Academy

A lot has changed in a decade for Aideen O’Donoghue.

Less than 10 years ago, O’Donoghue was one of the top players in the Riverhounds Development Academy. Now, the 25-year-old has embarked on the start of a successful career as a college coach, leading the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown women’s soccer team to their first playoff appearance since 2007 in her first year as a head coach.

That rapid ascent, which has seen O’Donoghue go from here to Florida and now to Johnstown, can trace its roots back to the RDA.

From a young age, O’Donoghue displayed a “bulldog” mentality. In eighth grade, she made the RDA team, and shortly after joining the team, she embraced that role as the “bulldog” of the squad. Through all the tackles and aggressive play on the field, O’Donoghue grew more confident in her abilities.

“I would say it gave me confidence, and it also kind of shaped me into being this go-getter and motivator and someone that people can look at to fight for them, push them and motivate them,” O’Donoghue said.

In high school at nearby Canon-McMillan, O’Donoghue initially committed to Rutgers University, becoming the first person on her team to earn a scholarship to a Power 5-conference team. After her Big Macs won the state championship, she changed her commitment to the University of Pittsburgh. 

With the Panthers, she took pride in being the local player from the Riverhounds, and she started as a freshman and sophomore. For her senior year, she transferred to the University of South Florida, where she played the 2020 season that was moved to spring of 2021 due to the pandemic. That college career gave her the chance to play under two decorated coaches whose influence

“I just had so much respect for my coaches and their integrity. I always thought that if I were to ever be a coach one day or I’d coach one day, I would mirror (Pitt’s) Randy Waldrum and (then-USF coach) Denise Schilte-Brown, like a mix of them,” O’Donoghue said.

O’Donoghue credits the Riverhounds Academy with shaping her into the player she is and helping her secure those opportunities at major soccer schools. At the showcases she traveled to with the RDA, college coaches could see her abilities. 

The academy was also key in helping her invitation to the U.S. Women’s U-17 National Team camp in 2016, where expectations were raised even higher. Training for the U-17 National Team with athletes such as Sophia Smith and Naomi Germa, who are now professionals and playing on the full U.S. Women’s National Team, marked a significant milestone in O’Donoghue’s career, leading her to raise her standards.

Only eight years later, at 25, O’Donoghue is one of the youngest coaches in the NCAA —throughout all sports and divisions, men’s or women’s. Before securing the head coaching role at Division II Pitt-Johnstown, she was an assistant coach for two years with the Point Park University women’s team, where she discovered her passion for coaching.

As Pitt-Johnstown’s head coach, she applies lessons she learned at the RDA. She models her program after her experience with the Academy, incorporating technical training and possession drills. By integrating these methods, she develops players with raw athletic talent into skilled technical players.

O’Donoghue also prioritizes mental health, incorporating mental health days into her athletes’ schedules. While her players approach the game seriously, understanding it’s a business, she aims to enhance their quality of life. Her program allows athletes to take three mental health days each semester.

“There are no questions asked. It’s a mental health day. And that has been just such a positive thing for my team culture because these girls are juggling so much, and I have so much respect for that,” O’Donoghue said.

“Giving them those three mental health days a semester goes such a long way, and it just shows them, hey, I respect what you’re doing. So, when they come to practice, their mind is clear, and they get to play freely.” 

Pitt-Johnstown currently has two recruits who previously played in the RDA system. Bringing in players from the same club where she played created a full-circle moment for O’Donoghue: She attends the same showcases, now as an adult and a coach, that she once attended as a Riverhounds player, which allows her to scout recruits receiving similar training. 

But even with those players joining her team, O’Donoghue needed to see results on the field. 

When she joined the Pitt-Johnstown women’s soccer program, the team was picked last in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s preseason standings. But an 8-6-2 season finish marked the program’s best overall record since 2012, and the Mountain Cats finished fourth in the East Division to earn their first postseason spot since joining the PSAC in 2013.

“I can honestly say, out of my entire playing career coaching career, this season has just been the best time of my entire life,” O’Donoghue said. “This has been — this is — my proudest accomplishment is the season with this team.”

