Seven is the magic number as Pittsburgh Riveters demolish Erie at home

Photo: Chris Cowger/Riveters SC

What a difference 10 days makes.

Just ask the Pittsburgh Riveters what a little over a week can do for a team. On June 5, the Riveters tied Erie Sports Center, 1-1, on the road. The team let up a late equalizer to Erie, heading down I-79 thinking about what could have been more.

This time, the tale of the tape between the two sides was drastically different. The Riveters remained unbeaten at home after a 7-o win.

Sabrina Bryan and Gina Proviano, who entered as a substitute in the second half, each recorded a brace. Five players found the back of the net: Tanum Nelson, Olivia Damico and Tessa Dellarose adding tallies.

Dellarose’s strike was a converted penalty kick, the first of the season for the Riveters.

After the match, Riveters coach Scott Gibson said the team was “fantastic.”

“We’ve been saying that we felt like there was one coming, in terms of the chances we’ve not converted,” Gibson said. “We had a chat there about how we scored 13 goals since last Sunday and gave up one. We got nine points, three wins. We’re in a nice spot. We were missing players tonight, too, so it was a full squad effort.”

Gibson noted that the match was Bailey Herfurth’s first in goal at Highmark Stadium, where she recorded a clean sheet. Herfurth worked with a new-look defense as Piper Coffield earned a rest. Instead, Kelsey Salopek, Natalia DiSora, Abi Hugh and Bella Vozar held down the backline, with Ella Bulava entering the match in the 76′ minute to take over for Vozar.

Gibson said that the defensive switch made playing against Erie even trickier than already anticipated.

“Erie is a very tricky team to play against. They have a different structure, but have very good individual players. We struggled with that when we went to Erie… the players were determined to not let [an equalizer] happen in the second half. We just didn’t let up.”

Gibson said that he was proud of the team for not letting the high standard slip as the score continued to climb.

“You can ask the players, but one thing about me is standards,” he said. “We have to keep our standard high. When we’re six, seven up, it’s keeping our standards high and be professional. There are players coming off the bench who want to impress.”

One player that has a history of impressing is Dellarose. The captain returned to the starting lineup after featuring — and winning — the TST Tournament in North Carolina. When Bryan earned a penalty in the second half, there was no doubt to who would take the kick.

“We haven’t formally practiced penalty kicks yet,” Gibson said. “If we get into the playoff rounds, that will be something we’ll have to do. We play a game after every training session similar to that. But with Tessa, she looked over at me, and I said, ‘Yeah, you’re taking that.’ She was trying to be nice because Sabrina took the foul, but in those situations Tessa is going to take it.”

Bryan’s big moment(s)

Sabrina Bryan, who scored in the 16′ and 55′ minutes, said the group played “so well” as a team.

“I think, second half especially, we settled in more and trusted everyone on the field,” Bryan said. “We learned how fast the ball was rolling, compared to the first half. It was kind of getting away from us on through-balls. We played so well as a team, though. The score showed that.”

Bryan is 26, and one of the older players on a college-age majority roster. She featured for Hofstra University, and was even in the running for the MAC Hermann trophy.

In a way, it’s almost like having a player-coach on the pitch with her younger teammates. Bryan spoke about the tactical changes that the Riveters made from Wednesday’s derby victory against Steel City FC.

“I think on Wednesday night, we were losing some of those headers in the air. Today, we figured out what was going on with that,” Bryan said. “We won most of the balls defensively. I don’t think they had many threats offensively. Everything started well with our defense today so we could build and score goals efficiently.”

Final stretch for Riveters

The Riveters are in their final stretch of matches — at least for the regular season.

Right now, the Riveters sit on top of the Great Forest Division of the USL W-League with 17 points. Steel City FC sits in second with 11 points, while FC Buffalo narrowly follow with 10 points.

Those are the Riveters final two opponents of the season. A trip to FC Buffalo is first, slated for Saturday, June 21, at 6 p.m. Then, the Riveters will close out the regular season with another derby tilt against Steel City FC on Friday, June 27, at 7 p.m.

Earlier this season, the Riveters picked up a 3-0 win against Buffalo and a 3-1 win against Steel City, respectively. In the span of a short, two-month season, Gibson is happy with how the team has progressed.

“We’re proud, you know. We’re proud,” he said. “I think we were very unfortunate in the home opener to not win that game. But when I look at the team from then to now, the gelling and the way we play, shows how hard we work in training… We’ve had a month with them, and we’re proud of how they’re playing.”