Preview: Hounds at Charleston Battery

Sports stats



USL Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Preview: Hounds at Charleston Battery

April 10, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release


After an early week off, the Hounds take their two-match winning streak on the road Saturday night to face their longest-running nemesis in the USL Championship, the Charleston Battery.

The Hounds had their 2024 season come to an end with a 1-0 playoff loss to the Battery at Patriots Point, and while Bob Lilley and Ben Pirmann have established continuity with their respective clubs, the make-up of both teams is somewhat different from a year ago.

For the Hounds, captain Danny Griffin has scored in consecutive matches - a first in his career - as the shift from his longtime holding midfield role to a more attacking-minded role is paying early dividends. On the defensive side of the ball, Lilley still wants to see his side clean up some of the loose moments that occurred against Hartford and Birmingham, but the end results - a pair of clean sheets and only three shots on goal allowed in 180 minutes - indicate a group that needs to fine tune rather than make widespread changes.

A first career assist and the Birmingham shutout gave Beto Ydrach his first Team of the Week honor, and both Luke Biasi and Junior Etou earned bench honors the prior week. That overlooks the contribution of Sean Suber, the only defender to have played every minute this season, and Eric Dick, who has his first two clean sheets of the season after 14 a year ago.

The Battery, meanwhile, dealt with the sale of 2024 Golden Boot winner Nick Markanich with the offseason acquisition of another of the USL Championship's top scorers, Cal Jennings. Jennings is off to a hot start with four goals to share the league lead after the first month, as he has burst into the league's all-time top 10 for goals at just 27 years old.

One of Charleston's other 2025 acquisitions is a familiar face. Luis Zamudio, who spent part of 2023 on loan to the Hounds, has been the Battery's No. 1 to begin the year behind an experienced back line with veterans Leland Archer, Graham Smith and another former Hound, Nate Dossantos.

This will be the 45th all-time meeting between the Hounds and the Battery. That makes Charleston the Hounds' second-most-frequent opponent, tying the number of meetings with the Harrisburg City Islanders/Penn FC. The 47 meetings between the Hounds and Rochester Rhinos remains atop the list, but that spot presumably will be taken over by Hounds-Battery during 2026.

Saturday night's match will be shown live on KDKA+ and streamed via KDKA.com for the in-market audience and over CBS Sports Golazo Network for everyone else. KDKA+ also will re-air the match at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Match info

Riverhounds (2-1-1) vs. Charleston Battery (2-2-0)

Date: Saturday, April 12

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Patriots Point Soccer Complex, Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Odds: Hounds +350 / Draw +230 / Charleston -130 at FanDuel

TV: KDKA+

Streaming: CBS Sports Golazo Network

Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center

Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on X/Twitter

Match hashtags: #CHSvPIT and #Grittsburgh

Check out the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 10, 2025


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.

Other Recent Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central