O’Donoghue’s time at the academy taught her to inspire her athletes to uphold a higher standard and strive for excellence. She emphasized the technical training she learned while with the Riverhounds, and it led to success with her current team.

When asked what advice she would give current Riverhounds Academy players, O’Donoghue said: “What you do when nobody’s looking is what will really matter. Having integrity and doing things that seem small, whether it is on the field or off the field, those things matter.”

As a 25-year-old woman in a head coaching role, O’Donoghue embraced her underdog mentality to fuel her passion. She was part of the RDA’s rise to become one of the region’s top youth programs as a player, and as a coach, she is now working to grow the reputation of the women’s soccer team at Pitt-Johnstown.

“The standard that the Riverhounds set is what I do now with my program,” she said.

Feature written by Riverhounds contributor Carlie Carion.

To say Justin Evans has done everything for the Riverhounds might be an understatement.

A member of the club’s Hall of Fame as a player and No. 2 on the pro team’s list for all-time coaching wins, Evans now serves as the Riverhounds Academy’s Tournament Director, and the fruits of his work in that role will be on display again this weekend when the team hosts its fourth annual Three Rivers College Showcase this weekend.

The Showcase, part of the Riverhounds Tournament Series that launched in 2021, comes every December on the heels of the college and high school seasons, affording early high school-aged players a chance to catch the eye of recruiters and giving those college coaches a last chance to see older players who might not yet have made their college commitment.

But as with each tournament of the series, planning begins long before the teams actually hit the fields at Highmark Stadium, AHN Montour and other sites around the area.

“Realistically, it starts right after our August tournament. The planning starts right away,” Evans said. “It’s not just me, it’s all of the guys who work here and the coaches on our staff. They have games against other teams, and after a good game, they talking about those teams coming here, getting to see our facilities, both Highmark Stadium and AHN Montour. And then when they get here, it’s about doing right by those clubs, making sure they’re taken care of and get good competition.”

The tournaments involve far more than just the teams on the field, of course.

Evans has worked with the Riverhounds’ corporate partnerships team to bring on the Tournament Series sponsors — Pittsburgh International Airport, Iceland Air, British Airways, Eat’n Park, Raising Cane’s and King Orthodontics — and planning also includes finding merchandise and food vendors for the venues on game day. Preparation also includes making sure there are referees for more than 100 matches, and staffing the games with field marshals and trainers from Allegheny Health Network also requires planning.

It’s a lot to take on for Evans, who also serves as the head of the academy’s Boys ECNL program and coaches some of the youth teams. But for the person who was one of the club’s first professional signings and a part of the initial 1999 team that played at Bethel Park High School, the tournaments are yet another indication of how much the Riverhounds have grown in a quarter century.

“When you think back, and we were playing (pro games) on a crowned high school field that was built for football, we made an impact on the community then,” Evans said. “Now, with Highmark Stadium, AHN Montour, our Connellsville site, and now North Huntingdon, as well, it’s tremendous. I probably couldn’t have pictured the scope of it back then, but to see it come to fruition, and to be able to help with that and push it along, it’s been really rewarding.”

Evans desire to grow the organization and the sport of soccer at large has roots stretching back to his early Hounds days. At that time, it was his coaches with the Riverhounds — John Kowalski, Paul Child and Gene Klein — who were leading the push to grow the game in Pittsburgh. Now, it’s Evans, after a playing career that took him to Europe and MLS, who finds himself in the role of teacher and builder.

“Those three guys, especially, were influential in my development and growth, not only as a player, but as a person,” Evans said. 

“You’re talking about three huge personalities. John, with his knowledge of the game and how he can talk for hours about the game and keep you interested… Paul, everyone knows Paul, he was a great player, and I think he’ll never stop coaching and running around with the kids… and Gene, he was just a total student of the game, and everyone knows what he did in the high school ranks in Pittsburgh, but what gets missed is what he did for U.S. Soccer in his career. He was a person I leaned on a lot in my career — all three of them, but Gene especially.”

