There was a chill inside the AHN Montour Sports Complex on Tuesday when the defending champions of the USL’s top league gathered for practice after the winter storm broke Monday.
With a little more than half of the players returning from last season’s stunning victory over FC Tulsa in penalties to claim the franchise’s first league title in November, a mix of familiar faces, some new additions and a returning former striker will start defense of their perch in just under a week when they host the Richmond Kickers in the club’s first preseason game at their Montour digs.
The turnaround from November’s championship celebration to the bitter cold of a late January chill was quick, captain Robbie Mertz said.
“I will say the way the offseason goes, along with the holiday season and everything, it’s a little bit weird,” said Mertz. “Our team, we didn’t get to celebrate as a team much. A lot of guys left the market within a few days of winning the championship, which is a bit sad. I think everyone who is returning from that team got a chance to catch their breath, get themselves right, and in football, that’s the way things kind of roll. It’s a year-round sport.”
Part of the challenge the Riverhounds will face in defense of their crown is the loss of several key members of their 2025 club, including leading goal scorer Augi Williams, first-team all-league defender Sean Suber and goalkeeper Eric Dick, who have landed elsewhere in the USL.
The club worked hard during the short offseason to bolster the lineup with talent, one reinforcement being a familiar face in former Riverhound and golden boot winner Albert Dikwa, who had his contract purchased via transfer from Rhode Island on Jan. 9. Dikwa registered 20 goals in 2023, leading the league while guiding the team to its first Players Shield as the top team during regular season play.
Dikwa expressed his joy in returning to Pittsburgh.
“Excited,” he said about his second stop with the ‘Hounds. “Hopefully the transition is easy. We have a coach (Rob Vincent) who always wants people to work hard. I can’t wait to start, and my mentality is always to win. I’m going to help the team in many ways to get a repeat of the championship.”
Speaking of the coach, Vincent is “new” in the sense that he has officially taken over for Bob Lilley as the team’s manager in a move effective Dec. 19. Vincent was named acting head coach on Oct. 10 when the team placed Lilley on administrative leave.
When asked what style of play he would fashion now that he’s in charge, the Liverpool native was quick to respond.
“I think the words I used with the guys when we first met was evolution, not revolution,” he said. “There’s a lot of things we did well over the past eight to 10 years. It would be crazy for us to move far away from that. We still need to be a good, hard-working defensive team where everybody chips in, buys in. These first few days are about buying in defensively and be willing to do the work and be humble about that, but of course I want us to be a attacking team going forward as well.”
Vincent led the Riverhounds to a 3-0-4 record in their run to the league championship and feels the approach now must be different from when he was placed in charge just before a game against the Indy 11 last season.
“I think it’s in the back of the mind. You want to do a professional job.” Vincent said. “Last season is gone. It’s a new season, and you have to prepare the best you can.”
As far as the defense this team has returning, replacing Suber and Dick won’t be easy. Beto Ydrach, last season’s playoff penalty kick hero who returns on the backline, spoke about the challenge the club faces in that endeavor.
“Losing Sean is definitely a big hole to fill, but it’s next guy up,” he said. “We signed some good players, some center backs, to come in, and the guys here can fill those shoes and hopefully we can do that.”
The Riverhounds exhibition season begins Monday when they host the Richmond Kickers from USL 2. Their season opener is a road contest slated for Saturday, March 6 against their oldest rivals, the Charleston Battery. Pittsburgh’s home opener will take place three weeks later March 28 when Sporting Jacksonville pays a visit to Highmark Stadium.