PITTSBURGH (April 3, 2015) – The Pittsburgh Riverhounds return to action Saturday night at 7 p.m. when the Rochester Rhinos make the first of two visits to Highmark Stadium this year.
The Riverhounds (1-0-0, 3 points) got their 2015 USL campaign off to a flying start last weekend with a 5-2 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders in the season’s first Keystone Derby clash.
Rochester (0-0-1, 1 point) opened with a scoreless tie against the New York Red Bulls reserve team at Red Bull Arena that featured a penalty kick save from Rhinos goalkeeper Brandon Miller.
“I thought Rochester were the better team against New York,” said Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens. “Jonny Mendoza is extremely tactical and a great passer while Alex Dixon has good speed.
“They’ll be hard to defend against.”
The teams have met three times in Pittsburgh since Highmark Stadium opened for the 2013 USL season with the Hounds holding a 2-1-0 advantage.
Kevin Kerr enters the weekend as the league’s joint leading goalscorer following his opening night hat-trick against Harrisburg. Kerr is joined at the top of the USL’s points list by Rob Vincent after the English midfielder scored twice and assisted on two of Kerr’s goals last week.
Jamaican national team goalkeeper Ryan Thompson returned to training Thursday after earning his third cap in the Reggae Boyz’ 3-0 win over Cuba on Monday.
Matt Dallman remains a few weeks away from returning to action after tearing his hip ligament earlier this year. Drew Russell is set to resume training in the next couple of weeks after undergoing surgery on his left knee.
Canadian left-back Tyler Pasher remains unavailable for selection while awaiting international transfer clearance from his former club in Finland.