Riverhounds land in second-tier league
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The Riverhounds will play their home opener Saturday night, and the game represents a new beginning for the local professional soccer franchise.
After three years of competing in the United Soccer Leagues' third-tier circuit, the Riverhounds are moving up to a new second-tier league under a reorganization by the USL.
USL has combined its second- and third-tier associations into one new league called USL Pro. The Riverhounds are 1 of 15 franchises in the new group, which is one step below Major League Soccer in this country's professional soccer hierarchy. The Riverhounds previously competed in a similar league called the A-League, beginning in 1999.
The Riverhounds will compete in the National Division against the Dayton Dutch Lions, FC New York, Harrisburg City Islanders and the Rochester Rhinos. The other 10 teams are split between the American and International divisions.
With the move up in competition, the Riverhounds signed four players who played for MLS teams last season. Thabiso Khamulo (D.C. United), Kyle Veris (L.A. Galaxy), Jason Yeisley (SC Dallas) and Sammy Appiah (Houston Dynamos) will be part of a retooled lineup that will take on Harrisburg in the opener at 7 p.m. at Chartiers Valley High School.
The Riverhounds also brought back the 2010 USL rookie of the year, Jeremy Deighton, and defender of the year, Shintaro Harada.
Justin Evans, a former Riverhounds player, is entering his second season as coach.
This is the fourth season under the ownership of the Greentree Sportsplex, which purchased the team in 2007. With a new focus on growing the sport through young soccer players, the Riverhounds boast a youth academy that has 550 boys and girls enrolled this spring.
In addition to celebrating the opening of a new season Saturday, the Riverhounds will hold a fundraiser for a local woman fighting cancer. There will be special pregame ceremony honoring Margie Bartell, the mother of a former team intern. Margie Bartell is battling central nervous system lymphoma.
The Riverhounds will have a raffle benefiting the Bartell family. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the game.
First Published April 22, 2011 12:00 am
