Hounds Back on Doorstep of League Final
Published on November 11, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
Two years ago, the Riverhounds made history by winning the Players' Shield, the team's first official trophy.
Now, the Hounds are as close to a league title as they ever have been when they host the USL Championship Eastern Conference Final against Rhode Island FC at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at Highmark Stadium.
Though this is the Hounds' first appearance in the Eastern Conference Final, which began when the Championship went to two conferences in 2016, it is the third time in the team's history that they stand two wins away from their league's championship.
This, however, will be the first time the Hounds have hosted the match at this stage of the postseason, and because of a combination of the longer USL season and advancing so deep into the playoffs, Nov. 15 will be the latest date on the calendar the Hounds have played a match. It also is the first time the Hounds are in the last four while playing in the Second Division of U.S. Soccer - the A-League for the club's first five years and now the current USL Championship - as both of their previous league semifinal appearances came in leagues positioned in the Third Division.
The Hounds are hoping the third time in the charm when it comes to reaching a league final, after coming up short in these two previous appearances:
2004 USL Pro Soccer League Semfinals
Utah Blitzz 1, Riverhounds 0 - Aug. 28, 2004 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City
The Hounds finished the regular season with a 17-2-1 record in their first season in the third tier, putting them atop the Atlantic Division with the best record in the league. A two-legged quarterfinal against the second-place Harrisburg City Islanders was no trouble, as the Hounds won 7-1 on aggregate over the away-and-home series.
That set up a cross-country flight and a meeting with the Blitzz, the Western Division champions, as all four division winners from the regular season reached the semifinal round.
The match was a tightly contested one at a venue that, just two years earlier, hosted the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics. But after a scoreless first half, Byron Carmichael netted the lone goal of the match only five minutes into the second half. The Hounds were unable to break through against a Utah side that allowed only 16 goals in the 20-match regular-season, despite the fact that Blitzz defender William Cummins was sent off in the 69th minute after receiving a second yellow card.
The Blitzz went on to win the USL Pro Soccer League title the next weekend, 5-4 on penalties, after a 2-2 draw at the Charlotte Eagles, led by future Hounds head coach Mark Steffens.
2010 USL Second Division Semifinal
Richmond Kickers 2, Riverhounds 0 - Aug. 21, 2010 at City Stadium, Richmond, Va.
The season was one of turmoil in U.S. Soccer, as the USL was in a battle for teams with the newly formed reboot of the North American Soccer League. That led U.S. Soccer to combine the two organizations in a unified USSF Division 2 League for a single season, leaving just six remaining teams in the third tier, the USL Second Division.
The small league led to a shrunken playoff format, with the regular-season champion advancing directly to the league final, while the second- and third-placed teams playing in a lone semifinal for the other spot.
The Hounds finished third in the six-team league with a 7-5-8 record, earning a trip to face the longtime foe Kickers for a spot in the championship match. But despite a 2-1-1 record against Richmond in four regular-season meetings, the Kickers got the upper hand in the playoff meeting with goals on either side of halftime by Matthew Delicâte and Robert Fogelsong.
The Kickers went on to lose the final to the Charleston Battery, 2-1, and the modern USL Championship that the Hounds play in to this day would be formed the following year.
Now, 15 years later, the Hounds have an opportunity in front of a sold out Highmark Stadium crowd to finally make the leap into their first league final and add to the team's trophy collection.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from November 11, 2025
- Hounds Back on Doorstep of League Final - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
- Centreville Bank Stadium to Host Eastern Conference Final Watch Party, Presented by Centreville Bank - Rhode Island FC
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