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When selecting the Riverhounds’ No. 1 moment of 2024, the top spot goes to a game that, midway through the season, no one would have seen coming.

On July 6, the Hounds were in a place unseen during the Bob Lilley era. Through 18 matches and after a shock loss to Monterey Bay, the team had a 3-9-6 record and were sitting 11th in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only moribund Miami. 

But then the team started hitting its stride, picking up home wins over Oakland and Hartford to snap a 10-match winless streak. The question was, did the Hounds have enough time to dig their way out of the hole?

The team made up ground by going 5-1-6 in the next 12, but there was still work to be done in a four-game October sprint to the finish. With all the pressure on down the stretch, the team won 4-0 in Miami. Then they stunned Charleston at home, 2-0. Then came a 2-0 win in a virtual elimination game at Loudoun.

After all that, the stakes were clear for the regular-season finale on Oct. 26: Win against visiting El Paso, and the turnaround would be completed with a club-record seventh consecutive postseason berth.

The sellout crowd of 5,748 at Highmark Stadium brought an energy fueled by the momentum of recent results, and it didn’t take long for the team on the field to ignite the biggest celebrations of the year and the season’s No. 1 moment.

Edward Kizza got to work early, and in the ninth minute, he tied a club record with a goal in five consecutive games. As he had done multiple times during the season, he found an open pocket in the box to meet a Robbie Mertz free kick, and his header gave no chance to El Paso goalkeeper and former Hound Jahmali Waite.

As they had done previously in their October winning streak, the Hounds didn’t sit back on the lead, but instead hunted for a second goal. And as it turned out, El Paso would provide the final touch for them.

Only 10 minutes after Kizza’s opener, Mertz again whipped a free kick into the box from a wide position near the goal line. El Paso defender Ricky Ruiz was the unlucky party in the mixer, as the ball deflected off his head and into his own goal, doubling the Pittsburgh lead.

The Hounds knew with a two-goal lead and against one of the league’s lowest-scoring teams, all they had to do was hold their nerve and turn in a responsible defensive effort to finish the job.

They did exactly that, conceding 73.7 percent of possession after halftime but still producing a higher expected goals (xG) number than the visitors after the break. Both Bertin Jacquesson and Kizza came close to adding a third goal that would have sent Highmark into an uproar, while goalkeeper Eric Dick was sure-handed to close out the clean sheet, making the saves asked of him to clinch the USL Championship Golden Glove in the process of closing out a 2-0 win.

Dick would be honored after the match as the Steel Army supporters’ group Player of the Year, and fans were able to stay on the field longer than usual to celebrate with the players and enjoy a free concert by Mini Kiss, part of the Fan Appreciation Night festivities.

In the end, the win ended a month of October when the Hounds would outscore their opponents 10-0 and take all 12 points available, needing every one to be assured of a trip to the USL Championship Playoffs once again.

The excitement-filled night capped off a season that had more tumult than other recent years. But with the highest of high notes to end the regular season — coupled with at least half of last season’s roster set to return for 2025 — that consequential victory brought the 25th anniversary season to a joyous close at home and set the stage for bigger and better to start the team’s second quarter-century.

(Gallery photos below by Chris Cowger and Mallory Neil, Riverhounds SC)

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Riverhounds’ Best of 2024

#5: Down Goes Detroit
#4: Fantastic Hall of Fame Week
#3: Another Crown for the King
#2: Revved Up for the Riveters
#1: High-Flying Finish

Earlier entries in this year’s “Best of” series have celebrated the men of the Riverhounds, but women are the stars of the year’s No. 2 moment.

It all began on April 27, when team president Jeff Garner, flanked by girls from the Riverhounds Academy, announced to the crowd at the Hounds match against Detroit City FC that Pittsburgh would be getting a team in the USL W League for 2025.

Months of behind-the-scenes planning followed, and the result was a spectacular multimedia reveal on Sept. 18, introducing the city — and people across the country — to the Pittsburgh Riveters.

Introducing Pittsburgh Riveters SC ⚫️🟡🔴  

Make sure to follow the Pittsburgh Riveters SC accounts for all things USL W Pittsburgh! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Jo8bUPAN79

— Pittsburgh Riveters SC (@RivetersSC) September 18, 2024

For the Hounds organization, the Riveters represent a necessary addition. 

After years of a successful girls academy program sending players to the next level, the Riveters give the club its own senior-level women’s team for the first time. And in the USL W League, it provides a place for young women, coming from both the academy and elsewhere, to compete against the highest level of competition nationally and prepare for the professional game.

