Eight Men In: Riverhounds SC exercise contract options for returning core

In mid-November, when Pittsburgh Soccer Now reached out to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Head Coach Bob Lilley for our annual early season sit-down interview, he said he needed a bit more time this year to get things sorted out.

“Should have a clearer picture on where we are, and where we are headed,” Lilley explained about checking back in with him in early December.

Sure enough, the Riverhounds SC today revealed initial roster plans ahead of the 2020 season, as the picture has cleared up just a tad.

The team has elected to pick up contract options of eight players:

Those players include: Steevan Dos Santos, Kenardo Forbes, Mark Forrest, Ryan James, Robbie Mertz, Dani Rovira, Thomas Vancaeyezeele and Anthony Velarde.

“We are currently assessing the market for potential free agent USL acquisitions as well as continuing conversations with our players who are out of contact,” Lilley said through a team statement. “In addition to holding combines primarily for college players, we are also looking at foreign players who have not previously played in the USL Championship. Although we feel good about our returning core, we recognize the importance of building on the successes of the last two seasons with an even stronger roster in 2020.”

What an amazing experience it has been as a first year pro!Thank you to my teammates and @steelarmy for making me feel at home. pic.twitter.com/WxuG3xQdla

— Velarde (@Anthonyv789) November 19, 2019

Six players had their options declined by the club: Prosper Figbe, Sammy Kahsai, Austin Pack, Caleb Smith, Uchenna Uzo and Christian Volesky.

The subsequent nine players are currently out of contract: Tobi Adewole, Neco Brett, Mouhamed Dabo, Jordan Dover, Noah Franke, Joe Greenspan, Kevin Kerr, Kyle Morton and Todd Pratzner.

This past weekend, the Hounds held their annual open tryouts, which had more than 80 athletes participate. The club will hold its invitational trial this coming Saturday and Sunday.

We’ll have more reaction from today’s news on Pittsburgh Soccer Now, as Mark Goodman, will provide his reaction and thoughts, plus he’ll be starting a series taking a deeper look at the Hounds’ depth chart by position throughout December.

 

RIVERHOUNDS 2020 ROSTER (as of December 4, 2019) 

Forwards

Steevan Dos Santos

Mark Forrest

 

Midfielders

Thomas Vancaeyezeele

Robbie Mertz

Kenardo Forbes

Anthony Velarde

Dani Rovira

 

Defenders

Ryan James

 

Goalkeepers

none