Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer: Hounds shift focuses to League Final, Bentworth and South Fayette celebrate State titles, Steel City FC face final Open Cup test

The Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer is back as the Fall soccer season in Pittsburgh is coming to a roaring end this week after an incredible weekend which saw the Riverhounds finally break through and make it to the USL Championship Final (to be played this Saturday at Tulsa, at high Noon!) but also saw two of the three teams competing in PIAA (State) High School Championship weekend bring home State Titles.

Regardless of results, this week will feature the end of the season for the Riverhounds and also Steel City FC’s quest to qualify for the 2026 US Open Cup will come down to Saturday’s match at Croatia Cleveland.

This week will also see the official start-up for Bridge City FC, a new professional indoor team competing in the MLIS.  The Bridge City squad will travel to Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Saturday to face Summit City United (7 p.m.).

Bentworth and South Fayette Bring Home State Gold

Congratulations to both South Fayette girls (Class 3A) and Bentworth boys (Class 1A) for very impressive wins on Saturday at Northeastern High School in Manchester.  Also, kudos to Burrell girls (Class 2A) for also reaching the final.  Though the season is over, look for more High School coverage to come in the coming weeks, as we’ll begin a retrospective series on all of the WPIAL Champions and State Finalists.  Plus, we’ll continue with more episodes of Kids on the Pitch Podcast and also look for more editions of PSN’s Coaches Corner too, as we have lots more to share from the coaches in the area.

FINAL: South Fayette 3, Radnor 1 (South Fayette wins first-ever PIAA Girls Soccer title)

FINAL: Bentworth 1, Delco Christian 0 (Bentworth wins first-ever PIAA boys soccer title)

It was a PAW-ty at Highmark; Now the focus shifts to taking on tough Tulsa squad for all the marbles

Riverhounds and Pittsburgh soccer fans were finally rewarded after years of postseason disappointments — culminating Saturday night after three straight weeks of intense, playoff soccer where the home team continued to find ways to win.

And to top it all off, when the team finally found a goal in the run of play, it was none other than homegrown product, Robbie Mertz, who was part of Pittsburgh’s first generation of soccer players who grew up watching and following the club in its most formative years.

Takeaways and Ratings: Robbie Mertz magic, defensive masterclass propels Riverhounds into league Final

Pittsburgh soccer fans came out in record numbers, with 6,745 in attendance and were a factor in contributing to an incredible atmosphere.

“I’ve said this a lot, but I’ve been in a lot of stadiums in my career, and nights like this don’t happen very often,” Eric Dick, Riverhounds goalkeeper said.

“The fans tonight made this an amazing night. I can’t say thank you enough. In a dogfight of game like that, we know there’s going to be ups and downs and the fans are never going to stop.  They kept us going the entire game. We felt their encouragement. We are so grateful for it. I hope these guys don’t take it for granted playing in an amazing stadium like this.”

The Riverhounds now shift its focus to facing a very tough FC Tulsa squad that earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and looks to be getting better through the playoffs.  Tulsa defeated Phoenix, 3-0, on Saturday.

We will have much more to come this week leading up to the match and — yes — we will also have on-site coverage from Tulsa on Saturday!

Steel City FC’s Open Cup Road Goes Through Cleveland

Following Steel City FC’s 1-0 win against Capital City Islanders on November 2 at Founders Field, Pittsburgh’s USL League Two club advanced to the Fourth Round of Qualifying for the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tournament.

If the Pittsburgh squad wants to get into the proper US Open Cup tournament, the road will go through Cleveland.

That’s right, the Boys in Blue and Gold will face off against Croatia Cleveland this Saturday, November 22, at Mentor High School Soccer Stadium, in Mentor, Ohio.

Last week, I had an opportunity to catch up with Steel City’s Nolan Hutter.  You can listen to the full interview on Sounding Off on Soccer Podcast.

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PITTSBURGH SOCCER SCHEDULE (11/21/2025)

Saturday, November 21, 2025 

12 Noon — USL Championship Final — Riverhounds vs FC Tulsa at ONEOK Field, Tulsa, OK

5 p.m. — US Open Cup 2026 4th Round Qualifying — Steel City FC (USL L2) vs Croatia Cleveland (OVPL) at Mentor High School Stadium, Mentor, OH

7 p.m. — MLIS Season Opener — Bridge City FC at Summit City United in Fort Wayne, IN