New Riverhounds defender Sean Suber confident of living up to ‘high standard’

Photo courtesy Huntsville FC / MLS Next Pro

New Pittsburgh Riverhounds defender Sean Suber is fully aware of the reputation he and the team need to uphold at the back as they look to continue their work in 2024. 

One of the strengths that the Pittsburgh Riverhounds were able to rely on in their 2023 Player’s Shield campaign last year was their defense, which ranked 2nd in the entire league with just 29 goals conceded across their 34 games. That was of course largely helped out by the presence of the likes of the departed goalkeeper Jamali Waite and defender Arturo Ordoñez, with the latter earning his way onto the USL Championship’s All-league First Team.

Now though, it’s up to a new crop to try and make sure that the standard remains the same as they head into 2024. The goalkeeping department has their fair share of work to deal with, detailed in my article from last week, but now attention turns to the men in front of them in the backline.

One player who will be hoping to ensure the goalkeepers aren’t too busy on any given matchday is Sean Suber, a new addition from MLS NextPro’s Huntsville City FC where he started 26 times last season. 

Speaking exclusively to Pittsburgh Soccer Now, Suber opened up first about how he was picked up by the Hounds this summer, noting that he clearly did something to impress head coach Bob Lilley right off the bat: 

“I came to the combine here in Pittsburgh in early December and played pretty well and then coach offered me a contract… just a couple of days after the combine he called me up and said he wanted to offer me a contract, so obviously I did something to impress him if he offered me a deal that soon after.”

Making the step up from MLS Next Pro to the USL Championship is no easy feat, and whilst he hasn’t had a lot of competition at this level yet, barring some appearances in the preseason against Indy Eleven and Loudon United, being around players of USL Championship quality at practice has certainly helped him get to a position where he’s confident in being able to make an impact when called upon: 

“I think I’ve adjusted pretty well. Obviously I was in the first team in Nashville for preseason at the beginning so I kind of already knew what that level was going be like. MLS Next Pro is an OK level and USL the Championship is obviously a step up so I’m just excited to get in here and see if I can keep striving forward to keep developing and keep growing.

“We hold a high standard in here every day in training and in the game. So me coming in, I think it just shows that he sees something in me, that’s why I was signed and I just try to come in here every day, put in the work and try to get in that starting eleven so I can help the defense out this year.”