Pittsburgh Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said Saturday’s stunning 1-0 loss to Detroit City in the first round of the USL Championship playoffs will not define the season, but it will sting for a very long time.

The Hounds had home-field advantage sitting ahead of them for the duration of the postseason, but Dominic Gasso’s goal in the 78th minute gave eighth-seeded Detroit a massive upset victory.

“I’m proud of my guys,” Lilley said. “We went farther than anyone (from the USL Championship) in the Open Cup. We won the regular season. I know they battled tonight, but Detroit was good defensively and won a lot of loose balls.

“It’s gut-wrenching. I’ve been on both sides of it. We’ve had some disappointments (in the postseason) here with a team that has really been consistently good since we’ve been here. It’s frustrating. I take a lot of weight from it, but this team has been a pleasure all year to coach. It’s one of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve had as a coach.”

The Hounds finished 19-6-10 and Detroit improved to 12-15-8. There was a 26-point difference between the two in the standings in the regular season.

Gasso’s goal came after some chaos in the box. Danny Griffin cleared the ball away, but right to Gasso, who took a pure strike from 20 yards through a maze of bodies and past Hounds keeper Jahmali Waite. It was Gasso’s first goal as a professional and the lone shot Detroit had on goal against the Hounds all season.

“As soon as I hit it, I heard the ball and I knew it was going to be a goal,” Gasso said. “I’m just so happy. No better way to get my first goal than that.”

Prior to the goal, Detroit was content to sit back and play in a defensive formation. Afterwards, they really packed it in, frustrating the Hounds.

Albert Dikwa, the league’s Golden Boot winner, had the Hounds’ best opportunity for a goal in extra time, but his header was stopped by a diving Nate Steinwascher.

Detroit fended off a couple corners and then went into full celebration of their upset after the final whistle blew.

“I like that we kept scratching and clawing,” Lilley said. “We were able to get two or three looks, but unfortunately Steinwascher clawed the one out that Dikwa got on frame.”

Saturday was the first home playoff match for the Hounds since 2019 and it brought out an announced attendance of 6,123, which is a Highmark Stadium record.

The loss ends one of the most successful season’s in club history. The Hounds won their first trophy, the USL Player’s Shield, for the league’s best record. They also made it to the US Open Cup quarterfinals, defeating two MLS teams along the way in the New England Revolution and Columbus Crew.

“It’s a great group and we’ll try to bring as many back as we can,” Lilley said. “There are guys we need to re-sign and others that we’re going to want to pick up their options. This group has a lot of gas left in the tank. We have to keep that spirit and build on what we did this year and get into a good position again. It’s hard to do more than secure all home games, so it’s frustrating that we couldn’t take advantage of it.”

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