Kenardo Forbes on verge of USL Championship’s record for minutes played

As seems to be commonplace each week, Riverhounds SC veteran midfielder Kenardo Forbes is on the cusp of another milestone entering Saturday’s game vs Phoenix Rising SC (10:30 p.m. ET / SportsNet Pittsburgh / ESPN+ ).

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This time, it’s another league record.

With 70 more minutes played, Forbes, currently the league’s all-time assist leader (54) and the Hounds’ leader in matches played (197), will reach the USL Championship record for regular-season minutes, matching the 21,237 of former Hounds teammate Hugh Roberts.

With Roberts currently playing for Charlotte in USL League One, Forbes will take the No. 1 spot soon, but Indy Eleven midfielder Aodhan Quinn — the only other active player with 20,000 Championship minutes — is only 331 minutes behind the record himself and giving chase.

Forbes has started each of the Hounds’ first five matches this season, posting 378 minutes played. On April 6 against Tampa Bay, he became the Hounds’ all-time appearances leader, surpassing former St. Lucian international David Flavius, who played for the Hounds from 1999 to 2006. He is also 70 minutes away from becoming the USL Championship’s all-time leader in minutes played.

Riverhounds vs Phoenix Rising SC Match Notes

• Tonight’s match is only the second-ever trip by the Hounds to Arizona. Their last trip to the 48th state came back in 2014, when Phoenix — then known as Arizona United SC — handed the Hounds a 3-1 loss at the Peoria Sports Complex.
• The Hounds won the most recent meeting between the teams, 1-0, on June 3, 2023 at Highmark Stadium.

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• The Hounds and goalkeeper Eric Dick have recorded back-toback clean sheets in their first two matches of April. Dick made two saves for his first shutout against Tampa Bay, and he made three more stops last week to blank Rhode Island.
• The past two matches for the Hounds were consecutive 0-0 draws, which is a rare occurrence under coach Bob Lilley. It is only the third time that has happened in the coach’s seven-year tenure; the other two occurrences were home matches against Louisville and Sacramento in 2023, and in his first two games leading the Hounds, at Nashville and at home against Penn FC (Harrisburg) in 2018.
• The Hounds have never played three consecutive 0-0 games in team history, spanning exactly 700 matches played.
• Robbie Mertz played his 10,000th minute in the USL Championship on April 6 against Tampa Bay. He has logged
  10,004 minutes in his career across two stints in Pittsburgh and a season and a half with Atlanta United 2.
• Danny Griffin was named the Hounds’ new captain for the 2024 season. The fifth-year pro has not missed a league match — regular season or postseason — in his career between Pittsburgh and a brief stint with Huntsville in MLS Next Pro. Griffin is approaching 10,000 minutes played in the USL Championship in just his fifth season with the Hounds. He has played 9,889 minutes for the team, putting his time on Championship fields behind only Kenardo Forbes and Robbie Mertz among current Hounds players.
• The Hounds are celebrating their 25th-anniversary season, making them the third-oldest pro club in USL behind only the Charleston Battery and Richmond Kickers, both founded in 1993.
• The Riverhounds won the USL Championship Players’ Shield in 2023 with a league-leading 19-5-10 record, and head coach Bob Lilley was named Coach of the Year for the second time in the USL Championship and sixth time as a pro head coach.
• In 208 matches played under Lilley in all competitions, the Hounds are 106-45-57 and have allowed just 193 goals, an average of 0.93 goals per game

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Match Details

Riverhounds (0-3-2) at Phoenix Rising FC (2-3-1)
Date: Saturday, April 20
Time: 10:30 p.m.
Location: Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium, Phoenix, Ariz.
Odds: Hounds +300 / Draw +240 / Phoenix -115
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on Twitter
Match hashtags: #PHXvPIT and #HOUNDTAHN

John Krysinsky

John Krysinsky has covered soccer and other sports for many years for various publications and media outlets. He is also author of 'Miracle on the Mon' -- a book about the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which chronicles the club, particularly the early years of Highmark Stadium with the narrative leading up to and centered around a remarkable match that helped provide a spark for the franchise. John has covered sports for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Sports Report, has served as color commentator on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broadcasts, and worked with OPTA Stats and broadcast teams for US Open Cup and International Champions Cup matches held in the US. Krysinsky also served as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at his alma mater, Point Park University, where he led the Pioneers to the first-ever winning seasons and playoff berths (1996-98); head coach of North Catholic boys (2007-08), associate head coach of Shady Side Academy boys (2009-2014).