Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC announced Thursday that the club has acquired defender Joe Farrell ahead of the 2023 season following a transfer from fellow USL Championship club Phoenix Rising FC. This transaction is pending league and federation approval.
After spending five seasons with Phoenix, Farrell joined the Hounds and appeared in 128 games, the second most in Rising FC history. Meanwhile, the 6-foot-2 center back helped the Westerns win his conference in 2018 and 2020, and in 2019 he led the defense to a record USL Championship record.
The move will reunite Farrell with Hounds coach Bob Lilly. In his first campaign of 2016, Farrell was a finalist for his USL Championship Rookie of the Year and was voted Championship All-League Second to his team. He appeared in his 64 league games for the Rhinos, 2 in his season he missed only 2 games. In addition to his defensive work, he has scored his 15 goals in his seven years as a professional.
“Joe is an experienced centre-back, very good at tackling and has a presence in the air,” Lilly said. “He also handles the ball well and is an excellent organizer from the back line. After seeing his habits and qualities during his two years at Rochester, we are thrilled to bring Joe to Pittsburgh. increase.”
A native of Blue Bell, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Farrell played college football for LaSalle University from 2012-2015. During his college years, he played for the New York Red Bulls U-23s.
Farrell joins a core group of seven confirmed repeaters from last year’s Riverhound team who advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The team continues to negotiate with new and returning players for his 2023 USL Championship season, which begins in March.
