Playoff Picture Gets Clearer Entering Final Week
Published on October 20, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
The Hounds are playoff bound for the eighth consecutive season. That much is known.
But the opponent, venue, date and time is still up in the air, and three matches this Saturday will finalize exactly where the Hounds fall in the USL Championship Playoffs bracket.
Hartford Athletic (44 pts.), the Hounds (43 pts.), Loudoun United FC (42 pts.) and North Carolina FC (42 pts.) are guaranteed to be the No. 3-6 seeds in the Eastern Conference. North Carolina visits Loudoun for a 5 p.m. start, the Hounds host Phoenix Rising FC at 7 p.m., and Hartford Athletic begins its match at Louisville City FC at 7:30 p.m.
For the Hounds, the simplest scenario is to take care of business with a win against Phoenix. That would guarantee a home playoff match, and the team would jump to the No. 3 spot if Hartford fails to win in Louisville.
On the flip side of that, the Hounds know they will be hitting the road to start the postseason with a loss Saturday, as one of Loudoun or North Carolina is guaranteed to pass them. A loss by the Hounds and a draw in the Loudoun-North Carolina match is the one scenario that would drop them all the way to the No. 6 seed and a road playoff match at Hartford.
Should the Hounds draw against Phoenix, that's where the scenarios begin to get complicated.
A draw means the Hounds can be no worse than the No. 5 seed, and they would bump to at least No. 4 and a home playoff match with either a Hartford loss or a draw between Loudoun and North Carolina. If both of those results occur in tandem with a Hounds draw, the Hounds would leapfrog Hartford for the No. 3 seed by virtue of their head-to-head sweep this season, and they would host North Carolina, which loses out on their tiebreaker with Loudoun.
The rest of the Eastern Conference is relatively straightforward, with Louisville locked into the top seed and Charleston at No. 2.
Below the Hounds, Rhode Island has clinched a playoff spot at either No. 7 or No. 8, while Detroit has the inside track to claiming the last spot, which they will do with a win over Tampa Bay. If Detroit drops points, Indy is in position to steal the last spot with a win in the final game of the night at Orange County, while Tampa Bay could pull off a huge late-season comeback to qualify by beating Detroit and getting a favorable result in Indy's match.
United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 20, 2025
- Game Preview: Rhode Island FC at New Mexico United: Oct 24, 2025 - Rhode Island FC
- New Mexico United Teams up with the Junior League of Albuquerque to Tackle Diaper Needs Across the State - New Mexico United
- Republic FC Prepares for 11th Playoff Campaign with Week of Community Service - Sacramento Republic FC
- FC Tulsa's Training Facility Added to the Team Base Camp Brochure for the FIFA World Cup 2026 - FC Tulsa
- Playoff Picture Gets Clearer Entering Final Week - Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
