Columbus Crew SC made a major off the field move this morning as they announced an agreement with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to serve as the team's USL-Pro affiliate for the 2016 season. The deal replaces the on hiatus Austin Aztex as the affiliate for Columbus.
Pittsburgh was a clear choice for Head Coach Gregg Berhalter as the Riverhounds and Crew SC have a similar mentality, "I think the alignment is there and it's going to make the transition with our players much easier."
Berhalter also stressed the importance of finding the right partner pays off on the field for Crew SC, "We want to develop our players, we want to give them game time and we want to be in a position where we can use them again for the first team.