Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Riverhounds Notebook: Versatile midfield core becomes focal point of shift to improve possession

by
John Krysinsky
February 11, 2025

Under Bob Lilley’s careful orchestration, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC have been a club that will adjust tactics and formations from game-to-game and even within each contest.

Lilley takes a distinct approach to managing his teams’ tactics, tweaking things as he sees fit to play to the strengths of the players on the roster while sticking to the same cornerstones ** that have led to his success. (**Cornerstones of Lilleyball)

In the previous two seasons, the Riverhounds, while remaining one of the league’s best defensive sides, have been more willing than ever to concede possession. In pushing for goals, the Hounds of 2023 and 2024 would still look to punish opponents by creating their share of big scoring chances through a punishing high press, relying on its ability to counter quickly and also generate chances through service and direct play.

In 2023, this formula worked. While that Hounds squad, which won the league’s Players Shield for most overall points in the regular season, were 23rd (out of 24 teams) in total possession, on the low end of the league in passing volume and accuracy (2oth in accurate passes per match), having the ball just 44.5 percent of the time, while scoring 50 goals along the way, led by Albert Dikwa’s 20 tallies which earned the League’s Golden Boot and Most Outstanding Player.

For the first half plus of 2024, it didn’t work, with Dikwa gone, the forward rotation didn’t come through and the rest of the squad failed to dictate terms of matches. Big chances were there at times in the first 18 contests, but they were horrible at converting (at one point dipped to a conversion rate of less 8 percent). As a result, the Hounds won just three times in the first 18 games, scoring just 11 goals, digging the club into a hole early in the season.

Playing under pressure while pushing to get back into playoff contention, the Hounds’ improved through the second half of the season, finding ways to diversify its attack and ending up scoring 41 goals for the season and earning a playoff spot after losing only once in its last 16 regular season matches.

On one hand, possession isn’t always the true equalizer. Just look at San Antonio FC — a club in 2022 took a no-frills approach, finishing dead last in possession (41.9%), but still cruised to one of the most dominant seasons in league history in winning the USL Championship regular season and USL Cup Playoffs with a strong direct and counter-attacking style that netted 62 goals.

The Riverhounds took a similar approach in 2023 and 2024, as they mirrored San Antonio in many statistical categories — including balls won at midfield and a relentless high press leading to being near top of league annually in possession won in the final third (2022 — 5th, 2023 — 2nd, 2024 — 5th).

In the past two seasons, San Antonio continued to be near bottom of the league in possession, but they couldn’t maintain the same level of scoring output, bottoming out by finishing 9th out of 12 teams in Western Conference in 2024, with Head Coach Alen Marcina, who orchestrated the club’s approach, resigning at the end of the season.

Lilley and assistant coaches Rob Vincent and Jon Busch went back to the drawing board shortly after the 2024 season ended. They already had a core of a strong midfield potentially in place — especially as they picked up contract options for Robbie Mertz, Bradley Sample, Aiden O’Toole and venerable Kenardo Forbes, who’s the league and club’s all-time assists leader. That core also includes team captain Danny Griffin, who was already under contract.

Thus, with an abundance of versatile and experienced midfielders in place, the Hounds appear to ball all-in on becoming a team that keeps the ball for longer stretches.

Pittsburgh also made a splash ahead of start of preseason with the signing announcements of Bertin Jacquesson, who scored five goals and had two assists in a short loan to the club at the end of 2024 and Augustine Williams, one of the league’s most consistent scorers in the past decade.

Lilley said right off the bat, after the first training session of the preseason, that the team is focused being better on the ball.

“If we’re going to play on the front foot, we have to be better in possession. Better with our pressure. Hopefully create more chances. Hopefully bringing Bertin (Jacquesson) back and adding a player like Augi, we’re hoping to be more dangerous overall.”

The first two weeks of preseason brought two very different opponents. In scrimmage vs Columbus (no result reported), the Hounds were chasing most of the match against Wilfried Nancy’s side which can play keep away at ease vs the best MLS clubs.

