick entering Saturday’s match against Wilmington Hammerheads FC.
He corrected that oversight by providing the entirety of the offense in the Riverhounds’ 3-0 win at Highmark Stadium, a result that halted a three-match losing streak. In his 71st USL game, Vincent not only enjoyed his first three-goal outing as a professional, he also reclaimed a share of the league scoring lead.
In short, the third-year Riverhound continues to do it all, or at least much more than can be expected of any one player.
“I got three assists from the midfield, so it’s nice to be on the end of those,” Vincent said afterward, deflecting a question about his individual performance. “It’s a nice feeling, but the main thing today was getting back on track. We had three poor games in a row, so we needed three points today. ”
Goalkeeper Calle Brown punches away a Charleston shot attempt Saturday. -- RIVERHOUNDS
September 6, 2015
Hounds can’t shake late protection problems
by Matt Gajtka • Coverage • Riverhounds
The shock factor is gone at this point, but the consequences remain.
For the fifth time this season — all but one of those at home — the Riverhounds failed to protect a one-goal lead in the 80th minute or beyond.
Maikel Chang‘s 93rd-minute deflection provided the latest of those late reversals Saturday night at Highmark Stadium, giving the Charleston Battery a 1-1 draw that might as well have been a loss, judging from the reactions of the home side’s players and coaches.
“It stings,” assistant coach Josh Rife said, visibly seething. “Every game matters, every point matters. We deserved three points tonight. The exciting thing is we have something to play for, but to have a ball that’s mishit, that takes a little bit of a skip, nutmegs one of our defenders and kind of bounces into the goal … ”
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