Hounds Set for Season Opener against In-State Rival Harrisburg
March 27, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
PITTSBURGH (March 27, 2015) - The Pittsburgh Riverhounds kick off the 2015 USL season Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Harrisburg City Islanders travel west along the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Highmark Stadium.
New Hounds coach Mark Steffens will take charge of his team for the first time in a competitive game. Pittsburgh ended its preseason preparations last Saturday with a 4-0-1 record against college teams.
Harrisburg has historically proven to be an obdurate opponent for the Riverhounds. The City Islanders hold a 5-2-3 record in Keystone Derby meetings over the past four seasons. Bill Becher's side has also finished higher in the USL standings than Pittsburgh in six of the past seven years.
The sides met three times last June. The Islanders produced a second-half comeback to seal a 3-1 win at Highmark Stadium in a game that was bookended by ties in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg respectively.
This year's regular season schedule sees the Hounds facing Harrisburg on four occasions. The in-state rivalry carries added spice with the introduction of the Keystone Derby Cup to be awarded to the team with the best record over those four meetings. The trophy will be on display in the Highmark Stadium sports bar from 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Steffens bolstered his roster this week with the addition of former Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Willie Hunt and University of Maryland graduate Jereme Raley. Those moves offset some issues that the Hounds have suffered to the back line in recent weeks.
Matt Dallman is expected to miss the first two weeks of the season after suffering a torn hip ligament earlier this year. Hounds veteran Sterling Flunder and new arrival Drew Russell are questionable after suffering injuries in last weekend's 5-1 win over the University of Charleston, W.Va.
Canadian left-back Tyler Pasher is unavailable after being called up for his country's national team games against Guatemala and Puerto Rico this weekend.
Tickets for Saturday's game are still available. Visit Riverhounds.com or call the Highmark Stadium box office on (412) 325-7241 to speak to a ticket representative.
All fans in attendance will receive a 2015 Pittsburgh Riverhounds poster sponsored by Highmark.
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