A clear blue sky, along with a rabid crowd greeted the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday at Highmark Stadium.
The fans had every intention of celebrating the incredible run that led to the club’s first league championship in November.
From fireworks to a banner unveiling, the Steel Army and 4,118 fans greeted the local 11 as they opened their 2026 home schedule against USL Championship newbie Sporting Club Jacksonville.
The host didn’t disappoint the fans as they scored early and often taking a three-goal lead early in the second half, only to watch their opponent score twice in 4 minutes. The rout turned into a close contest that eventually ended in the Hounds’ favor 3-2.
The win came with three points and moved the club up into the seventh slot of the Eastern Conference standings.
The early-season defensive struggles seemed to disappear for the Riverhounds (2-2-0) with rather strong first half of play Saturday.
The teams felt each other out in the first five minutes, but that’s when things turned for the hosts as Bradley Sample sent a ball into the box that got knocked around, eventually landing on the right foot of Albert Dikwa.
“Chico” worked his way around a defender to his right and launched a shot to the far-right corner, beating Sporting JAX (0-3-1) keeper Christian Olivares in the seventh minute to give the host an early 1-0 lead.
It was Dikwa’s second strike of the year. As soon as the ball found nylon, the golden-boot winner from 2023 pulled the front of his jersey up and showed a T-shirt underneath with a photo of long-time Steel City supporter Liv Donnan, who passed away suddenly at the age of 39 in the offseason.
In the 27th minute, offseason acquisition Sam Bassett brought the crowd to its feet when he took a ball 40-yards out, then aggressively moved unchecked before firing a 30-foot rocket toward the back post. It easily beat a helpless Olivares, extending the Hounds lead to 2-0. Manager Rob Vincent was impressed with the effort.
“I was right behind it. I had a great view of it,” he said with a smile afterwards. “Once it left his foot, it was good to see.”
Bassett said afterwards his opportunities to score have been minimal since joining the club.
“The past few games, I think I’ve had one chance where I can shoot from a distance, but I like to pass.” he said. “Sometimes you only get that one chance, so you might as well take it.”
Jacksonville responded with its best chance of the first half, in the 33rd minute.
Defender Harvey Neville sent a cross into the six, landing on the head of a JAX forward whose shot should have found its way home. It was Riverhounds defender Beto Ydrach whose hustle enabled him to get enough of his head on the ball, sending it off the crossbar. It eventually was cleared away, keeping the score 2-0 at the break.
“It’s a big play in a big moment,” Vincent said. “It was 2-0 at that time. It makes a difference there. Having him in the middle was a deliberate decision to see if we could get a bit more influence from him. Something we have to stop are those entries into the box and try and get more first contact.”
Early in the second half, Dikwa showed why his contract was purchased from Rhode Island when Sporting JAX was called for a hand ball inside its 18-yard box. Dikwa’s penalty kick was low and to the left of Olivares. He got a hand on the shot, but not enough to keep the Riverhounds from going up 3-0. Dikwa’s second goal of the contest gave him 40 for his career in Pittsburgh, moving him into second place all-time behind David Flavius.
All seemed to be pointing towards an easy win until Jacksonville registered goals in the 58th and 62nd minutes, sucking the wind out of Highmark Stadium. The visitors ramped up the aggressive play on offense the rest of the second half but could not find an equalizer despite owning a 60-40 advantage in possession time.
Vincent talked about the second-half breakdowns: “You must expect that. The first goal came off a setpiece, it was a little bit of a scrappy one. Once they have any glimmer of hope, they’re going to attack. You could hear their bench get a bit more excited.”
The Riverhounds have a short week ahead, hosting amateur club Virginia Dream FC at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup. Paramount will carry the game.
Saturday, the Hounds travel to face Indy 11.