Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley named USL Championship coach of the year
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After leading his team to one of best seasons is franchise history, Bob Lilley was recognized Wednesday as the USL Championship coach of the year.
It was the second time, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ sixth-year coach was honored with the award.
Lilley led the Hounds (19-10-5) to the Players’ Shield this season after they posted the best record in the regular season.
The Hounds led the Eastern Conference standings for the second time in the past five seasons, conceded the fewest goals in the conference (29), and recorded 67 points over 34 games.
The team also reached the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
“We had a very good season, and it couldn’t have happened without the effort of our whole coaching staff, Dan Visser and Jon Busch, as well as the tremendous support ownership and the front office provided to allow us to build a winning team,” Lilley said. “Our players worked hard all season and bought in to how we wanted to play, and it was through the contributions of everyone involved that we were able to win the Players’ Shield this season.”
Lilley also was named coach of the Year in 2015, when he led the Rochester Rhinos to the Players’ Shield and USL Championship title.
The 57-year-old is the league’s all-time leader in coaching victories with a USL Championship record of 163-66-97.
Overall, Lilley has been named coach of the year five times in the Championship and its predecessor leagues. With 357 wins at the professional level, Lilley has the most wins of any active coach in U.S. Soccer.
Lilley received 61% of the ballot, ahead of Charleston Battery coach Ben Pirmann and Sacramento Republic FC’s Mark Briggs.
The 2023 USL Championship Awards were voted on by club management and a league-wide media panel.