USL Championship Playoff Race: Riverhounds face an uphill climb

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC walked off Highmark Stadium pitch on Saturday night having to absorb yet another result where they held a lead late in a match, only to see points squandered, as they played Birmingham Legion FC to a 1-1 draw.

Near misses haunt Riverhounds in 1-1 draw against Birmingham

Due to their precarious position, the Hounds’ have zero room for error as they approach their final four matches of the season trailing in the race as they sit in 11th place in the 12 team Eastern Conference.

The good news, if you want to call it that if you’re a Hounds fan, is that Pittsburgh will be facing last place The Miami FC, this coming Saturday, so they have to be prepared to play aggressively against a team that’s lost four straight matches.

They didn’t have a lot of cooperation this past weekend.

It appeared that Loudoun United FC were on the verge of losing their match, but a 95th minute goal rescued a point in a 1-1 draw vs El Paso.

Any chance for the Hounds or any of the other contenders to think they can safely advance past eight place was nixed with Indy Eleven, Rhode Island getting wins and Birmingham’s draw.

This essentially leave the remaining teams in contention, including the Hounds (36 pts – four matches remaining), North Carolina FC (36 pts – five matches remaining), Hartford (37 pts – five matches remaining — saw their contest vs Tampa Bay post poned due to impacts from Hurricane Helene) and Loudoun (38 pts – five matches remaining) battling for one spot eighth and last spot playoff spot.

Last week, we projected that the Hounds will probably have to earn somewhere in the ballpark of 12 to 13 points in their last five matches.

That means a 4w-0L-1D, 4-1-0 or 5-0-0 finish would be ideal.  Going 3-0-2 (11 points) or worse may not cut it.

With the draw vs Birmingham, the Hounds now have a very razor thin margin for error in the final four matches.

If there’s one thing Riverhounds Head Coach Bob Lilley and his team has learned this season, is that no opponent can be taken lightly, but it’s also hard not to look at the four remaining matches and see that it can be favorable for the Hounds, for a few good reasons:

• Two of the last four matches are at home, at Highmark Stadium (by no means a guarantee for three points– as we saw this week)
• Two remaining road matches are at last place (-46 goal differential) The Miami FC and the closest road trip, Loudoun United FC, a team they’re within two points.
• Two of the four matches are against last place teams in both the Eastern Conference (The Miami FC) and Western Conference (El Paso)

Below is the full remaining schedule for the Riverhounds and the teams they’re chasing (in Bold).  It’s very likely that the season and the final playoff berth won’t be decided until the last Saturday (October 26) of the regular season.

REMAINING SCHEDULE FOR PLAYOFF LINE CONTENDING EASTERN CONFERENCE TEAMS

To Be Announced (was postponed) 

Hartford Athletic at Tampa Bay Rowdies  –  Hartford loss — this will likely be a mid-week match somewhere in the coming weeks. With extra travel, it will be challenging for Hartford)

Saturday, October 5, 2024 

7 p.m.  — Hartford Athletic vs Loudoun United FC  (draw) 

7 p.m. — Indy Eleven at Louisville City FC (Indy loss) 

7 p.m. — Riverhounds at The Miami FC (Must win for Pittsburgh) 

7:30 p.m. — Rhode Island FC vs Tampa Bay Rowdies (RIFC loss) 

Sunday, October 6, 2024 

5 p.m. — North Carolina FC at Birmingham Legion FC (draw) 

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

7 p.m. — Indy Eleven vs Loudoun United FC (Indy win – with Loudoun having a game at hand on the Hounds and Indy further up the table, Pittsburgh would benefit from Loudoun taking a loss here — or a draw wouldn’t be the worst result either) 

Wednesday, October 9, 2024 

7 p.m. — North Carolina FC vs FC Tulsa (FC Tulsa win or a draw wouldn’t be the worst result either — however much like Loudoun the night before — NCFC has a game at hand on the Hounds) 

Saturday, October 12, 2024 

4 p.m. — Indy Eleven at Detroit City FC (Indy loss) 

7 p.m. — Riverhounds SC vs Charleston Battery (Riverhounds win) 

If the Hounds win two in a row, that gets them to 42 points.  

Sunday, October 13, 2024 

4 p.m. — Loudoun United FC at Rhode Island FC (Rhode Island win – if Rhode Island continues its form, the Hounds will want to be as close or be ahead of Loudoun United FC before their penultimate match in Virginia the following week) 

5 p.m. — Las Vegas Lights at Birmingham Legion FC (Las Vegas win)

Saturday, October 19, 2024 

6 p.m. — FC Tulsa at Hartford Athletic (FC Tulsa win) 

6 p.m. — Riverhounds at Loudoun United FC (Pittsburgh win — with very high stakes in this one — not hard to figure that it’s the biggest match in history of the series between the two clubs) 

7 p.m. — Birmingham Legion FC at Indy Eleven (draw) 

7:30 p.m.  — Rhode Island FC at Charleston Battery (Charleston win) 

7:30 p.m. — North Carolina FC at Tampa Bay Rowdies (Rowdies win) 

Saturday, October 26, 2024 

7 p.m. — Loudoun United FC at Charleston Battery (Battery win) 

7 p.m. — Riverhounds SC vs El Paso Locomotive FC (Pittsburgh win) 

7 p.m. — Las Vegas Lights at North Carolina FC (Las Vegas win) 

7:30 p.m. — Indy Eleven at Tampa Bay Rowdies (Tampa Bay win) 

7:30 p.m. — The Miami FC at Rhode Island FC (The Miami FC win) 

10 p.m.  — Hartford Athletic at Orange County SC (Orange County win) 

10 p.m. — Birmingham Legion FC at Oakland Roots SC (Oakland win) 

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).