PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC announced on Thursday former Hounds star and Major League Soccer veteran Rob Vincent had been appointed to the First Team staff as an assistant coach for the 2024 USL Championship season.

ANALYSIS

Rob Vincent’s addition is the logical step for a midfielder who progressed to become among the league’s best in his three years with the Hounds. Vincent’s role in the legendary Miracle on the Mon victory against Keystone Derby rival Harrisburg City Islanders and his stoppage-time game-winner against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup were among many iconic moments he produced in his time on the field at Highmark Stadium, while also earning USL Championship All-League First Team honors in 2015.

In the big picture, Vincent becomes the latest former USL Championship player to take his place in the league’s coaching ranks as an assistant, with the potential for further progression in his pathway from here. At the start of the 2023 season, eight of the Championship’s Head Coaches had previously played in the league, including Phoenix Rising FC’s Juan Guerra, who just became the youngest Head Coach to lead a side to the USL Championship title.

That may be in Vincent’s future, and he could have no better mentor toward that goal than current Hounds Head Coach Bob Lilley, the winningest coach in the USL Championship era.