Match info
Riverhounds (10-10-12) vs. Loudoun United FC (11-12-9)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 19
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Segra Field, Leesburg, Va.
Odds: Hounds +145 / Draw +220 / Loudoun +160 (FanDuel)
TV: KDKA+
Streaming: ESPN+
Live statistics: USL Championship Match Center
Live updates: @RiverhoundsSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #LDNvPIT and #HOUNDTAHN
PITTSBURGH (Oct. 17, 2024) — The Hounds’ second-half turnaround has the team in position to reach the USL Championship Playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, but those chances hinge largely on the result Saturday evening in Leesburg, Va., where the Hounds will face Loudoun United FC, one of three other teams currently tied with the Hounds in the Eastern Conference.
With the Hounds, Loudoun, North Carolina and Birmingham all tied with 42 points and Hartford lurking with 40 points and a game in hand, the playoff picture will be much clearer after all five play Saturday. But the Hounds’ match with Loudoun is the only one pitting two of those teams against each other, meaning a win makes either one a favorite to clinch, while a draw could put both teams at risk.
Though it will almost certainly come down to the season’s final day to be official, the Hounds can be mathematically assured of a playoff spot Saturday in one scenario: a win, coupled with losses by all three of Birmingham, North Carolina and Hartford.
The first step in that process will require the Hounds maintaining their strong form, going 7-1-6 over the past 14 matches to leap from 11th place to their current tie for seventh. The team’s scoring continues to trend upward, with Bertin Jacquesson having four goals and two assists in five matches since joining the Hounds on loan, while Edward Kizza has goals in three straight matches to reach a team-high 10 on the season, his first double-digit goal campaign as a pro.
The defensive performance has been just as good, with current Golden Glove leader Eric Dick recording his 12th clean sheet (and the team’s 14th) in the 2-0 win over high-flying Charleston last Saturday. In 11 matches since the start of August, the Hounds have conceded just six goals, and their 28 allowed over the full season is best in the league.
Loudoun comes into the match in decent form, going 2-2-2 over its past six matches, though the two wins were vital ones over playoff-contending rivals Birmingham and Hartford. The Virginia side last week gutted out a 0-0 draw at Rhode Island on Sunday to create the current four-way tie, but they aren’t a low-scoring team by any stretch. Ten-goal scorer Zach Ryan still leads the line, and Wesley Leggett, who scored the tying goal in the team’s 1-1 draw in Pittsburgh on July 27, is up to eight tallies on the season.
Though the Hounds have an excellent record at Loudoun, going 6-1-0 in seven trips, that is less-than-instructive given Loudoun’s marked improvement since becoming an independent club and not a DC United reserve side. And with the team holding an 8-5-3 record at Segra this season, the Hounds’ final road trip of the 2024 regular season will not be an easy one.
Saturday’s match does kick off an hour earlier than usual — 6 p.m. — but it can still be seen live on KDKA+ with streaming on both the KDKA website locally and anywhere around the country on ESPN+.
Downloadable Game Notes
