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Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Looking Back: the Riverhound Who Beat the U.S.

June 6, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release


Austin Bold assistant coach Ryan Thompson helped lead the Hounds to the USL playoffs and Jamaica to the CONCACAF Gold Cup final in 2015.

The 2015 Riverhounds season was a special one for many reasons. A return to the playoffs, the prolific goal scoring of Rob Vincent and the Miracle on the Mon all helped make the year a memorable one.

But another big part of that season didn't involve the Hounds' success, but rather the international exploits of a goalkeeper who always seemed to be smiling and became a favorite of fans and teammates alike.

Ryan Thompson will never forget his momentous one year with the Hounds, and he will have a chance to revisit some of those memories and see old friends when he returns to Highmark Stadium today as a member of the Austin Bold coaching staff.

"The most memorable thing there was was the support from the Steel Army. They were just so passionate, and I loved that because I'm a guy who feeds off that," Thompson said. "The friendships I created there, with Stephen Okai, Lebo Moloto, Tyler Pasher, Calle Brown and Ryan Hulings, Hunter Gilstrap wasn't on the team but he came and trained with us, Jason Kutney. ... My time in Pittsburgh is something I will cherish always."

Surprisingly, Thompson only played 10 matches for the Riverhounds, despite signing before the season to be the team's No. 1 goalkeeper. But when his homeland of Jamaica came calling for two major tournaments in the summer, Thompson left Pittsburgh for a historic run with the Reggae Boyz.

Jamaica was a guest team invited to the 2015 Copa America in Chile, and Thompson, who traveled as the third goalkeeper, did not appear in a match as the Reggae Boys lost all three group stage games by 1-0 scores.

Next up was the CONCACAF Gold Cup played in the U.S. and Canada, and Thompson was now the No. 2 goalkeeper after Copa America starter Duwayne Kerr was dropped from the squad. Knowing that a win against El Salvador in the final group game would give Jamaica the top spot, Thompson was thrust into action in the 22nd minute when starter Dwayne Miller was stretchered off with a head injury. With Jamaica on its heels, Thompson preserved a clean sheet with some excellent saves, and his country was through to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win.

Thompson recorded a clean sheet all his own in the quarterfinals, a 1-0 win over Haiti, which set up a semifinal meeting with the United States played in front of more than 70,000 Red, White & Blue partisans at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

That match, shown nationally on Fox, placed the Riverhounds name front and center with Thompson making the start. Jamaica scored twice in the first half through Darren Mattocks and Giles Barnes - both then MLS players - to stun the U.S.

And even though Thompson conceded a rebound goal to Michael Bradley in the second half, his saves and plenty of heart from the Jamaican side secured a 2-1 upset with the Riverhounds' goalkeeper playing a leading role.

Though Jamaica would lose the final to Mexico, 3-1, Thompson and his teammates had made history back home with a first-ever appearance in a North American championship, putting soccer on the front pages in a nation where track & field and cricket often get top billing.

"We had this historical run, and to beat the United States, 2-1 ... here's this USL goalkeeper playing against the USA. I didn't get to play in MLS, but I got to play for my country against your country," Thompson said. "I got so many messages from Pittsburgh saying we were torn; we wanted to cheer for you and for our country. For me, those are great moments that I will never forget."

Sadly, Thompson's season with the Riverhounds was cut short. The goalkeeper came back with a torn patellar tendon, and while he tried to battle through, he eventually ceded most of the late-season goalkeeping duties to Brown.

"Unfortunately, soccer happens," said Thompson, who expressed his gratitude to former Hounds coach Mark Steffens for bringing him to Pittsburgh.

"I was an All-American in college, but I didn't get invited to the MLS Combine. I got to go the USL Combine, and the first day, I got a concussion. But after one day, my agent told me this coach, Mark Steffens, thinks you're good.

"I went to Ireland and played in the Champions League (with Shamrock Rovers, making him the first Jamaican ever to do so), and then I played in Tampa Bay (with the Rowdies, then in the NASL). And after my Japan-Jamaica game (a friendly Thompson started), Steffens got the job in Pittsburgh and he reached out to me. I signed with Pittsburgh, and it turned out to be a great thing for me."

Thompson now is in his third year with Austin, where he first signed as a player/coach in 2019. Now, he serves purely as a coach, a role he has embraced with the same joy he brought as a player and which made him so well-loved in Pittsburgh.

"As a player, it's never the right time to walk away. You always think you have a little more juice, and I always had the greatest joy being on the field and expressing myself as a player," Thompson said.

"But I have grown to love what I do now. I developed a passion for teaching, and God has given me this ability to teach. When you can show people that you really care, it makes it easier to teach. My goal is to make everyone in my environment win, not just as a player, but as a person. That's what I'm enjoying as a coach."

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