Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer: Riverhounds whacked in 2nd Half | RMU stay in unbeaten in Horizon League | Pitt WSOC face UNC, Tessa Dellarose | Duq WSOC Senior Day

The Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer is back and will stay as a regular, (almost but not quite) daily post during our busiest time of year — through October and November.

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With more regular editions of the Pulse to come this month, we’ll be focusing on snapshots of ongoing Pittsburgh soccer news and PSN content that pops up daily.

On Saturday, things shifted back over to the Riverhounds — and it wasn’t a pretty second half as they gave up three goals in a 3-1 loss to Miami.

In fact, the second half proved to be half of horrors for all Pittsburgh road teams since Thursday night when you consider that Pitt women’s soccer allowed four goals in the second half in a 5-0 loss to Duke, Pitt men also allowed four goals in the second half at Duke on Friday, then Robert Morris women’s team conceded three in its 4-0 loss to Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday Flashback

Pittsburgh Soccer Now Saturday Stories (PSN Instagram) 

Riverhounds Come Apart in the Second Half 

The Hounds had everything going its way.  Two of the teams they’re trailing in the standings, who they’re hoping to surpass to secure fourth place and a home playoff match in the Eastern Conference, each lost earlier matches on Saturday.  The Hounds held a 1-0 lead at the half, putting them in position to jump into fourth place.

Then it all came apart.

Miami scored three times and the Hounds — as Head Coach Bob Lilley stated — took their foot off the gas and didn’t respond with enough intensity.

Check out our match report plus hear more from the Hounds’ gaffer on the disappointing loss that keeps Pittsburgh (10W-10L-7D, 37 points) one point behind Hartford (who won the Jagermeister Cup last night), two points behind Loudoun United FC (39 points) and four in back of North Carolina (41 points), with three matches to go.

RMU Stay Unbeaten in Horizon League with dramatic win 

Robert Morris men’s soccer team were pushed in its home match against IU Indy, but the defending Horizon League champs came away with a dramatic, 2-1 victory.

Senior forward Kosi Udeh scored a decisive late goal to lift the RMU men’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over IU Indy on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Colonials improve to 4-2-4 overall and remain unbeaten in Horizon League play at 2-0-2.

“Every Horizon League game is tough to win. We’re delighted to walk away with a win today,” Jonathan Potter, Robert Morris men’s soccer Head Coach, said.

“We need to get back to earning more clean sheets and scoring off our set pieces more, which we can be dangerous on. But we’re just happy to get a win today.”

Kosi Udeh late goal lifts Robert Morris men’s soccer to beat IU Indy, 2-1

RMU Women’s can’t find attacking spark, 

RMU women’s soccer team was unable to find the back of the net Saturday afternoon, falling 4-0 to Northern Kentucky. With the result, the Colonials move to 3-6-2 overall and 1-2-1 in Horizon League play.

After a quiet opening 20 minutes, the Norse broke through in the 24th minute as Megan Molner found the back of the net to make it 1-0.

NKU continued to control possession for much of the half, adding five more shots before the break but taking the one-goal advantage into halftime.

RMU opened the second half with energy, creating several chances early. Ava Trethewey, Malia Kearns, and Ivy Chaskelson each registered shots, while Julia Becerra came inches away from equalizing when her attempt rang off the crossbar.

The Colonials’ momentum was short-lived, however, as Northern Kentucky doubled its lead in the 54th minute and extended it to 3-0 just 10 minutes later. The Norse added a fourth in the 81st minute to seal the result.

RMU continues its road stretch on Thursday, October 9, visiting IU Indy for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.

WPIAL / City League High School Soccer Scoreboard (October 4, 2025) 

WPIAL and City League Boys and Girls Soccer Scoreboard (10/4/2025)

WPIAL and City League Boys and Girls Soccer Scoreboard (10/4/2025)

Setting Up for Sunday

Two of Pittsburgh Division I women’s teams will be in action on Sunday at Pitt takes on No. 19 North Carolina (4 p.m. kickoff), while Duquesne host George Mason at Rooney Field at 1 p.m.

Struggling Pitt WSOC face UNC, Tessa Dellarose 

It will not get any easier for the Panthers, who remain in North Carolina as they now take on No. 19 North Carolina, the defending NCAA Division I champions, who also boast Pittsburgh-area native (Brownsville to be precise) and former Riverhounds Academy / WPIAL standout, Tessa Dellarose, who also served as captain for Riveters SC in their debut campaign this past Summer.

Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer: Riverhounds look to get on right track; Tessa Dellarose called up to US WYNT U-20 squad;

UNC (8-4, 2-2 ACC) and Pitt (5-6-2, 1-4 ACC) will square off at historic Dorrance Field with the 4 p.m. kickoff to be nationally televised on ACC Network.

Pitt has struggled late in the second half in each of its four losses against ACC teams thus far this season.  Ben Waldrum’s squad will look to finish strong as they’re coming off back-to-back losses to SMU and Duke.

Senior Margaret Wilde has been a consistent offensive contributor, with three goals and an assist across seven starts. She leads the team in shots on goal (15) and played a key role in the Panthers’ win over BC.  The back line continues to provide stability, anchored by Olivia Lee and Sage Stelzer. Lee has played every minute of Pitt’s 13 matches this season and leads the team with 1,170 minutes on the pitch.

After missing some matches early in the season, Dellarose has rounded back into the Tar Heels lineup, getting back into the starting eleven for the last three contests, as she logged her highest minutes played total (73 minutes) thus far this season in a 3-1 win vs Boston College on Thursday night.

Carolina holds a 7-1 all-time record against Pitt. Three of the Tar Heels’ wins over the Panthers have come at home.  If you recall, one of Pitt’s signature wins in the Waldrum era came in 2023, when the Panthers defeated the Tar Heels, 2-1, in double overtime, in the ACC Women’s Soccer Tournament.

Dukes Look to keep momentum going on Senior Day 

Duquesne women’s team looks to keep the momentum from Thursday night’s 3-0 win vs VCU when they host George Mason on the Bluff on Senior Day.

Prior to the game, the Dukes will honor their senior class with Senior Day festivities, which includes 11 student-athletes.

In terms of the race to finish at the top of the Atlantic 10, the Patriots and Dukes sit in a three-way tie for third place in the Atlantic 10 standings with a 3-1 conference ledger, joining Rhode Island. Dayton and Saint Louis are atop the standings, as each are 4-0 in league play.

Zac Weiss is expected to be there and will have reaction from Rooney Field after the match.