The reveal itself coincided with an event at the Heinz History Center in the Strip District, where fans could pick up free Riveters bandanas and learn the story behind the team’s name — a reference to the World War II-era, Pittsburgh-created image of Rosie the Riveter.

While the brand reveal itself is the moment, the Riveters have continued to grow and build excitement in the months since.

Head coach Scott Gibson and goalkeeper coach Reaghan Duval were named the first two members of the coaching staff. North Carolina junior Tessa Dellarose was the first player to join the team, indicating the level of play expected by adding a U.S. Youth National Team player and soon-to-be NCAA Champion. And the club indicated its commitment to growing the Riveters and women’s sports in Pittsburgh with the formation of its Women’s Sports Advisory Committee, a select panel of leaders in business, sports and other fields.

Now, with seven players on the team after holding their first tryouts in December, the Riveters are well on their way to making an even bigger splash in 2025. But it all began with one of this year’s biggest moments, when the world met the Riveters on Sept. 18.

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Riverhounds’ Best of 2024

#5: Down Goes Detroit
#4: Fantastic Hall of Fame Week
#3: Another Crown for the King
#2: Revved up for the Riveters
#1: Coming Dec. 30

When Kenardo Forbes arrived in Pittsburgh in 2018 from the Rochester Rhinos, he was already an established USL Championship player with a championship and a pair of All-League honors to his name.

Fast forward to 2024, the Jamaican midfielder known as “King Kenny” is the most decorated player in Riverhounds history. And on April 6 this year against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, he claimed a record seven years in the making — the Riverhounds’ all-time appearances mark.

Forbes already held records for assists and most all-league honors coming into the season, but the year kicked off knowing he needed only three appearances to match the 18-year-old record of 195 set by David Flavius. He got those in the team’s first three matches, meaning the home match against the Rowdies would be the night he had a chance to make the record his own.

So with the Highmark Stadium crowd ready to salute the club legend and with Flavius in attendance, there was little chance coach Bob Lilley — the coach who brought Forbes to Pittsburgh after moving from Rochester himself — was going to leave Forbes out of the lineup.

“I still think he has a lot to give to the organization as a player, a coach and in other capacities,” Lilley said in an interview prior to that match. “He’s just a class person.”

The result was a pregame ceremony that could be viewed as a passing of the torch. Flavius, still the club’s goal scoring leader, a Hall of Fame and a former St. Lucian international who continues living in Pittsburgh, was all smiles as he shook hands with Forbes, another former international from a Caribbean nation who has made a home in the Steel City.

Though the match itself finished as a 0-0 draw, there was vintage form on display from Forbes in his 74 minutes of the field. He connected on 47 of 58 passes (81 percent), including 13 of 15 in the attacking third. He also created three chances and won possession 10 times in a complete box-to-box effort from the player who would turn 36 later in the season.

After the match, Forbes was hailed by the Steel Army and other longtime supporters for his new record. He would go on later in the season to also establish the USL Championship record for appearances, and by season’s end, Forbes had run the club record to 226 matches.

And whether there is more to come in Forbes’ decorated career — he helped bring the Players’ Shield to Pittsburgh in 2023 but said he still wants a championship for his adopted home — King Kenny is proud of his milestones.

“That was not on my list coming here, but it’s nice to get those two (records),” Forbes said. “Coming here, we wanted to take (the club) to a new level, and I think we did that.”

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Riverhounds’ Best of 2024

#5: Down Goes Detroit
#4: Fantastic Hall of Fame Week
#3: Another Crown for the King
#2: Coming Dec. 29
#1: Coming Dec. 30

With 2024 being the 25th anniversary season for the Riverhounds, there were plenty of nods back to the team’s roots throughout the year.

Naturally, one of the highlights was going to be the year’s induction weekend for the Riverhounds Hall of Fame. The Class of 2024 turned out to be a true throwback, as the voters selected three individuals from the original 1999 team — midfielder Gary DePalma and goalkeeper Randy Dedini as players, and assistant coach Paul Child as a builder, covering his many roles with the club over two decades.

And while the induction ceremony honored the past on Friday, July 12, the present grabbed attention of its own on the field the following night. Child, Dedini and DePalma delivered the match ball, and the Hounds couldn’t be stopped from hammering it into the net on the way to their most lopsided victory in three years, routing Oakland Roots SC by a 5-0 score at Highmark Stadium.