At this point, Evans has filled every position that those three influences once did, from First Team coach to youth coach to administrator. While there might be a few people in the Riverhounds with more total years than Evans, there’s no one who has served the club in as wide a variety of roles.

“I think I’ve almost done it all, I guess that’s true,” Evans said. “When I was younger, obviously, you just want to play. But to be able to be in the game and impact the youth that want to play soccer, it’s really good. The relationships I’ve made in the game have helped me out on so many levels. And being able talk to college coaches that I played with, played against, had relationships with… to help kids now get to the next level and realize their dreams, that’s what makes it worth it.”

So when Sunday night comes and another successful Three Rivers College Showcase is in the books, Evans will get to sit back, relax and enjoy the moment, right?

“Not really,” Evans said with a laugh. “There’s definitely a smile when the weekend’s over, but it’s always just on to the next one. There’s been so many really good things and so many growing pains, as well. We’re trying to make it best for the teams who come in, and for our teams, for referees, for everyone. We’re getting to the point where we’ve established that we’re putting on a good product, and we want to keep doing that.”

Though the USL Championship season has ended, Pablo Linzoain is still competing for the Riverhounds. For now, it’s back with the Riverhounds Development Academy.

Linzoain, 18, signed a USL Academy contract for the 2024 season in May, which allowed him a spot on the Riverhounds while protecting his amateur status. The high school senior was part of the Hounds’ First Team all season, and he made his debut at the pro level at Highmark Stadium on June 1 against Indy Eleven, the first of two matches he appeared in.

Looking back on his first season with a professional team, Linzoain recognizes the importance of this personal milestone, but he also values the time spent getting to know the team.

“The highlight for me personally was making my debut. That was probably my favorite moment, but there were also a lot of times just in the locker room, just talking to the guys, just having fun, things like that,” Linzoain said. “And definitely, whenever we locked in, making playoffs, and we took the picture with the Steel Army (after defeating El Paso in the regular-season finale), that was a great night as well.”

Linzoain is eager to take the lessons he learned from the professional team and apply it to his training with the academy. The biggest lesson he learned from coach Bob Lilley was that playing at the professional level requires full effort.

“I definitely learned a lot about the pro environment overall, just like always being ready for every day at training, and you can never really have a day where you cruise through,” Linzoain said. “I don’t cruise anymore. In training, I’m always focused and ready to do 100 percent, every time I train.”

After learning how to compete like a pro, Linzoain is ready to go back to the Academy. Though he won’t play in all the upcoming college showcases — Linzoain is already committed to Davidson University if he elects for the college route rather than turning pro — he stands to get plenty of playing time in upcoming matches with the 2006/07 ECNL Boys, the Hounds’ oldest top-tier academy team.

“I’m very excited. I’m ready to start playing in some games again. Honestly, I haven’t played games in a little while,” Linzoain said.

One of the events Linzoain and the ECNL Boys are preparing for is the Three Rivers College Showcase, hosted by the Riverhounds on Dec. 13-15. The Showcase is for older age teams to compete in a high-level competition at the end of fall, when many of the teams are just regrouping after the high school season. 

College coaches will be attending all weekend to evaluate players at the showcase, and Linzoain is grateful for opportunities such as those which the Riverhounds Development Academy offers,

“The Riverhounds definitely helped develop me in the past four or five years. They have given me many opportunities for college and recruiting,” he said. “They have given me the best opportunities because they’ve recommended me for things like the (ECNL) National Selection Game and the ECNL national event in California.”

But as he rejoins players his own age, Linzoain in now in a position where he can take his professional experience and share it with the rest of his teammates. 

“It kind of makes me feel like I have to take more of a leadership role, and I can show some of my teammates what the next level is, so that they can also be prepared,” Linzoain said.

Linzoain also is eligible to re-sign with the Hounds First Team on another USL Academy contract in 2025. But for now, the teenage midfielder can work on getting more match experience for himself, while also sharing his insight with teammates who aspire to make the First Team leap with him next year.

Feature written by Riverhounds contributor Jameson Keebler.