Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Riveters SC
USL W-League – Great Forest Division
Riveters (0-0-0) vs. Cleveland Force SC (0-0-0)
Friday, May 16 | 7 p.m. | Highmark Stadium
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh+ | Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Pittsburgh Soccer Now Coverage Team: Rachael Palmer (reporting / social media updates), Ed Thompson (photography)
Match Day Updates
After much hype and a strong marketing blitz rarely ever seen for a pre-professional club across the United States soccer landscape, the Pittsburgh Riveters SC finally get to take the field when they face Cleveland Force on Friday night at Highmark Stadium (7 p.m. kickoff). Pittsburgh Soccer Now’s Rachael Palmer and Ed Thompson will be there to cover the match and all the festivities surrounding it. Look for updates and more to come here on this thread.
6:05 p.m. — STARTING LINEUPS
Preview / Getting to know the Riveters SC
Riveters are led by Head Coach Scott Gibson — who’s been part of the Hounds Academy for nearly two decades.
The team will face a 10-game slate in the league’s new Great Forest Division.
For Gibson, one of the toughest tasks will be squad selection. The Riveters have depth at every position, both homegrown and nationally recruited, which will be a benefit over the course of a condensed schedule. But for this one-off opening night, Gibson has only a handful of training sessions from which to glean his ideal starting 11.
Tessa Dellarose, the former U.S. U-20 international and 2024 NCAA champion with North Carolina, is one of the few locks for the 11 and will wear the captain’s armband for the team’s historic debut. As the first player announced for the team last fall, the midfielder will be crucial in a pivot role for the Riveters.
“We want to improve and we want to mesh together each game,” the Tar Heels midfielder said. “Most importantly, inaugural season or not, we want to compete and we want to win.”
Coffield stated that coach Scott Gibson has set a priority for the team to build its chemistry quickly. It’s a tough task, with players encompassing more than 20 different colleges.
“I think we’re looking to make an impact,” Former Mars standout and current Indiana University midfielder Piper Coffield explained.
“It’s our first year and Scott mentioned about us gelling and getting to know each other with a quick turnaround. We started training on Monday and have our first game on Friday, but I’m optimistic about this group. We’re looking to win some games and score some goals. I think it’s going to be an exciting season.”
Scouting Cleveland Force
The Riveters’ first opponent is a somewhat familiar one, as the Force is a longtime opponent of teams from the Riverhounds Academy at the youth level.
Much like Gibson, the Force are led by a Head Coach who has been an instrumental part of the club’s Youth Programs and Girls ECNL Director, Rob Miller.
Now, each club has a proper women’s First Team, and it makes for a fitting start to begin their history with an installment of the classic Pittsburgh/Cleveland rivalry.
The Force could have an advantage of having a core group of players that have been playing together longer. Last year, they posted 5W-6L-1D record in W-League’s Central Conference Great Lakes Division.
One player to look out for with Cleveland is McKenzie Muir, who has been a key player at Duquesne the past three seasons. The rising senior scored eight goals total on the Bluff and was among Cleveland’s leading scorers last season, scoring six goals in 10 matches.
A little bit more history…
Cleveland Force SC were formed in 2018 after a merger of three of Cleveland’s most prestigious Youth Soccer Clubs: CSA Impact, Cleveland United, and Internationals SC, and the club joined W-League in 2023. More than a dozen youth and senior national team players, more than 40 professional players, and more than 500 collegiate players have come through the Force organization.
The “Cleveland Force” name has been associated with both a men’s indoor soccer team and a women’s soccer team. The original Cleveland Force was a men’s team in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978-1988.
Unlike Pittsburgh — Cleveland does have a clear path toward having a women’s professional soccer team, as one of the signature franchise in the Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) as one of the founding markets, according to Spectrum News.
PSN’s Pittsburgh Riveters SC Coverage
‘It’s incredible:’ Pittsburgh Riveters looking toward home opener, debut
Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer: Kicking off this week, Riveters announce ground-breaking broadcast deal while Steel City men debut in USL League Two
Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer: Riveters SC, Steel City FC to compete in USL W-League’s Great Forest Division
Riveters Roster / Coaches
No. Name Pos. Height Age Hometown (Previous team)
1 Bailey Herfurth GK 6’0” 21 Northport, N.Y. (West Virginia Univ./Tampa Bay United)
2 Kennedy Neighbors M 5’7” 20 Newburgh, Ind. (Indiana University)
3 Sydney Lindeman D 5’8” 21 Murrysville, Pa. (Towson University)
4 Kelsey Salopek D 5’4” 20 Munhall, Pa. (Kent State University)
5 Kate Friday M 5’7” 19 Fox Chapel, Pa. (Xavier University)
6 Emily Kirkpatrick D 5’5” 22 Pittsburgh, Pa. (Towson University)
7 Sabrina Bryan F 5’3” 26 Cecil, Pa. (Hofstra University)
8 Carolina Lucci F 5’4” 26 Monaca, Pa. (Chowan Univ./Swan City SC)
9 Abi Hugh M 5’4” 22 Huntington, W.Va. (N.C. State University)
10 Carola Fontán M 5’2” 20 Les Franqueses del Vallés, Spain (Univ. of Cumberlands)
11 Lucia Wells F 5’4” 20 Pittsburgh, Pa. (University of Pittsburgh)
12 Bella Vozar D 5’1” 19 Pittsburgh, Pa. (American University)
13 Holly Pascoe F 5’4” 26 Christchurch, New Zealand (Point Park University)
14 Tanum Nelson M 5’8” 20 Duxbury, Vt. (Cornell University)
16 Pauline Nelles GK 5’10” 23 Bonn, Germany (Arizona State University)
17 Gina Proviano M 5’6” 22 Pittsburgh, Pa. (Long Island University)
18 Robin Reilly F 5’6” 18 Latrobe, Pa. (West Virginia University)
20 Annamarie Williams M 5’9” 19 Natrona Heights, Pa. (University of Virginia)
21 Ella Bulava D 19 Latrobe, Pa. (University of Maryland)
22 Piper Coffield D 5’8” 19 Mars, Pa. (Indiana University)
23 Gill Stewardson D 5’6” 21 Campbell River, B.C. (Point Park Univ./Harbourside FC)
24 Chloe Kuminkoski D 5’11” 23 Pittsburgh, Pa. (Loyola University, Md.)
25 Ashlyn Basinger F 5’3” 20 Waynesburg, Pa. (University of Cincinnati)
26 Aris Lamanna GK 5’11” 19 Murrysville, Pa. (Coastal Carolina University)
28 Reagan Casper D 5’5” 20 N. Huntingdon, Pa. (Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore Co.)
29 Jayden Sharpless M 5’7” 21 Pittsburgh, Pa. (Duquesne University)
31 Ava Boyd F 5’7” 19 Pittsburgh, Pa. (University of Pittsburgh)
32 Aleena Ulke D 5’4” 21 Pittsburgh, Pa. (Syracuse University)
33 Lilly Bane F 5’9” 18 Canonsburg, Pa. (Canon-McMillan HS)
34 Tessa Dellarose M 5’5” 21 Grindstone, Pa. (University of North Carolina)
35 Olivia Damico M 5’4” 23 Victor, N.Y. (Penn State University)
37 Ishpreen Marwah F 19 Tampa, Fla. (University of Southern Mississippi)
38 Mackenzie Dupre M 5’8” 21 Upper St. Clair, Pa. (Syracuse University)
39 Sydney Ritter F 5’7” 20 Berlin, N.J. (West Virginia University)
43 Minah Syam M 5’3” 19 Pittsburgh, Pa. (Bowling Green University)
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