Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23

Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23
Founded 2013
Stadium Highmark Stadium
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Capacity 3,500
Owner Tuffy Shallenberger
Manager Josh Rife
League USL Premier Development League
2014 6th, Great Lakes
Playoffs: DNQ
Website Club home page

Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23 is an American soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which began play with the 2014 PDL season. The team is affiliated with and will serve as a feeder team for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the USL. The team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Division.[1] The team plays their home games at Highmark Stadium.[2][3] The current manager of the team is Josh Rife.[4]

History

Founding

On November 26, 2013 it was announced that the Pittsburgh Riverhounds had secured a Premier Development League franchise that would begin play during the 2014 PDL season. At the time, no official name was unveiled but it was indicated that team would play under the Riverhounds umbrella.[2] Riverhounds CEO Jason Kutney stated that the purpose of the team would be to provide standout local college players a place to play in the summer, something that they had not previously had. Kutney also believed that providing the opportunity to stay fit and play soccer in the region year-round would attract more players to the area in addition to providing players with the opportunity to be observed by USL and Major League Soccer scouts. At this time, it was also announced that the team would play their home matches at Highmark Stadium, likely as double-headers with their parent-club's matches[3]

2014

The club's first head coach was Oz Bakirdan who was also head coach of the Illinois Central College Cougars at the time.[5] The club's first match was scheduled for May 23, 2014 against Chicago Fire Premier at Toyota Park.[6] The Riverhounds went on to lose the match 1-2.[7] The club played its inaugural home match at Highmark Stadium on June 4, 2013. The match ended in defeat also, with the Riverhounds losing 0-4 to the Michigan Bucks.[8] The Riverhounds U23 finished the season in last place in the Great Lakes Division with 7 points from 14 matches. For their inaugural season, Geordhy Pantophlet was the team's top scorer with 7 points (3 goals, 1 assist) in 10 matches played.[9]

2015

Prior to the 2015 PDL season, Josh Rife replaced Oz Bakirdan as head coach.[4]

Seasons

Season Division League Record (W-L-D) Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup Reference
2014
4
 USL PDL
2-11-1
 6th, Great Lakes Did not qualify Not Elligible
[10]
2015
4
 USL PDL
Did not qualify

Stadium

Roster

Current roster

As of August 7, 2014[9]

# Position Name Nation
24 Goalkeeper Ryan Hulings      United States
31 Goalkeeper Albert Civitarese      United States
32 Goalkeeper Daniel Lynd      United States
33 Midfielder Luca Campos      United States
34 Defender Francio Henry      Jamaica
35 Midfielder Romeo Charron      United States
36 Midfielder Bruce Cullen      Canada
38 Defender Andreas Fatschel      United States
39 Midfielder Max Flick      United States
40 Midfielder Joshua Gray      United States
41 Midfielder Trey Hemphill      United States
42 Midfielder Robert Heuler      United States
43 Forward Arkangelo James      Kenya
44 Midfielder Drew Klingenberg      United States
45 Midfielder Tyler Rudy      United States
55 Midfielder Deron Joe      United States
44 Forward James Merriam      United States
49 Midfielder Steven Munn      United States
50 Midfielder Ryan Myers      United States
51 Forward Geordhy Pantophlet      Netherlands
53 Defender Colin Phillips      United States
54 Midfielder Carl Reid      Jamaica
56 Defender Andrew Scheidemantel      United States
57 Defender Nigel Seidu      England
58 Forward Anthony Velazquez      United States
59 Forward William Taylor      United States
60 Defender Joshua Turnley      United States
61 Forward Anthony Virgara      United States
62 Midfielder Devon Williams      Jamaica
— Midfielder Jeffrey Kyei      Germany
— Defender Nicholas Newcomer      United States

Managerial history

# Head Coach Seasons W L T App W L T W L Honors
PDL Regular Season PDL Playoffs U.S. Open Cup
1 Oz Bakirdan[10] 2014 2 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Josh Rife[11] 2015- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

References

  1. ↑ "PDL 2014 Standings". United Soccer Leagues. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Riverhounds Add PDL Franchise". uslsoccer.com. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Veronica, Nick (26 November 2013). "Riverhounds become Major League Soccer affiliate". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nightingale, Richard. "A MESSAGE FROM TEAM PRESIDENT RICHARD NIGHTINGALE". Steel Army. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Rife Appointed As Riverhounds U23 Coach". USL PDL. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "2014 PDL Schedule". United Soccer Leagues. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  7. ↑ "Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23 at Chicago Fire U-23 1:2". PDL. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "RIVERHOUNDS U-23 TEAM DROPS INAUGURAL MATCH AT HIGHMARK STADIUM TO MICHIGAN BUCKS". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "2014 Stats". PDL. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "2014 PDL Standings". PDL. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "2015 PDL Standings". PDL. Retrieved 15 February 2015.

External links