As hinted in the days leading up to tonight’s match, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds have added three Columbus Crew SC loanees to their roster on a game-by-game basis.
Joining the club will be midfielders Cristian Martinez and Rodrigo Saravia for the first time this year, while defender Chad Barson returns after playing one match earlier in the season against the Charleston Battery.
For a more in-depth preview of tonight’s match between the Riverhounds and FC Montreal set to kick off at 7 p.m., check out Pittsburgh Soccer Report’s BREAKING DOWN THE HOUNDS.
Here’s more on the loanees from the Riverhounds release:
Barson, who made his Hounds debut in a 1-1 tie at Charleston on April 30, recording one shot on goal, has played in five matches this season for Crew SC. In total, since joining Columbus in 2013 as a Homegrown Player signee, Barson has played in 48 matches, including 32 starts, tallying two assists.Prior to his time with Crew SC, Barson was a standout at the University of Akron, starting in all but two matches in his collegiate career. The Columbus, Ohio native was part of the 2010 National Championship squad and served as team captain for two seasons.Currently on loan from Chorrillo FC as of earlier this May, Martinez has registered one goal in two appearances for Columbus. The El Chorrillo, Panama City, Panama native joined Chorrillo FC’s youth ranks beginning at the Under-9 level, eventually progressing through the system to make his debut for the first team in 2012 at the age of 15.The midfielder has also registered two caps each for the Panama National Team and the Under-20 team this year.Lastly, Saravia has played eight matches, including one start, in his first season with Crew SC.He was drafted in the first round, 19th overall, by Columbus in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft after an impressive collegiate career at Florida Gulf Coast. The Guatemala City, Guatemala native started in 65 of 67 appearances for the Eagles, earning Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year honors in 2015.On the international level, Saravia has notched four caps for Guatemala, including two FIFA World Cup qualification matches – starting both.Barson will wear No. 29, the same number he wore against Charleston, while Martinez and Saravia will don No. 34 and 35, respectively.For more information on the three loanees, visit ColumbusCrewSC.com.