Connect with us

Pittsburgh Riveters SC

‘I felt it:’ Riveters draw Cleveland but provide building blocks

The Pittsburgh Riveters kicked off their debut USL W-League season with a scoreless draw on Friday night. However, don’t let the score — or lack thereof — dismiss the energy.

The Riveters pulled in a crowd of 6,077 — the fourth-highest in Highmark Stadium history. It was a sellout and you could feel it. The grandstands were filled and the Steel Army had more people fill up the Paul Child Stand more than the entirety of the Riverhounds season. The energy was infectious.

The action on the pitch clearly fed off that energy, too. In fact, the scoreless match was certainly not a reflection of what happened on the pitch. However, at times, the Riveters looked like the Riverhounds — plenty of shots and not able to put it away. For a team that boasts players from over 20 different colleges, the team looked to gel together, though.

“It has been a whirlwind of a week for the group,” Riveters coach Scott Gibson said post-game. “A lot of players came in Sunday through yesterday. I thought we deserved to win the game; I thought we played very, very well and created a lot of chances. The hardest thing when it came to gelling was the final third. Putting that ball in the back of the net is the hardest thing to do. I couldn’t be more proud of them. This is a foundation for us to build on. I think the fans and supporters really enjoyed it, and the players gave everything.”

Gibson said he wasn’t taken aback with how the Riveters started their season. The team registered 13 shots, with four on frame, but saved by Cleveland goalkeeper Griselda Revolorio.

“I felt it,” Gibson said. ” I think our organization, and a lot of people behind the scenes, did a lot of hard work. There’s a lot behind the scenes. It’s difficult putting a roster together from scratch… We have to make sure this team gels and gels quickly. Off the field, they’ve been fantastic. And tonight, I thought they were quite good.”

With the contest being the first for the Riveters, Gibson said he was proud of the output. When it comes to finishing in front of net, those are issues that will be resolved in training, especially with the team spending more time together.

“Kennedy [Neighbors], our forward, has never played for us. Lucia Wells joined her, and they never played together,” Gibson explained. “Olivia [Damico] is from Penn State and Carola Fontan is from Spain. So, it’s finding the timing and that chemistry. I thought we started the game extremely well and I was hoping we’d get an early goal and settle down, but the longer it goes we got frustrated.”

Gibson added that substitutions made at halftime were a big difference for the Riveters. The team brought on Tanum Nelson, Sabrina Bryan and Lilly Bane.

“We were just coming too deep for the ball in the first half,” Gibson said. “We made a few changes at halftime and played with two 10s, so we could get higher toward the goal.

“We’ll clean on it in training. But it’s a really good platform for us to grow on.”

Dellarose: “Everyone was bought in” for Riveters

Tessa Dellarose, the first-ever captain for the Riveters who featured collegiately at the University of North Carolina, was all smiles post-game. The 21-year-old was busy, featuring all 90 minutes and taking every corner kick that the Riveters produced.

After the match, she said that, despite the quick turnaround, the team gelled together in a way that exceeded her expectations.

“It was a little crazy,” she said. “We came in on Sunday for our first team meeting, and we got to meet everyone and feel each other out. Monday through Thursday, we had four practices. We were just trying to mesh together. Building something from the ground up in four days is not easy, but everyone had a great attitude and everyone was bought in. That’s all we can ask for.”

Dellarose said the moment she walked out on the pitch, leading the team, was “surreal.” She also couldn’t believe the reaction to Piper Coffield’s ‘almost-goal’ that was waved off early in the second half.

“It was just a really cool moment,” she said. “I thought it might be contested because the goalkeeper came out and they always side with the goalkeeper, but I remember the crowd going crazy. I thought that was the greatest thing. I knew Piper thought she had it. She was working really hard; everyone was. It was a really cool moment, especially with the crowd.”

Dellarose also made sure to give kudos to her own goalkeeper, Pauline Nelles.

“Pauline came in huge when we needed her to,” Dellarose said. “She was very good with her feet and even better with her hands. She was very solid back there. She had a really good performance tonight.”

Cleveland took four shots in total with Nelles making two saves. Dellarose said that facing off against Cleveland — a longtime city-rival of Pittsburgh — was a perfect way to begin the team’s existence.

“Anytime we can outdo Ohio in something is really important,” she said with a laugh. “Pittsburgh and Cleveland, even on the Academy level, we always have a rivalry. Inviting them into a hostile environment was really cool.”

Coffield comes up close

Piper Coffield, midfielder/defender, was a foul-call away from scoring the first-ever goal in Riveters history. However, the referee signaled a foul against the goalkeeper.

“I mean, I was ecstatic,” Coffield said post-game. “The feeling of when you score, you almost black out and you don’t even know what’s going on. But I can’t even tell you how excited I was in that moment. To be the one that could have possibly had the first one, and what that means for our city, would’ve been incredible. But, you know, whoever does get our first goal, and when that happens, will be incredible regardless. I was excited but, you know, things happen.”

Coffield is no stranger to playing at Highmark Stadium. She did so many times with the Mars Fighting Planets in the WPIAL Championship game. However, the feeling of walking out in front of 6,077 fans was entirely different.

“It was a full circle moment. I basically grew up here and I played here so many times,” she said. “Tonight, walking out and seeing the support behind us, was so rewarding. I’m so proud to play for so many people and play for my city. When we’re playing, you look out and see the city in the background. Not only that, but there’s so many people that are bought in. I am just so excited.”

Coffield agreed with her coach and captain about the output from a group that has only known each other for about five days.

“I think we did a fantastic job,” the Indiana University player said. “We met each other on Monday and had a game on Friday, at a very high level. It was really exciting. We talked in the locker room about how diverse we are. We have people from all different backgrounds, and soccer brought us together.

“We did a really good job playing for each other tonight. I’m really proud of the effort that we all put in for each other.”

The Riveters will hit the road for a two-game stretch, first to face Flower City 1872 on Saturday, May 24, and then Cleveland on Tuesday, May 227. The team will return home on Friday, May 30, against Flower City at 7 p.m.

Related Topics

The sport of soccer is Rachael Palmer's area of expertise. Palmer covers high school and women's soccer, with occasional work with Pitt Women's Soccer. For the last five years, she has been the Color Commentator for the Pitt Women's Soccer program. Elsewhere, she contributes for The Equalizer Soccer, a dedicated women's soccer website. Palmer is a member of the official NWSL Media Association and the North American Soccer Reporters, serving as the NASR's President after four years in the role of Communications Director and Vice President.

Riverhounds MF Kenardo Forbes

PSN’s Featured Community Partner: Open Field International

More in Pittsburgh Riveters SC