Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer: Bob Lilley absence to loom over key late season Riverhounds match | Pitt MSOC face No. 1 Stanford | Duquesne, RMU look to keep pace

For once it was shaping up to be a rare, nice and quiet Friday evening, which during the busiest time of the year when the Pittsburgh soccer calendar is almost non-stop with activity, was something to cherish.

Then out of nowhere, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds posted a stunning announcement that Head Coach Bob Lilley would be put on administrative leave.

BREAKING: Riverhounds announce Head Coach Bob Lilley’s been placed on administrative leave

Reaction, as you might expect, from the Pittsburgh soccer community, Riverhounds fans, the larger scope of soccer fans around the country has been that of surprise and shock — with some unfortunate negativity littered in social media posts.

The club statement was very straightforward — and while not fully transparent, leaving widespread speculation about what may have transpired that’s led the club to put the highly successful coach on administrative leave.

By all indications, it was business as usual for Lilley and the team late this week, as they trained both Thursday and Friday.

Pittsburgh Soccer Now has some leads involving this developing story but have not been able to confirm any of the reports we’re following up on.

The team will have to be focused on the task tonight in facing Indy Eleven as they seek to earn a playoff berth for the eighth straight season.  It’s no secret that Lilley has always been a very hands on coach and a micro-manager.  This changing dynamic will be very interesting to watch.  This will be the first time the Hounds have someone else on the sidelines calling the shots since Dave Brandt was the head coach in the 2017 season.

As acting Head Coach, Rob Vincent along with Jon Busch and Kenardo Forbes, certainly has the respect of the players and together they will forge ahead with the game plan for Indy that they’ve been preparing for all week.

Ironically, after the Hounds 1-0 victory agaisnt Las Vegas, Lilley lost his voice, leaving way for Vincent to sit in and answer post match questions from the media.  Hoarse-voiced coach quipped, “He’s much smarter than me” before walking away.

As one Riverhounds’ staffer told me via text, it’s going to be strange night at Highmark.

Tonight’s Hounds match will be the third of a sequential quadruple-header for Pittsburgh’s men’s teams if you count the three Division I squads.

Duquesne looks to bounce back after a tough loss on Wednesday at Rhode Island, as they remain on the road, facing last season’s nemesis, Fordham, in the Bronx (5 p.m.) while Robert Morris looks to stay on top of the Horizon League table, when they host Cleveland State.

Pitt has to face another No. 1 team — this time they’re at Stanford 

It’s business as usual for Jay Vidovich and the Pitt Panthers, as they prepare to take on a No. 1 ranked team for the second time in three games.

That’s right, the Panthers will be Palo Alto, where they’ll face The Cardinal in the first-ever meeting between the two school, now conference foes in the ACC.

In the previous match vs No. 1 squad — against NC State, Pitt conceded just two minutes into the match but quickly responded in the 12th minute with a header from graduate midfielder Arnau Vilamitjana. To that point, that was the only goal NC State had allowed in the season.  Vidovich hailed that peformance as ‘gutsy’ and will need his team to do the same on the road against Stanford if they want to start building confidence and climb out of their current position.

Here are some addition match notes:

• The Panthers are coming off a 4-0 defeat to then-No. 9 Duke in their most recent contest. Pitt’s four goals allowed against the Blue Devils marked the most since a 6-0 loss on Oct. 27, 2023 to Notre Dame.
• Health has been a major storyline, as several key starters have missed time due to injury.
• Vilamitjana leads the Panthers with 13 points overall—remarkably, all five of his goals have come via headers.
• Pitt currently sits 69th in RPI.

PITTSBURGH SOCCER SCHEDULE (10/11/2025 – 10/19/2025)

Sat	10/11/2025	Robert Morris (MSOC)	3:00 PM	H	Cleveland State	Moon Township (North Athletic Complex)
		Duquesne (MSOC)	5:00 PM	A	Fordham	Bronx, NYC, NY
		Riverhounds	7:00 PM	H	Indy	Highmark Stadium
		Pitt (MSOC)	TBA	A	Stanford	Stanford, CA
Sun	10/12/2025	Robert Morris (WSOC)	1:00 PM	A	Purdue Fort-Wayne	Fort Wayne, IN
		Duquesne (WSOC)	1:00 PM	A	Saint Louis	St. Louis, MO
Tues	10/14/2025	Pitt (MSOC)	TBA	H	Denver	Ambrose Urbanic Field
Wed	10/15/2025	WPIAL PLAYOFF BRACKET SELECTIONS
Thurs	10/16/2025	Robert Morris (WSOC)	4:00 PM	H	Cleveland State	Moon Township (North Athletic Complex)
		Duquesne (WSOC)	7:00 PM	H	Loyola (Ill)	Rooney Field
Fri	10/17/2025	Pitt (WSOC)	7:00 PM	H	NC State	Ambrose Urbanic Field
Sat	10/18/2025	Robert Morris (MSOC)	4:00 PM		Oakland	Rochester, MI
		Duquesne (MSOC)	7:00 PM		George Washington	Rooney Field
		Riverhounds	10:00 PM	A	at Monterey Bay	Monterey, CA
		Pitt (MSOC)	7:00 PM	H	Syracuse	Ambrose Urbanic Field
Sun	10/19/2025	Duquesne (WSOC)	1:00 PM	A	St. Joseph’s	Philadelphia, PA
		Robert Morris (WSOC)	4:00 PM	H	Oakland	Moon Township (North Athletic Complex)

 

BREAKING: Riverhounds announce Head Coach Bob Lilley’s been placed on administrative leave