Riverhounds Notebook: Ready, set, away games

Points on the road a necessity for Hounds; Jacquesson and Ahl still not training

Riverhounds fans, get ready to find a nice comfy spot at home or make your way to the pub to watch the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. That’s the only way you’ll be able to see the team for the next three weeks.

The Riverhounds are kicking off a three-game road stretch this weekend with a trip to South Carolina to face the Charleston Battery. Then, it’s two more road trips to Loudoun United on April 19 and Detroit City FC on April 26. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the team will head to Columbus to face the Crew 2 in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday.

It’s a busy stretch of games, but Bob Lilley has one goal in mind: get points.

“We’re trying to establish results on the road,” Lilley said after training on Monday. “We’ve won our two home games, but our two road games we got a draw and a loss. If you want to finish high up the standings, you have to take points on the road. We have a difficult stretch on the road with these games. It’s going to be an important game for us.”

Defender Luke Biasi agreed, saying that points were necessary on the road.

“Even if it’s one point,” Biasi said. “We need to assert ourselves as dominant not just at home, but on the road, too.”

Lilley called Charleston a tough opponent. There’s plenty of history between the two sides — with their last meeting still a sore spot for Hounds fans, as the Battery knocked Pittsburgh out of the playoffs last year.

“They have started 2-2 but they’ve had a really difficult schedule to start the season,” Lilley explained. “They’ve already played Rhode Island, Louisville and North Carolina. We have our work cut out for us. It’s never easy to go there and play. We lost a tough game to them last year in the playoffs. In the regular season, we beat them at home, but drew earlier in the year there. I think it’s two good teams. Obviously, in the standings, the winner is going to have the upper hand.”

The Riverhounds will see two former players on the other side of the pitch, both on the defensive end: Nate Dos Santos and Langston Blackstock, who joined the Battery this year.

“Obviously they’re good players. They’ll be ready to play us,” Lilley added. “Whenever ex-teammates or players play against their old club, they want to do well. They’re both very capable, with their services. It’s tough because they come with a complete team and a lot of dangerous players. We have to be ourselves, and we have to make sure the things we do well are executed.

“Obviously we’re a much different team this year, in terms of how we play. They won’t have too good of a scouting report on us.”

Preparations for our away stint 🛫 pic.twitter.com/3Fjc8w0eHL

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) April 8, 2025

Griffin and Williams growing their attacking relationship

While Auggie Williams hasn’t quite found the scoresheet yet this season, Lilley said there’s nothing to worry about. The veteran coach complimented Williams’ training, saying he’s had good sessions.

“For me, he’s still trying to get comfortable,” Lilley stated. “Auggie has been training well, he works hard and he’s honest about what he’s doing. He hasn’t had a lot of service yet. I think some of it is us understanding where to put balls to help him, and him also reading situations and getting in the right areas, but I think it’s a matter of time. I think there’s moments in training where you can see he’s figuring it out. He just hasn’t brought it completely to the game yet.”

Lilley also added that Williams has been switching his mindset in games from finding the back of the net to helping out defensively if that’s where he’s needed.

“I think if the team is doing well, his effort to defend and hold the ball up has been good,” the Hounds coach said. “Some of it has just been us figuring out how to get him more service. He’s definitely getting more active in the box. You just hope that there will be a few more connections there, because he’s a good finisher. With a player like him, it may just take a few more opportunities to turn the tide.”

One player who has found the scoresheet — multiple times — is Danny Griffin. The Riverhounds captain has been all over the pitch this season. With some early defensive injuries, he’s had to help the backline. Now, with players healing, Griffin is finding himself back in an attacking midfield position.

“With Danny, we can adjust him in the middle of the game,” Lilley said about his captain. ” Obviously right now, with him having a couple goals, we’re trying to keep him as an attacking piece. He does a lot of work in the midfield and helping in all areas. He’s not exactly playing as a forward, but he is there to give support to help Auggie in terms of the attacking moments and getting into the box.”

Robbie Mertz added that having Griffin be flexible with his positioning is an all-around benefit to the team.

“Danny has been everywhere, but it’s worked out for us,” Mertz said. “He’s been versatile in moments where we’ve needed that.”

A little taste of last weekend💥 pic.twitter.com/DS8REUMF0f

— Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (@RiverhoundsSC) April 5, 2025

Riverhounds injury report: Then there were two

In the Riverhounds’ home win against Birmingham, Bradley Sample made his first start of the season. He went for 64 minutes and earned a FotMob rating of 7.1.

Lilley said that Sample’s return brings flexibility to the backline.

“I think Brad played well. He’s really good in possession,” Lilley said. “He sees the game well and reads situations well. So, it makes him effective when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball. Obviously we played Beto [Ydrach] in there with Jackson [Walti], we played Danny Griffin in there. We have a lot of guys and a lot of players we can utilize, which is nice to have. It’ll help in terms of depth and ability to bring players off or on the field as substitutes.”

Lilley said two players have not been cleared to train: Bertin Jacquesson and Charles Ahl. For the first time this week, forward Brigham Larsen trained with the team.

“We’re still trying to get Charles and Bertain back,” Lilley said. “Brigham trained [Monday], not fully though. Hopefully he’ll be back by the weekend. Right now, it’s Bertin and Charles, that are the guys who still aren’t cleared for training. Until they’re back training, they’re not in discussion to be able to play. There’s a graduation process once they’re training.

“There’s still a lot they need to get done before we can clear them to play.”

Preview: Hounds hit the road to face formidable Charleston Battery

Rachael Kriger

The sport of soccer is Rachael Kriger's area of expertise. Kriger covers high school and women's soccer, with occasional work with Pitt Women's Soccer. For the last five years, she has been the Color Commentator for the Pitt Women's Soccer program. Elsewhere, Kriger contributes for MLS Multiplex, part of the FanSided network. She formerly wrote for Equalizer Soccer and Last Word on Soccer. Kriger is a member of the official NWSL Media Association and the North American Soccer Reporters, serving as the NASR's President after two years in the role of Communications Director and Vice President.