PITTSBURGH (November 29, 2023) — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC have picked up their seven-man squad for 2024, bringing their total number of players under contract to 11, as preparations for the upcoming USL league season are well underway.
Perennial Hounds defender/midfielder Dani Rovira will return for a sixth year with the club, while the other six players will all be entering their second year in Pittsburgh. Forward/backward back Langston Blackstockmidfielder Junior Etou and DZ Harmonand defenders Mike DeShields, Pat Hogan and Illal Osumanu everyone had their choices for the new year.
These players join the four already under contract for 2024: striker Edward Kiza and midfielder Kenardo Forbes, Danny Griffin and Robbie Mertz.
The squad of 11 is already the largest retained from the previous season under the manager Bob Lilleyand one of the biggest in the club’s history as the team looks to build on their successful 2023 season in which they won the USL Championship Players’ Shield for the first time.
About returning players
• Blackstock, 23, a second-year pro out of Clayton State (Ga.) came into the Hounds’ forward lineup, but found his niche as a rookie playing fullback in Lilley’s system. He appeared in 24 games as a first-year pro and recorded two assists.
• DeShields, 25, appeared in 11 games and recorded one assist from the center back position. He also played a key role in the Hounds’ run to the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup, playing all but three minutes in wins over the New England Revolution – his former team – and the Columbus Crew.
• Eto, 29, brought experience and a high work-rate to the Hounds as a midfielder and left-back last season. A Congolese native who played seven seasons in the French leagues, Etou played 27 games for the Hounds and had three assists and a goal – the fastest in team history in just 21 seconds in a 2-0 win over Charleston.
• Forbes, 35, is the Hounds’ captain and longest tenured player entering his seventh season in Pittsburgh. The Jamaican native was named to the 2023 USL Championship All-League Second Team, the seventh All-USL nod of his career, after becoming the first in league history with back-to-back 10-assist seasons. He remains the career assists leader in both Riverhounds and USL Championship history and is three games away from tying the club record for appearances with 195 games.
• Griffin, 25, enters his fifth season with the Hounds without losing a league game in 116 games in Pittsburgh. The durable midfielder returned to the Hounds in May last season via a transfer from Huntsville City of MLS Next Pro and has started all 26 games since returning to the club. He had a goal and an assist last year in USL play, but the Connecticut native’s biggest moment was scoring the lone goal in the Hounds’ 1-0 US Open Cup win over the New England Revolution.
• Harmon, 27, scored one goal in seven games after joining the team as a free agent from Charleston. He also started all four of the team’s US Open Cup matches and in September, made his international debut for Liberia, assisting the Lone Stars’ only goal in a 3-1 loss to African powerhouse Ghana.
• Hogan, 26, was a mainstay in an effective centerback rotation for the Hounds that helped the team lead the league with 15 shutouts. He also arrived as a free agent previously with Charleston, had one assist in 26 games and finished the year third on the team with 58 clearances.
• Kizza, 24, just completed his first year on a permanent deal with the Hounds, scoring four goals in 29 games and adding another in the US Open Cup. The Ugandan forward who starred at the University of Pittsburgh first joined the team on loan from the New England Revolution in 2021 and became a fan favorite for the Hounds after his two-goal performance in that year’s playoffs in Birmingham.
• Mertz, 27, will enter his fifth season in two stints with the Hounds after an injury-interrupted season in which he scored two goals and contributed the decisive assist in the US Open Cup win over the Columbus Crew. A native of Pittsburgh and a graduate of Upper St. with the Hounds.
• Osumanu, 27, joined the Hounds as a former USL League One champion with Union Omaha and played vital minutes despite the Ghana native missing time at the start of the season while he received his visa. The defender appeared in nine league games and scored a memorable first goal for the Hounds, a late game-winning header against San Diego.
• Rovira, 26, is the Hounds’ second-longest-serving player as he enters his sixth year with the club. Known for his versatility playing either at full-back, and – as matches dictate – in midfield or at centre-back, Rovira played 26 games last season and registered five assists. His 13 assists since joining the club are the most in team history by a defender, and in 2023, the Colombia native scored his first professional goal, a game-tying strike in a come-from-behind win over Memphis.
With those 11 players returning, the Hounds declined their option on eight players, allowing them to enter free agency along with six other players whose contracts expired at the end of the season.
The club continues to have ongoing negotiations with free agents who were part of the 2023 Players’ Shield winning squad, in addition to players from outside the club, as it prepares to build on last season’s success going into 2024.