PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC announced on Thursday it had signed forward Christian Volesky to a one-year contract with a club option for the 2020 season, pending league and federation approval. The signing reunites Volesky with current Hounds Head Coach Bob Lilley, fellow striker Steevan Dos Santos and midfielder Kenardo Forbes, who combined with Volesky to help claim the USL Cup in 2015 with the Rochester Rhinos.

Volesky arrives in Pittsburgh after splitting time between Saint Louis FC and OKC Energy FC in the 2018 USL Championship season following a midseason trade that landed the forward in Oklahoma City. Before joining Saint Louis in 2017, the 26-year-old competed for the Rhinos from 2015-16, including the squad’s 2015 USL Cup championship campaign in which he recorded eight goals and two assists.

“Christian has exceptional movement, great pace and knows how to get behind defenses,” Lilley said. “He’s always active in attacking areas and knows how to score goals. We feel his best soccer is still in front of him.”

Volesky ranks tied for 14th in the USL Championship’s history with 37 goals in the regular season over his four years in the league. Last season, he also recorded the eighth-fastest goal in the league’s history, scoring after just 24 seconds on August 11 against Real Monarchs SLC at Taft Stadium. The former USL League Two standout for FC Tucson has scored at least eight regular-season goals in each of his seasons in the league.