Pittsburgh Riverhounds Loaned Two Houston Dynamo Players Prior To Match In Richmond
By Matt Gajtka
Fresh off a 1-1 draw in their season opener at defending league champion Orlando City last week, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds will get additional reinforcements prior to their Saturday match at Richmond.
As announced by the Hounds Friday, the USL Pro soccer club will receive goalkeeper Michael Lisch and midfielder Brian Ownby on loan from their MLS affiliate, the Houston Dynamo. That brings the total of loaned players on the Pittsburgh roster to five, as Anthony Arena, Jason Johnson and Bryan Salazar joined the Hounds last week.
The Riverhounds play their second match of the season Saturday at Richmond, Va.
The 23-year-old Ownby has played in 12 matches over three seasons for Houston, including the first two of the Dynamo’s current MLS campaign. Ownby is from the Richmond, Va., area and made 19 appearance for the Kickers last season as part of a loan arrangement, but he won’t play against his former team Saturday as he was left off the Hounds’ travel roster.
While with the Kickers, Ownby scored seven goals and six assists to help them to the USL Pro regular season title. He played at the University of Virginia before being selected by Houston in the 2012 MLS supplemental draft.
Lisch is also 23, although he was taken in this year’s MLS SuperDraft. He played three seasons at Wake Forest before doing graduate work at New Mexico and leading the Lobos to the NCAA semifinals last fall. Lisch, a native Texan, joins incumbent keepers Gregory Blum and Hunter Gilstrap on the Riverhounds roster.
Lisch will make the trip to Richmond, replacing the concussed Gilstrap, who was injured last week at Orlando and had to be removed from the match. Gilstrap is expected to be out two more weeks while recovering.
The Hounds (0-0-1, 1 point) take on the Kickers (0-0-1, 1 point) at 5 p.m. Saturday on the pitch at Richmond’s City Stadium. The Kickers tied Charleston (S.C.) last week on the road.
A video live stream of the match will be available on the USL Pro’s YouTube channel.