Little went wrong on the weekend, and the Friday night ceremony was highlighted by speeches from the inductees, Hall of Famers Justin Evans and John Kowalski of the inaugural class and current Hounds coach Bob Lilley, who coached against all three of this year’s inductees when he led the Hershey Wildcats and Montreal Impact.

The three honorees all had different perspectives to share when it was their turn to speak, but one common thread through all three was the pride they took in helping the club take off. Dedini, in particular, marveled at how things had changed and grown — it was the California native’s first visit to Highmark Stadium — and he expressed gratitude that the work he and others put in during those initial years was picked up and carried to new heights in the current USL Championship.

While a few members of the current Hounds were present on induction night, it seemed as though the full squad got the message of carrying on a winning tradition, as they snapped their season-long winless streak in emphatic fashion.

Junior Etou scored the first and last goals of the match in a performance that earned the veteran wing back his first Championship Player of the Week honor. Robbie Mertz scored from the penalty spot, Sean Suber scored his first professional goal, Bradley Sample notched his first two professional assists, and — most fitting of all — the fourth goal was netted by Kenardo Forbes, a player who will almost certainly be in the Hounds Hall of Fame when first eligible.

With past and present united in such a fitting way, the Hall of Fame weekend was without a doubt one of the top moments of 2024.

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Riverhounds’ Best of 2024

#5: Down Goes Detroit
#4: Fantastic Hall of Fame Week
#3: Coming Dec. 28
#2: Coming Dec. 29
#1: Coming Dec. 30

(This is the first of five entries in our annual listing of the biggest Riverhounds moments of the year. Check back tomorrow for No. 4 before a short holiday break ahead of Nos. 3-1 appearing to close out 2024.)

There was a strong sense of tension heading into the Riverhounds’ home match against Detroit City FC on April 27.

The start of the season had been bumpy, to say the least. The team went winless in its first five matches, and while a 3-1 win at Phoenix provided some relief the weekend prior, the Hounds still had not won either of their home matches to that point.

Add in the opponent — the same Detroit side who upset the Hounds in the 2023 USL Championship Playoffs and was undefeated to start 2024 — and there was reason for both players and fans to be a little keyed up heading into the match.

As it turned out, fans and players alike were more than ready.

Bolstered by a raucous crowd of 6,099 fans that set a new regular-season record for Highmark Stadium, the Hounds came out of the gates flying with a pair of first-half goals to send Detroit to their first defeat of the season, 2-0.

The first half was chock full of moments that kept the vibes riding high, starting with a crafty dribble and shot from Junior Etou that forced a strong diving stop by Detroit goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher. But there was nothing the goalie could do to intervene when the Hounds got a corner kick in the 20th minute.

Kenardo Forbes sent the ball to the back post, where Robbie Mertz popped it back across the face of goal. No Hounds player could turn it toward goal, but the ball made its way back to Mertz on the right side. The midfielder’s second ball to the front was inch-perfect, and Pat Hogan — who had been knocked to the ground on the initial corner kick — was in the right place to head home his first goal as a Hounds player for a 1-0 lead.

The excitement continued in the 33rd minute when Etou weaved his way into the box once again. This time, Detroit’s Devon Amoo-Mensah lunged in to prevent Etou from firing another shot, but his challenge also took Etou to the ground, causing referee Kyle Johnston to point to the penalty spot.

Hounds captain Danny Griffin stepped up to take the penalty kick, and though Steinwascher got his hand to the ball, the shot to the bottom left corner had too much power and continued into the side of the net for a 2-0 lead.

While the second half was goalless, there was still plenty for the home crowd to cheer. Pittsburgh native and Hounds Academy alum Nate Dragisich made his second career appearance as a substitute, and fans got one last chance to heckle venerable Detroit captain Stephen Carroll after the defender was sent off for a challenge on Dani Rovira.

At the end of the match, the bottom line was the Hounds coming away with three critical points. But adding in the small measure of payback against Detroit and how it reignited the magic at Highmark Stadium made the match one of the nights to remember in 2024. 

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Riverhounds’ Best of 2024

#5: Down Goes Detroit
#4: Coming Monday, Dec. 23
#3: TBA
#2: TBA
#1: TBA

When the Hounds’ season ended last Saturday with a tight, 1-0 loss in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Charleston Battery — the league’s second-best team in the regular season — strong disappointment was naturally the first reaction.

But even a fan with the most black-and-yellow-tinted glasses probably would not have predicted the Hounds to be in that position at the start of July.

Instead of letting a rocky start bury the season, the Hounds surged to the finish of the year. The team secured a seventh straight playoff berth and seventh straight winning season under head coach Bob Lilley, and closed out the 2024 campaign with plenty of momentum to build on entering the 2025 preseason.

