If you needed any back-up to the idea that defense wins championships, the performances of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Rhode Island FC in the opening two weekends of the postseason are here for you.

For all the concern there might have been about the ability to find the net for both sides in the regular season, the sides that will square off in the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix have shut up shop this postseason, building on their regular season records as two of the stingiest defenses in the league.

• CLOSE THE DOOR: While Louisville City FC was putting together its own remarkable defensive campaign, the Hounds and RIFC weren’t all that far behind in the underlying numbers department. Pittsburgh ranked second in the league with a 28.79 Expected Goals Against mark, while Rhode Island ranked third with a 29.38xGA. Each allowed only 28 goals and recorded 12 shutouts in the regular season, which was foundational to their postseason berths.

• HOLDING DOWN HOUNDTAHN: The Hounds have added to that record in the postseason, allowing only 0.71xGA across 240 minutes of scoreless action against Hartford Athletic in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and Detroit City FC in this past Saturday’s Eastern Conference Semifinals, each won in a penalty shootout. Pittsburgh will enter Saturday’s Conference Final on a cumulative 422-minute shutout streak.

• DEFENDING THE CROWN: Rhode Island hasn’t been quite as efficient as the Hounds, but the defending Eastern Conference title holders are showing they remember how to win on the road in the postseason. A pair of late goals by Albert Dikwa after he came on as a second-half substitute against North Carolina FC broke the game open as RIFC won its fifth consecutive road playoff game against Eastern Conference opposition to return to the Conference Final for a second consecutive year.

For both clubs, the resiliency they’ve shown throughout the season is the primary reason they’re here. While Rhode Island is making its second trip to the Eastern Conference Final, the Hounds are now in the middle of their deepest postseason run in the USL Championship era, something that certainly wasn’t necessarily expected as the side struggled at times this year.

“Probably in the middle of the season, people wouldn’t have thought we’d be in this situation, in this moment,” said Pittsburgh midfielder Bradley Sample. “But we’ve really come together, and I think we’re playing well. Goals may not be going in, but we’re playing well, and the vibes are really good as a team. We’re just trying to enjoy it and trying to extend our time playing.”

The same applies for Rhode Island, which found ways to win the games it needed to have down the stretch before delivering big performances in the postseason.

“They dug in and won this game,” said RIFC Head Coach Khano Smith. “You can look through the schedule. There were multiple times where we had tough games and that just prepares them for these moments.”

The fourth meeting between these sides next Saturday night at Highmark Stadium might not end up an attacking classic, but the potential for high tension is clear.