Hounds Sign Soumah; Busy Soccer Day; PDL Tryouts; Klein Steps Down At QV

RIVERHOUNDS SIGN ANOTHER FORWARD

The Riverhounds continue to add young players — eager for there first taste of professional soccer as they officially announce the signing of Guinean forward Amara Soumah for the remainder of the 2015 season.
Soumah did make the start in the Hounds scrimmage with the University of Pittsburgh last week, but is now on the team’s official roster.
Soumah, 24,spent the past two years playing for California State University, Fullerton. He notched eight goals in 38 appearances for the Titans and helped the school to a Big West Tournament championship last November.
“Amara has very good speed and can attack from a wide positionor as a central striker,” said Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens.
“He has theability to beat guys on the dribble and is a quality finisher.”
Soumah arrived in the United States as a 13-year-old to live with relatives in Denver. He trained with the Colorado Rapids Academy during his youth and spent his freshman and sophomore college years at Illinois Central College.
BUSY SOCCER DAY
I’d say today is a pretty good day if you want to kick back and watch some soccer.
First up — UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals…   Barcelona vs PSG – Heavyweight Champions League Matchup
One of the heavyweight match-ups to watch closely is PSG (France) vs Barcelona (La Liga) at 2:30pm on Fox Sports 1 in a 2014-15 Champions League quarterfinal first-leg.
PSG advanced on away goals, knocking out Chelsea in the Round of 16. Barcelona had an easier time advancing, beating Manchester City 3-1. PSG beat St Etienne 4-1 in a French Cup semifinal last week and Barcelona drew 2-2 with Sevilla in La Liga over the weekend.
In today’s other quarter final first leg, Bayern Munich (Germany) will be taking on Porto (Portugal) at 2:30 p.m. Fox Sports 2).
Yesterday’s first-leg quarterfinal results included a hard-fought, physical 0-0 tie between cross-town rivals Athletico Madrid (La Liga) and Real Madrid (La Liga) and Juventus getting the nod, 1-0, over AS Monaco (France).
US-Mexico Meet For First TIme In 2015
On Wednesday night, CONCACAF rivalry between the US and Mexico men’s teams will renew in San Antonio, Texas in a friendly as both countries prepare for a busy summer of tournament play.
The Mexican soccer federation was not happy with the indoor grass surface in the Alamodome — but the game will go on as planned. http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/04/14/us-soccer-mexico-alamodome-turf
Jurgen Klinsmann has never lost to Mexico. The team Klinsmann will put on the field Wednesday night will consist of primarily MLS and Liga MX players. Included in the squad are nine players from the 2014 World Cup team.
Jozy Alitdore will sit out tonight — as the Toronto FC striker will miss the match due to the red card he picked up against Switzerland. This Juan Agudelo, Jordan Morris, or Gyasi Zardes an opportunity to compete for a spot in the starting XI for this summer’s Gold Cup.
This will be a typical in terms of fan support — as San Antonio will see the usual strong Mexican fan presence.
The one advantage that the U.S. will have in this game, which they have not had in any of the previous games in 2015, is a backline with experience. Expect Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez to be paired at center back with DeAndre Yedlin on one side, and either Ventura Alvarado or Greg Garza on the other.
US MEXICO FACTS
— 66th meeting in series history
— 8:30 p.m. EST Kickoff – FOX Sports 1
— El Tri leads the Yanks, 33–18–14 in the all-time series. However, it is important to note that Jurgen Klinsmann has never lost to Mexico during his tenure with the United States National Team.
— This match is an important one not only for the sides involved, but for the city of San Antonio as well. As the Scorpions continue to push to join Major League Soccer, selling 65,000 tickets for this match serves to prove that the Texas city can support and sustain a club in MLS.
PITTSBURGH PDL TEAM HOLDING TRYOUTS NEXT WEEK
The Riverhounds PDL (Under-23) team tryouts are taking place at Highmark Stadium on April 24/25.
Full tryouts info is now on Riverhounds.com at the following link — http://riverhounds.com/club-home/player-tryouts/
Participants can download the registration form and submit via email along with their credit card details to pay the $50 sign-up fee. Or they can call the Riverhounds at Highmark Stadium.
Riverhounds pro team assistant coach, Josh Rife, will be leading the PDL team this summer.
KLIEN STEPS DOWN AT QV: FORMER HOUND MARSHALL TO TAKE OVER
In High School soccer news, Gene Klein, who has coached Quaker Valley High School boys program for will be stepping down from that post for the second, and final time.
Klein, who left Quaker Valley in 2005, to coach the Riverhounds, returned to the High School ranks in 2011. Klein will remain in his role as Technical Director with the Riverhounds and continues to be a part of the Hounds live broadcasts. It appears that as the weather improves, he’ll be providing his insights and prospectives from the sidelines during the games.
Klein finishes his career with a state record six PIAA titles. He also won seven WPIAL titles and reached 500 career wins in the fall.
In my tenure as Associate Head Coach at Shady Side Academy, we met Quaker Valley in two memorable WPIAL playoff games. You always knew that when playing against a Gene Klein coached team, it would be a very tough encounter. His teams always played at a very high level and never conceded goals very easily.
Replacing Klein at QV, will be Andrew Marshall, who played with the Riverhounds as a central defender until a knee injury cut his season short last year. Marshall has also previously served as an assistant a Geneva College.