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Records set amidst rocky start

The start of the Hounds’ season was no easy task, with their first two road games at the eventual conference top seeds, New Mexico and Louisville, and seven straight against eventual playoff team to begin the year. But with only one goal in the first five matches and a 0-3-2 record out of the gates, it was clear the revamped lineup would take time to click.

There were still reasons to celebrate in the opening months of the campaign, starting with recognizing a milestone for one of the team’s all-time greats.

Kenardo Forbes, already the team’s all-time assists leader and most decorated player in terms of league honors, became the Hounds’ all-time appearances leader on April 6 when the Hounds hosted the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Forbes eclipsed the mark of 195 games played by David Flavius, and Flavius was on hand to greet Forbes in a pre-game ceremony bringing together the two Caribbean island natives who have had such a major influence on pro soccer in Pittsburgh.

Forbes would go on to set other marks during the season, including the USL Championship’s all-time games and minutes played records, and he closed the year with 226 appearances for the Hounds, as well as 296 regular-season matches in the USL Championship on his ledger.

The team also closed April with another high note, defeating Detroit City FC, 2-0, on April 27 in a rematch of the previous year’s playoffs in front of a packed house of 6,099, the largest Highmark Stadium crowd for a regular-season match on record.

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Midsummer shift into gear

Things looked bleak through the month of June, and the Hounds’ USL record dropped to 3-9-6 after a late goal led to a shock July 6 loss at home to Monterey Bay FC, 1-0. It was the team’s 11th straight match without a win in all competitions, moving the group close to a dubious club record, and it left them in 11th place in the East.

The following weekend was another home match against Oakland Roots SC, and it was also the Hounds’ Hall of Fame weekend, when original Hounds players Gary DePalma and Randy Dedini were inducted along with former coach, broadcaster and Pittsburgh soccer legend Paul Child. Maybe it was the Hall of Fame mojo, or maybe it was just the moment the light bulb went on, but that July 13 match proved to be the turning point.

The Hounds thrashed Oakland — then in second place in the West — by a 5-0 score behind a two-goal Championship Player of the Week performance from Junior Etou, a first career goal by Sean Suber and tallies from veterans Forbes and Robbie Mertz. That was followed by a 3-1 win over Hartford Athletic shown nationally on ESPN2, and the Hounds were rolling.

Even with some heartbreaking results mixed in — most notably giving up a late equalizer to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in a 2-2 draw — the Hounds went from going 11 matches without winning to 10 matches in a row without defeat. Those five wins and five draws had the team back in contention, and the 3-0 win at Birmingham Legion FC on Aug. 24 gave Lilley his 400th professional win, but more was needed to finish the turnaround.

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A late arrival and a scary-good October

The Hounds entered September on a roll, despite scoring multiple goals in a game just twice in the previous seven matches. Shortly before the league’s roster freeze, the Hounds acquired forward Bertin Jacquesson, a former University of Pittsburgh star, on loan from Real Salt Lake in MLS.

Jacquesson went straight into the lineup on Sept. 7 in a key home match against Rhode Island FC. Shortly before halftime, Jacquesson became the first Hounds player since Dane Kelly in the 2022 season opener to score on his Hounds debut, and the Hounds stayed hot with a 2-0 win. Though the team suffered defeat the next week at Tampa Bay — the Hounds’ only loss between July 6 and Nov. 2 — the Hounds’ offensive uptick continued through the season’s end.

Edward Kizza grabbed his own piece of Hounds history during the team’s late surge, becoming only the fourth Hounds player to score in five consecutive matches, joining Thiago Martins (twice), José Angulo and Romeo Parkes with that team record. Kizza also became the 12th player with 20 or more goals in club history.

Through all the ups and downs of the season, the team’s defense remained reliable. That clocked upward to outstanding during the final month of the year, when the Hounds did not allow a goal in the entire month of October, outscoring opponents 10-0 in four matches.

The Hounds finished the season giving up the fewest goals in the USL Championship at 28, and the team recorded 16 shutouts out of 34 matches, the most in the league and one short of the team record set in 2019. That was done not with a fixed lineup, but with a strong rotation in the back that included Suber, Pat Hogan, Illal Osumanu and Luke Biasi as frequent starters at center back; an effective wingback rotation with Etou, Langston Blackstock, Dani Rovira and occasionally Biasi popping wide; and Danny Griffin, Jackson Walti and Bradley Sample logging heavy central midfield minutes.

