Preview: Hounds at Birmingham Legion FC
Published on August 21, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
The Hounds will set out to bounce back from their first loss in two months, but they will have to do it on the road as they travel south to face Birmingham Legion FC this Saturday.
After letting a lead slip away against Charleston, the Hounds find themselves still safely on the right side of the playoff line at fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but stacking wins will be critical if the team is to run down North Carolina or Loudoun for a top-four spot home playoff match.
Though goalkeeper Eric Dick remains tied for the USL Championship lead in clean sheets with eight, the Hounds have blanked just one of their last five opponents. The play of center backs Guillaume Vacter, Sean Suber and Beto Ydrach has largely been stout this season, and the team's 18 goals allowed is third-best in the league behind only Sacramento and Louisville, but tightening things up on the back end will allow the team to turn some of their recent draws into wins.
Danny Griffin became the first Hounds player to hit five goals on the season after scoring the opener against Charleston, and he was also one of the scorers in the Hounds' first meeting with Birmingham this season, a 2-0 win on March 29 at Highmark Stadium.
Birmingham, meanwhile, has had its struggles this season with only four wins in the league. But with seven draws - tied for the league high - the Legion are still well in contention just two points behind Rhode Island FC in the eighth and final playoff position. Where the Legion have had some success is in the Jägermeister Cup, though they were eliminated by Rhode Island on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals. That means the Legion will be on short rest with the Hounds coming to town, a possible advantage for the visitors.
Ronaldo Damus leads the Legion with eight goals on the season, and their team rates in the middle of the pack with 23 goals on the season. It's the other end of the field that has been a problem, as their 32 goals allowed puts them in the bottom five of the league. That's an area surely being focused on by new head coach Mark Briggs, the former Sacramento boss who was hired at the end of April after longtime Legion coach Tom Soehn was dismissed.
Saturday night's match - an 8 p.m. Eastern Time start - will see the Hounds return to the KDKA+ airwaves with a replay airing a 1 p.m. Sunday. ESPN+ also will stream coverage of the match live.
Match info
Riverhounds (7-7-6) vs. Birmingham Legion FC (4-9-7)
Date: Saturday, Aug. 23
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Ala.
Odds: Hounds +165/ Draw +210 / Birmingham +165
TV: KDKA+
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #BHMvPIT and #Grittsburgh
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