PITTSBURGH (July 24, 2023) — The Pittsburgh Riverhounds Soccer Club and the entire Western Pennsylvania soccer community have heavy hearts after losing one of their most influential figures this morning, as longtime coach Gene Klein died overnight after a long battle with cancer. He was 71.
Klein is one of the six members of the Riverhounds Hall of Fame and had been a fixture with the club for its first two decades. In that time, he served as an assistant coach, head coach, general manager and broadcaster, and he played a pivotal role in helping to keep the club afloat through reorganization in 2007 and establishing the Riverhounds Academy shortly thereafter.
A native of Bridgeville, Pa., Klein’s soccer journey began as a goalkeeper playing for Beadling and later at the University of Pittsburgh after graduating from Chartiers Valley High School, which later became the home of the Hounds under his leadership.
Klein coached in the collegiate ranks at Carnegie Mellon University and served in multiple roles within PA West Soccer, but he was most known for his 29-year tenure at Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale, Pa., where his teams won 505 games and six state championships. Klein’s undefeated 1996 squad earned a No. 1 national ranking from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, and he earned National Coach of the Year honors from the NSCAA. He is also a published author of multiple books about goalkeeping and coaching.
Klein was just as dedicated as an educator off the field as he was on it. He taught for 33 years at Quaker Valley, teaching World History and AP history courses while serving as head of the school’s Social Studies department at the time of his retirement in 2015.
The entire Riverhounds organization sends its condolences and best wishes to Gene’s wife, Anne, and all of his surviving family and loved ones. Arrangements will be announced by his family at a later time.
