Site Updates: Adding a little bit of history, plus more Duquesne coverage

Here on Pittsburgh Soccer Now we are very pleased to announce new additions that will bring more content that area soccer fans will enjoy!

CAPTURING PITTSBURGH’s SOCCER HISTORY

We are also pleased to announce that we will be partnering with a real friend of the Pittsburgh soccer community – Patrick McCarthy — who will be contributing to a soon-to-be-added Pittsburgh Soccer History page.

If you are not already familiar with Patrick, he has accumulated an incredible collection of Pittsburgh soccer video archives that go back to the 1970s and 80s. Often times, on his twitter account, he will post videos from the Pittsburgh Spirit or other old Pittsburgh soccer footage like this classic news footage of Spirit playing an outdoor game at South Park Fairgrounds to promote the team (and season ticket sales).

Evening News Footage from 6/23/85 of "Soccerfest 85'". This was a promotional outdoor game held by the Pittsburgh Spirit to stimulate Season Ticket Sales. @footballpastor1 @jfohara_john @ChrisWright #pittsburghspirit #clevelandforce @PGH_Sports_Date @RiverhoundsSC pic.twitter.com/VjIp0gyNog

— Patrick McCarthy (@pwmst1) March 23, 2018

And here’s another gem, a clip of current Hounds coach Bob Lilley scoring in his short lived tenure with one-and-done Pittsburgh Stingers in 1995.

@mongoals New @PghRiverhounds coach Bob Lilley in action as a Pittsburgh Stinger! #pittsburghspirit #washingtonwarthogs pic.twitter.com/yl9aVwOTzk

— Patrick McCarthy (@pwmst1) November 21, 2017

In fact, Patrick has recently been working closely with soccer coaching icon John Kowalski to convert many old soccer videos to digital format.

We are excited to create page on this site that will host many wonderful stories, links to videos, and archives that capture and preserve our region’s history of the world’s most popular sport.

????: Local fan and unofficial Spirit historian @pwmst1 reflected on his personal connection with the club. pic.twitter.com/WPOa1aqH3i

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) September 16, 2017

Here’s a little bit more from Patrick:

Back in the early 80’s I played soccer and I became a fan of the Pittsburgh Spirit indoor Soccer Team.  VHS tapes were still relatively new and in an effort to not miss any games, I started recording Spirit broadcasts.  I loved the idea of watching footage whenever I chose.  With the help of my adoring mother, I frequently attended Pittsburgh Spirit games and Summer Camps.

Hitting  the Fast-Forward button and jumping ahead roughly 20 years, DVD recorders came on the scene.  I started transferring the games that I had on VHS to DVD in an effort to preserve the historical footage.  VHS tapes have a tendency to get moldy and diminish as the years go on so it’s key to transfer anything that someone might want to preserve to DVD or other media.  I get a thrill out of watching a vintage soccer game broadcast filled with commercials and nuances of that particular time.      

Last summer I was invited to attend the Pittsburgh Spirit Tribute game that the Pittsburgh Riverhounds held.  The idea was that I would provide Spirit highlight footage from my Youtube channel to promote the event.  I also did an interview explaining my love for a franchise that hadn’t played a game in 30+ years.  While attending the game against the Rochester Rhinos, I met several Pittsburgh Spirit Players.  That particular connection opened a door for me to preserve VHS tapes that were cramed in attics and garages.  A gold mine for someone like myslelf.  By the way, Bob Lilley’s Rochester Rhinos all but extinguished any playoff hopes for the Riverhounds that day by stealing a draw.

My mind is on soccer for a large portion of the day.  It’s something that I can’t control.  Just the other day I saw a special on the 85′ Chicago Bears and while watching the highlights of their Super Bowl victory I was thinking to myself, “The Pittsburgh Spirit defeated the LA Lazers later that evening on the west-coast.”  It’s just how I’m wired.

Click here for link to Patrick’s YouTube Channel 

WE’VE GOT WEISS ON DUQUESNE

In continuing with the tradition of providing news and updates on our College soccer teams in our region that I started on Pittsburgh Soccer Report, we are making a commitment to bring more onsite coverage of the Division I programs this coming Fall season.

Both Duquesne’s men’s and women’s teams will have a regular contributions on Pittsburgh Soccer now from Zac Weiss.

Zac has been covering many Duquesne sports for DYSTNow.com  and golf for DYSTGolf.com as well as Atlantic 10 basketball for A10talk.

We’ll be looking forward to Zac’s season previews of both Duquesne men’s and women’s teams.