Riverhounds SC and USL Championship legend, Kenardo Forbes retires from record-breaking playing career

Kenardo Forbes always knew the end of his illustrious playing career — as the most decorated player in Riverhounds SC history — would be coming to a close in recent years, but it wasn’t until this preseason when it became clear.

“Once I knew I didn’t have the fitness to go full 90 minutes,” Forbes told Pittsburgh Soccer Now last week in an exclusive interview, after the Hounds training session at AHN Montour Sports Complex.

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Accolades accumulated by Forbes, who played seven seasons in Pittsburgh, are many.

Today, the Riverhounds and Forbes made it official — announcing that the Kingston, Jamaica native has retired — ending the 2024 campaign holding club records for assists (55) and appearances (226) and earning All-League honors six times from 2018-23.

The veteran, who also holds USL Championship career records for the same two categories, was poised to enter eighth season in Pittsburgh.

The all-time league leader in:
▪️ Appearances 📋
▪️ Minutes ⏰
▪️ Assists 🎨@RiverhoundsSC legend Kenardo Forbes has announced his retirement and will move to a coaching role with the club 👏

➡️ https://t.co/eEhJ9Q1Zux pic.twitter.com/qIvqDk3TDQ

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) March 13, 2025

Now, Forbes, who was described by team captain and teammate for five seasons — Danny Griffin — as a ‘club legend’ — will fully step into the role as assistant coach under Head Coach Bob Lilley.

Forbes and Lilley have been inseparable since the veteran coach took notice of Forbes’ craftiness in navigating and distributing the ball along with innate situational awareness in a mid-Winter 2014 arena soccer match in Upstate New York.

Lilley’s Loyal Lieutenant: Hounds midfielder Kenardo Forbes endures and leads with his own unique style

When Pittsburgh Soccer Now contributors came together at the start of 2023 season to select the top players in a mock draft who played for the Riverhounds during the Highmark Stadium era for an episode of ‘Sounding Off on Soccer’ podcast, Forbes was the consensus number one pick.

When he heard this, Forbes shyly smiled, but redirected his praise, sharing how much it’s meant to him to be able to play this long at this level and for the same coach.

“It’s meant a lot to me, to be here, and to be playing with Bob for so long,” Forbes stated.

The USL Championship and Riverhounds’ all-time assist leader had been a First Team or Second Team All-USL Championship selection every year with the Hounds from 2018-2023.

In 2019, he was one of three finalists for the league’s Player of the Year.

As recently as 2023, Forbes showed he can still play with the best by becoming the first player in Championship history to log consecutive 10-assist seasons.

The former Jamaican international remains the all-time assists leader for both the league (65) and the Hounds (54), and at 35 years old, he is one of just three players over the age of 30 picked this year for All-League recognition. Forbes has been an All-League player all six seasons with Pittsburgh, including First Team honors in 2019 and 2020.

As a young player, Forbes got his start in the pro ranks playing in his home country’s Jamaican National Premier League. He began his professional career in 2006 as a teen with Naggo Head FC, then a part of the Jamaican National Premier League.

He then moved back to his hometown to play for Waterhouse FC from 2007-11 (four seasons) and again in 2014. Forbes captained Waterhouse for a spell and appeared in three matches during the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage.

It was during that time, when he had his one taste of playing with his National Team, as the Kingston, Jamaica native earned three caps for the Jamaican National Team, debuting with the Reggae Boyz in 2010.

Soon thereafter, Forbes started making winter escapades to the most unlikely of locations for a Jamaican: Upstate New York.

That’s when he began using his ability to slice passes and send shots into the narrowest of spaces by excelling with the Syracuse Silver Knights of the Major Arena Soccer League from 2011-18.

Eventually, Forbes caught Lilley’s attention, and the veteran coach signed him on to play for the Rochester Rhinos in 2015.

During his seasons playing in Rochester, Forbes stayed sharp as he continued playing indoors with the Silver Knights. It was a unique arrangement, and a sign of the times. Now, that has become a rarity, as players under contract with USL Championship clubs are more committed year-round to the club they are under contract.

In total, Forbes spent seven seasons mastering the indoor game with the Silver Knights. He finished his indoor career as the club’s all-time leading scorer and was named the Silver Knights’ MVP for the 2016-17 season, when he led the team with 42 points.

In his first season in Rochester, even as Forbes began to build his bond with Lilley, though, like everyone else found it to be tough to play for the ultra-successful coach, who had previously won a pro title in Vancouver and multiple Voyageur Cups in Canada leading the Montreal Impact.

Winning a championship together and being part of one of the greatest seasons in North American soccer history took care of any reservations Forbes had about Lilley.

The 2015 Rochester Rhinos were almost impossible to score against, and with Forbes working his magic in the middle of the field, they also found a way to always dictate tempo and terms of each match they played.

What Lilley found in Forbes, was a player who had the ability to set the tempo of his team’s play.

The long-time coach often spends lots of time breaking down game film while trying to get his players to execute a game plan from his vision.

With Forbes, Lilley found that a player not only understand that vision, but can take it onto the pitch to help control the flow of the match.

“Kenny’s so calm on the ball.” Lilley said recently.

“He sees the game as good as any player I’ve ever coached.”

That season Rochester surrendered only 15 goals, losing only once in the regular season.

They lifted the USL Cup that October.

Forbes’ tenure in Pittsburgh coincides with the Riverhounds’ most successful run in team history. The club amassed a record of 118-54-67 with Forbes on the roster, putting together a club-best run of seven consecutive seasons both reaching the playoffs and having a winning record.

“For all of his accomplishments, and they’re too many to count, Kenny has always put others first. For 10 years, and the last seven in Pittsburgh, he has championed his teammates, entertained the fans and cherished the club and people associated with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC,” Riverhounds head coach Bob Lilley said.

“He has been loyal, but more importantly, invested; consistent, but more importantly constant; and of service to all those around him in an effortless and humble manner. We have all been blessed to share our journeys with King Kenny, and I can assure you the bar has risen because of him.”

FULL INTERVIEW WITH KENARDO FORBES 

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).