Pittsburgh Riverhounds News Release -- www.riverhounds.com
Thursday, April 7, 2011
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Pittsburgh Riverhounds open the 2011 USL PRO season in Richmond squaring off against the Kickers (1-0-0). The Riverhounds return to City Stadium for a rematch of last year’s semifinal playoff game, which ended the Hounds’ season. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. kick-off.
The Riverhounds head to Richmond with a healthy and talented first team. Coach Justin Evans is returning 11 core players from last year’s squad and has added some experience through his off-season acquisitions.
Returning for the Riverhounds from last year’s squad are 2010 USL Goalkeeper of the Year Hunter Gilstrap, Defender of the Year Shintaro Harada and Rookie of the Year Jeremy Deighton. 2011 also sees the return of defenders Jason Kutney, Louie Rolko, Sterling Flunder, Nikola Katic and Mike Seth, midfielder Tommy Gray and Matt Tuttle and forward Chad Severs.
Pittsburgh has also added experience, with Thabiso ‘Boyzzz’ Khumalo, Kyle Veris, Jason Yeisley and Sammy Appiah all having appeared in Major League Soccer. There are also some rookies, with Ben Horner, Matt Fondy, Neil Shaffer, Greg Blum, Derek Yobbi, Stefan Lundberg and Jason Straw all entering their first professional season.
Richmond is playing in its second game of the 2011 season, coming off a 2-0 home win last weekend against Orlando City. The Kickers are returning many quality players from 2010, including Offensive MVP Matt Delicâte, goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale, and midfielders Luke Vercollone and Mike Burke. The Kickers have added a few talented players themselves in the off-season to strengthen their team and increase their depth.
The meeting between the Riverhounds and Kickers has drawn quite a bit of attention and should bring an intense atmosphere to Richmond’s City Stadium.