In goal, Eric Dick established himself as the team’s No. 1, and he would parlay that into winning the USL Championship Golden Glove with only 18 goals allowed in 25 matches. In his first year with the Hounds after putting in years as a backup in MLS, Dick set a new club mark with 14 clean sheets and a .791 save percentage that rates as the fourth-best in the Hounds’ 25-year history.

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Closing the season in the way they did — with one defeat in the final 16 matches of the regular season — the Hounds got back to winning matches in the way Pittsburgh fans have become accustomed. And as the curtain lowers on the 2024 season, the team finds itself at a good starting point to launch into 2025 and contend for one of the top spots in the East once again.

With four games to go, the Riverhounds have everything to play for.

Early season struggles cost the team valuable points, but after a strong run of late summer results, the Hounds still have life trailing Loudoun United FC by two points for the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference.

Now, with a road trip to Miami FC on Saturday to kick off the October schedule, the Hounds understand that it will take at least three wins in the last four games — and perhaps a sweep of all four — to ensure the team earns its seventh consecutive playoff berth.

“Each game is a playoff game for us. It’s that time of the year,” Hounds captain Danny Griffin said. “We know the position we’ve put ourselves in with some of the points we’ve dropped, but (playoffs are) still there to play for, and that’s the biggest thing. There’s no quit from this team, and we’re going to attack the game in Miami. It has to be three points for us, and that’s our mindset.”

The team’s form since July 13 can be spun two ways.

The optimistic view would be to say the team has lost only once in the last 12 games, and with a better start to the season, that sort of run would be lauded. But with a 5-1-6 record in those games, the pessimistic view is to look at the points dropped in draws that could have been wins.

“We’ve only had one loss in the last 12, but at the same time, we only have five wins in there. If had seven, eight wins, it’d be a whole different picture in the table,” Hounds center back Sean Suber said. “But that’s what comes in soccer. We’ve got to play out to the final whistle. We didn’t do that in some games, and that’s what hurt us, but we know these last four games, we’ve got to fire through the whole 90, get the points and then go from there.”

As a group, the Hounds players see where they need to improve to convert those draws into wins. And by keeping a positive view on their overall form since July, the team has the belief they can pull off what is needed in October.

“The belief is definitely still there,” Suber said. “When we beat Rhode Island, we thought we were locked in for sure, but then we had the loss in Tampa. But I think the belief is there that if we stay focused and stay together the next couple games, we can get the first one down there (in Miami) and get right back.”

Suber said the group is still a unified one, and there isn’t any finger-pointing going on amongst the players. Whether it’s the attacking players knowing games could have been put away by finishing more chances, or the defensive group and goalkeepers trying to clean up the lapses that led to late goals, the focus now is the whole 11 on the field raising their level of play once more for a playoff push.

“We’ve just got to keep holding everyone accountable, the front of the group and the back of the group,” Griffin said. “We know some of the goals we’ve given up have been preventable, and the chances we’ve missed aren’t excusable. We know we’ve got to be better than that in those opportunities to put away games.”

One thing that was dismissed immediately by head coach Bob Lilley was the idea that facing Miami — the league’s last-placed team with just three wins — could cause the Hounds to become complacent.

The coach acknowledged that three months ago, his squad was a couple of defeats away from possibly being out of the running altogether. But the team responded to disappointing outcomes with some of their best performances, including a 5-0 thrashing of Oakland and a huge 1-0 win on the road at Sacramento, two games that showed some fortitude with the team’s backs against the wall.

“I said many times the last couple months that there’s not a lot of wiggle room. Our head is starting to tilt as the water’s rising so we can breathe,” Lilley said. “If we didn’t start winning, there’s no way we build enough confidence to get back in the fight. … We found ways, at times, to take what we could, but the reality is, we’ve been in position to get a lot more juice in the standings, and we haven’t taken advantage of it.”

Though it has become cliché, the “one-game-at-a-time” mantra is particularly appropriate to the Hounds’ current circumstances. The first of those “one games” is Saturday in Miami, and the team will need three points to keep the pressure on in the final weeks.

“It’s definitely better now than earlier in the season, but there’s still another bar for us to clear,” Griffin said. “We know where we’ve been, we know our capabilities, and we know we need to have discipline in some of these moments. But we know we have another level to reach, and we have to reach if for these last four games.” 

Firsts are always memorable, from words and steps as a baby to the first day of school or a new job.

