Preview: Hounds at Rhode Island FC
May 22, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release
With the glamour of the U.S. Open Cup behind them, the Hounds are ready to turn their attention back to league play and an important matchup Saturday at last year's Eastern Conference champion, Rhode Island FC.
Both the Hounds and Rhode Island find themselves occupying the back half of the East playoff spots - Rhode Island is sixth and the Hounds eighth - entering a match that will officially mark the season being one-third of the way complete. That makes this match an early-season six pointer and an important spot to try and grab three points to keep pace with the top four.
The Hounds will have to shake off weary legs in their eighth road match out of the last 10, and to cut down on travel, the team flew directly to the Ocean State from Philadelphia after waking up the next day from their Wednesday night Open Cup match. While some will likely be bidding for a 180-minute week - midfield stalwarts Danny Griffin and Jackson Walti each have yet to come off the field in 2025 - coach Bob Lilley will have to gauge how much each of his players has in the tank after a light Friday training session.
Jorge Garcia, the Hounds' scorer against the Philadelphia Union, logged 28 minutes Wednesday, as did Aidan O'Toole. Bradley Sample (unused substitute) and Jason Bouregy (not named in lineup) are fresher still, while Robbie Mertz and Bertin Jacquesson both were pulled just after the hour mark, making Augi Williams the only forward/attacking midfield player to go a full 90 against the Union.
Rhode Island has the luxury of being at home in what will be the fourth-ever game at their new Pawtucket home, Centreville Bank Stadium at Tidewater Landing, as well as not having played a midweek match. Former Hounds Golden Boot winner Albert Dikwa is coming back from injury and just getting back into his team's regular rotation this month, while other former Hounds Marc Ybarra and Dani Rovira also have been unavailable for a large chunk of the season.
Low-scoring matches have been the norm for both teams this season, and they also played to a 0-0 draw in their first-ever meeting in Rhode Island a year ago. Only 19 combined goals - for and against - have been scored in Rhode Island's matches this year, and only five teams have a lower total than that, one of which is the Hounds with a league-low 16 goals scored in their nine contests.
Saturday afternoon's match will be available to watch live on KDKA+, and the game will be re-aired at 1 p.m. Sunday. ESPN+ will have the live stream of the match, as will the KDKA website for in-market audiences.
Match info
Riverhounds (2-5-2) vs. Rhode Island FC (3-3-3)
Date: Saturday, May 24
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Centreville Bank Stadium, Pawtucket, R.I.
Odds: Hounds +370 / Draw +250 / Rhode Island -145 at FanDuel
TV: KDKA+
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #RIvPIT and #Grittsburgh
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