Following Saturday’s scrimmage vs Duquesne (a 3-0 win), the Hounds were dominant in possession against the college side, while starting a core group of the younger midfielders (Jackson Walti, Aiden O’Toole and Bradley Sample are all second year players with the club along with first-year addition Charles Ahl). When veterans Robbie Mertz and Danny Griffin (along with eight other fresh new players) came on the 2nd half, they continued the possession edge, while scoring quickly, thanks to clever service from Mertz, who picked up an assist two minutes into joining the action.

The veteran midfielder believes that the midfield has constantly been a strength of the club in recent years.

“It’s been a staple for us,” Mertz stated after the Duquesne match.

“We’ve always had competition in those spots. The way that we operate and the people we bring in have to be versatile, and that includes myself, playing in a lot of different areas like I did last year and I am sure I will again this year. It’s not so much a competition, but finding the right combination of people that work within whatever system we’re trying to apply in every game.”

Vincent, once a midfielder himself who scored more goals than any player from central and wide positions than any other player during his three-plus seasons in Pittsburgh, added that getting more time on the ball this season will be a priority for the club.

“We’re in the process of figuring out the right kind of balance,” Vincent said.

“There’s a lot of talented players in there. It’s finding the spots for them to shine. They’re all technically, very good, but they all bring their own qualities as well. So, right now, we’re in that process of figuring out that right kind of balance. With a little bit of a change in formation, we’ll see what clicks. There’s a lot of quality on the ball now. That’s something we probably want to take advantage of and have more guys on the field and get us more possession. It’s something we were aware of last year, not having as much of the ball as we would have liked. So, that’s a deliberate change that we’ve tried to make this offseason.”

For the record, when asked, Vincent chuckled but didn’t rule out any formations with six midfielders.

“We need to be flexible right now,” Vincent added.

“That’s a staple in Bob’s time here. Not only being able to change formations in a game. Change formations throughout the season. But also have guys who can play in multiple positions. We have a target (forward) who knows how to play through the middle a lot, and his hopefully going to be a big impact for us. So, it’s getting the right players to run off, whether they play underneath them, I am sure you’ll see a lot of changes as we go through the season.”

Pointing a little further back, from 2020 through 2022, the Hounds were a stronger possession side, finishing in the middle of the pack in a league that had more teams, but probably less quality competition each week.

Now that the league has 24 clubs, with 12 teams in each conference, the quality of technical play and ability on the ball across the league has improved drastically. Lilley recognizes this, and believes that it’s important that the Riverhounds can match that level of play in every match.

“(Eastern Conference champions and league runner-up) Rhode Island got better. Louisville is going to be very good again. Charleston are dangerous. Tampa Bay is better. East was quite tough last year. I would expect more the same, but” Lilley paused and smiled.

“I know we’re better. I think we learned a lot about ourselves last year. Hopefully that’s going to fuel us going into this year.”

Time will tell, but the Riverhounds coaches and players are in the process of looking to diversify and can win a bunch of ways — including by being strong on the ball again.

“With a little bid of change of formation. There’s a lot of quality on the ball right now. It’s still the early days. We still have guys trying to find their footing. But, we’re happy with where we’ve come along.”

Riverhounds Possession Numbers in Recent Years

Average Possession

2024
- League Leaders (Las Vegas / Charleston 59%)
- Riverhounds SC (44.9%, 23rd out of 24 teams)
2023
- League Leaders (Indy 56%)
- Riverhounds SC (44.5%, 23rd out of 24 teams)
2022
- League Leaders (El Paso 60%)
- Riverhounds SC (50.0%, 12th out of 24 teams)
2021
- League Leaders (San Diego 58%)
- Riverhounds SC (49.4%, 16th out of 31 teams)
2020
- League Leaders (Reno 56%)
- Riverhounds SC (52.7%, 8th of out 35 teams)