Photo Courtesy FC Cincinnati

It’s a Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Match Day!

We look forward to providing on-site of coverage of the Riverhounds SC’s Third Round Open Cup match vs FC Cincinnati as Pittsburgh Sports Now’s Alan Saunders and Ed Thompson are making the trip to the Queen City. (7 p.m. kickoff)

Also, look for Mark Goodman’s Scouting Report and Preview of FC CIncinnati to drop soon.

The Hounds are 1-5 all-time vs MLS teams as it’s been more than 20 years since that lone victory, at Bethel Park Stadium against the Colorado Rapids.

It’s been a rough go for FCC in MLS, as they’ve been at or near the bottom of the table since entering the league in 2019.

Ahead of our coverage and tonight match, be sure to read our feature (see below) posted last April, on the series of matches between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati between 2016-18.

In 2016, when FC Cincinnati came on the scene in the USL Championship, they immediately had big aspirations.

After just three seasons, with unprecedented and impressive attendance numbers for a second-division soccer franchise, Western Ohio’s pro soccer team would be moving up to Major League Soccer.

For a very brief time, FC Cincinnati provided a pretty good foil for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

After all, everything about what they did in building its franchise contrasted with how the Riverhounds evolved.

Cincinnati’s ownership group, led by Carl Linder, CEO of American Financial Group, had ambitious plans and poured plenty of capital into driving interest and fans to support the team. They invested heavily in local media buys and advertising. They were willing to offer higher-end salaries for free agents to build a club that would be successful at the USL Championship level but were always looking to become a Major League Soccer franchise….