Pittsburgh Riverhounds News Release -- www.riverhounds.com
Monday, March 12, 2012
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have agreed to terms with Richard Costanzo, a local professional standout, to play the 2012 and 2013 season in his home town, pending USSF approval. Costanzo brings experience, professionalism and a top-notch work ethic to the Riverhounds.
Costanzo comes to the Riverhounds with three years of professional play under his belt. He spent the last two seasons with the Riverhounds’ long-time nemeses, the Rochester Rhinos. During his two-year stint with the Rhinos, Costanzo appeared in 39 matches and netted four goals, helping the Rhinos earn two regular-season titles. His rookie campaign was spent with the Minnesota Thunder in 2009, landing Costanzo with 20 appearances and netting one goal.
During his time as a professional, Costanzo’s primary role with his previous clubs was defensive in nature, but each club was encouraged by his ability to attack down the flanks. The Riverhounds will use Costanzo’s tenacious style of play in the center of the field which should allow for his creativity and distribution abilities to be capitalized on.
“Richie is a player that we are very excited to welcome to the Riverhounds family,” said Head Coach Justin Evans. “He brings a great combination of skill, bite, professionalism and leadership that we were looking to add to our squad this offseason.”
Costanzo began his collegiate career at Penn State and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the year in 2004. After sitting out his sophomore year due to an injury, Costanzo transferred to the University of Maryland to play out his three remaining years of eligibility. Named as one of the team captains for his senior campaign, Costanzo and the Terrapins won an ACC Championship and the NCAA Division I National Championship in 2008.
Growing up in Jefferson Hills, south of Pittsburgh, Costanzo played a major part in leading Thomas Jefferson High School to three consecutive State Championship games and earning the state title in 2002 during his junior year. Based on his performance at Thomas Jefferson, Costanzo was recognized as a two-time NSCAA/adidas All-American and as a two-time regional All-American. In 2003, he was also named as the NSCAA Pennsylvania State Player of the Year and chosen as an EA Sports All-American.
“It is always great for the young players, in the city of Pittsburgh, to look up to current professional players who also grew up here," Evans added. "We know that Richie will not only be a great player and leader for our Organization, but also a great role model for youth players to look up to."