Record is icing on cake for captain
Midfielder Forbes is league’s career leader in assists
Shortly after Steevan Dos Santos headed in Kenardo Forbes’ cross to open the scoring in a 4-0 win against Philadelphia Union II last week, Jordan Dover sauntered over to the Riverhounds SC captain.
“Congratulations,” Dover told Forbes.
“For what?” Forbes replied. “I think you passed the record,” Dover responded.
In actuality, Forbes only had tied the USL Championship’s alltime assist record with that delivery. But 14 minutes later, when the midfielder’s cross off a corner kick found Thomas Vancaeyzeele’s head, Forbes registered his 38th assist in the USL Championship, passing Maikel Chang for the most since the league’s inception in 2011.
Even then, Forbes said, he didn’t let himself think about the milestone until after the match. That’s when he checked his phone, saw a slew of messages and allowed a smile to creep onto his face, a cherry on top of a critical three points.
For Forbes, any personal accolade comes secondary to the team’s success. That’s how the 32year-old has become the Riverhounds’ midfield dynamo, a playmaker who leads USL Championship with seven assists — and one who seems poised to keep adding to his record.
“I’m a team-first guy at heart,” he said. “Team comes first. Winning comes first. No matter what stats you have, if you don’t win, no one will care because people just view you as playing for yourself. When your team wins, and you have stats, also, that’s a winwin.”
Forbes began the season by picking up four assists through the Riverhounds’ first two games — both of which were wins. And while this Jamaican native set up
the opener July 26 against the New York Red Bulls II, a promising start to the season began to teeter with consecutive losses.
So any sort of assist record was flushed out of Forbes’ mind when the team took the pitch Saturday at Highmark Stadium ; securing a win in a shortened 16-game season was the primary concern.
And Forbes only had been made aware of his approaching record about a week and a half before playing Philadelphia. He had been scrolling through Facebook when a post made him stop. He clicked the link, read the story and realized he was on the verge of surpassing Chang’s assist count.
“What, I’m that close?” Forbes said, thinking back on his reaction. “I didn’t know the assist mark was so low.”
Forbes has been nearing it since joining the USL Championship with the Rochester Rhinos in 2015. When that team went on hiatus in 2018, he followed coach Bob Lilley to the Riverhounds, where he has 24 regular-season assists so far.
And in this abbreviated season, it looks as if Forbes is building off a stellar 2019 campaign, in which he was an MVP finalist for his four goals and 11 assists. To go with seven assists in five matches this season, he is completing passes at a 78.9 percent clip. His 15 created chances rank third-best in the league.
“He works hard, and he’s been working hard since 2015,” said Dos Santos, who also played with Forbes with the Rochester Rhinos. “He’s a very good player, he reads the game very well, he knows where to be, where to pass the ball.”
With another match against Red Bulls II on the horizon — kicking off at 7 p.m. Saturday — Forbes will have another opportunity to build on an assist record that already carries his name. But beyond that, in a Group F matchup with playoff implications, a win will mean more than whatever stats go along with them.
That’s not something Forbes will need to be reminded of, though.
“If there is a piece who’s been really important all three years [I’ve coached here], it’s been
Kenardo,” Lilley said. “Kenny’s not only very critical to us, he’s one of the best players in the league. And he’s had a good start to the season statistically. We’re hopeful that continues.”