For soccer players when they hit the pro ranks, that remains true. And while a debut as a pro player is a special moment, nothing brings out the instant joy and embeds a memory like a first professional goal.

Bradley Sample was the latest Hounds player to experience that feeling with his Goal of the Week-nominated header Saturday in the win over Rhode Island, and after the match, he was still all smiles thinking about it.

“I was trying to put something on goal, but I didn’t expect it to go in. When I turned around and saw the keeper moving forward, I thought that can’t be good for him,” Sample said. 

“I don’t score a lot of goals, so that was cool. For all the guys to run over to me immediately… I was looking at Robbie (Mertz) like, ‘What do I do now?’ He was like, ‘Go! Go celebrate!’ And all the fans, hearing them cheer and be loud and having some friends at the game. … It’s a dream come true. It’s awesome.”

Sample is the fourth Hounds player to get that first-goal feeling this season, and he did it the quickest as a first-year pro. Sean Suber, Langston Blackstock and Jackson Walti — all second-year pro players — each scored their first pro goal in 2024, with Suber and Blackstock accomplishing it in the same match, the 5-0 win over Oakland on July 13.

But not every player gets to celebrate that moment so early — if at all — in their career. In the case of Dani Rovira, who served the pass to set up Sample’s goal, it was five years in the making.

Rovira joined the Hounds out of college in 2019, and went from a seldom-used player in his first year to a regular on the lineup sheet. By the middle of 2023, his fifth season, Rovira was closing in on his 100th appearance for the club, and the team’s career leader in assists by a defender had done nearly everything for the Hounds… except score a goal.

That all changed at a critical moment last season, with the Hounds trailing 2-1 against Memphis on July 29.

“It was a special moment. We went back in the locker room for halftime talking about a way to get us back in the game,” Rovira recalled. “It was a cross from Kenny (Kenardo Forbes) from the other post. I continued coming and was just trying to time it and hit it first time. That feeling, as soon as it went in, was amazing. It’s something I won’t forget, and we came back and won the game, so I’ll cherish that for a long time.”

Rovira’s moment of joy came in his 98th match for the Hounds — the most with the team before scoring a first goal — and his strike sent the team on its way to a 4-2 win that proved critical toward claiming the 2023 Players’ Shield.

Coincidentally, the goals by Rovira and all four first-timers in 2024 came at Highmark Stadium, adding an extra element of excitement to their big moment. The same can be said about the Hounds player with arguably the most memorable first pro goal amongst the current squad, Illal Osumanu, whose stoppage-time header on June 24, 2023 secured a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Loyal.

“It’s a great moment for the team, but especially for them. They worked hard throughout the whole year, and for them to be able to enjoy that moment at home, you feel so happy for them. It’s not only exciting, but it’s pushing us to win a game,” Rovira said.

Even for guys no longer lacing up the boots, the first goal leaves an indelible impression.

Assistant coach Rob Vincent scored goals for both the Hounds and D.C. United as a pro player, but he had little difficulty thinking back to the Hounds’ match against Antigua Barracuda FC on June 23, 2013.

“I do remember the goal, it was probably 10 to 12 games into the season. The goal itself, I got the ball deep on the left side of the field and played a big switch out to (Matt) Dallman, which turned out to be the go-to tactic that year,” Vincent said. “Dallman beat his man and cut inside, and I had traveled forward maybe 50, 60 yards. He pulled it back to me on the top of the box, and I tried to curl it, but it took a wicked deflection and looped over the goalkeeper.” 

Deflection or not, when the ball hits the net, the skill gives way and the emotion takes over.

“A little bit of luck involved with the first one, but I was happy getting off the mark. The first pro goal, it’s a very special feeling, like a lot of years and dreams have gone into that moment,” Vincent said.

Yet as special as the first goal can be, it’s just one of many moments for some. Forbes can look back on a championship in Rochester and involvement in 73 goals (18 goals, 55 assists) in Pittsburgh, and that only covers the past decade of the 36-year-old’s career. 

His career began back in his native Jamaica as a teenager in 2006, and when asked for details of his first goal, the most tenured Hound took a long pause before an honest answer.

“No idea. It’s been too long,” Forbes said with a laugh. “But it is special for those guys. It’s good to see. It’s your first goal at the professional level.”

Of course, Forbes added, the guys scoring their first now have a specific advantage over the era when he netted his first pro goal.

“At the end of the day, it’s on camera for them! It’s not like me; I can’t go back and pull it up. The guys will always be able to pull that up, and hopefully Suber goes and gets another one, Brad gets another one, Jackson gets another one, and they keep it going.”