Pittsburgh Soccer Now's John Krysinsky and Mark Goodman are back and ready on a new Episode of Sounding Off on Soccer to discuss the new season as the Riverhounds get set to defend its USL Championship title.

However, will the season start on time?

The USLPA and USL Headquarters continue to negoiate in good faith, but with less than 48 hours before kickoff, there is still no new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the league.

John and Mark share their thoughts on the 11th Hour negoiations, then roll up their sleeves to discuss some of the Five Burning Questions for the Riverhounds as they begin their title defense under a new, permanent Head Coach, Rob Vincent, then make their Annual predictions.

On Friday, Steel City FC and the Riverhounds announced that its historic US Open Cup match has been moved to Highmark Stadium -- on March 17, at 7 p.m.

This seemed like a great opportunity to bring back and check in with Tom Ovenden and Dan Brower, Steel City FC's owner/president and the men's first team Head Coach to discuss the match and the club's efforts to partner with the Riverhounds in hosting the Open Cup match.

Robbie Mertz is back for another season with his hometown club, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

This time he comes back to the club, with a new contract, as a champion, postseason hero and even more determined to contribute in contributing to the Riverhounds' standard of success that has been part of his tenures with the team.

As the Hounds kick off the preseason, Mertz joins John Krysinsky on the Sounding Off on Soccer Podcast for a revealing and compelling in-depth interview.

Among the topics John and Robbie discuss included:

• reflections on last season's remarkable postseason run, the team's resilience in overcoming adversity, dealing with what he described as a 'shocking' coaching change, finding a way to score the biggest goal in club history after missing golden chances the previous week, then experiencing hospitalization from exhaustion
• signing a new contract and looking forward to a transition to the new season as Rob Vincent has been implemented as the permanent Head Coach and what his role will be with the team
• the continuing efforts of the USLPA to bring higher standards for players and reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the league -- as negotiations are still at a standstill

Mertz, 29, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of nearby Upper St. Clair High School, has been a mainstay for the Hounds since signing with his hometown club as a rookie in 2019. While he did have a short stint with Atlanta United 2 starting in 2021, he rejoined the Hounds via transfer midway through the 2022 season and will be entering his seventh season with the team.