Bridge City FC ‘feel a real sense of momentum’ as they set to kick off inaugural season

For three Pittsburgh-area natives, Jack Shearer, Josh DiMatteo and Grant Glorioso, who came together with a unified goal of bringing professional indoor soccer back to the Steel City, will see their quest become fully realized on Saturday night (7 p.m. kickoff), when Bridge City FC hits the road for its first-ever Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS) match, visiting Summit City United in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

After years of playing Division I collegiate and professional indoor soccer in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL), with teams like the Baltimore Blast and Harrisburg Heat, the trio have worked tirelessly to bring a new club in Pittsburgh to life and have handed over the reins to the club’s first Head Coach, Travis Mackenzie, to lead the team of numerous who’s who of Pittsburgh soccer names and faces into its first-ever season.

“Heading into the season opener, I feel a real sense of momentum,” Shearer, shared with Pittsburgh Soccer Now on Friday.

“We’ve put in three-four months of steady work, and I think we’ve built a strong foundation for what’s ahead this year. Starting the season on the road brings its own challenges, but it’s something we’re embracing. I’m excited to see our guys compete and to finally make our league debut this weekend. The standard is to walk away from Fort Wayne with three points!”

Things start off for BCFC as they face a road challenge against Summit City, in a North Conference matchup.

Summit City is looking to bounce back after dropping their home opener to Red Cedar FC (Lansing) last week.

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“For our roster, we are really excited about our depth with who we have brought in,” DiMatteo shared with Pittsburgh Soccer Now this week.

“We have a roster filled with some of Pittsburgh’s best talent, and the majority of the guys played club in the area. We have guys that played at all levels but especially in the Pittsburgh region. There are ex-Riverhounds, Division 1, Division 2, and division 3 players. We are really excited with the diversity of skills in the team.”

Among the names on the roster in addition to the trio include former West Allegheny, Duquesne University standout and former Riverhound, Nathan Dragisich, former North Allegheny standouts, Josh Luchini and Jamie Luchini, who starred at Lehigh and the younger, at Pitt too, recent Robert Morris players Gabe Norris (Highlands) and Nolan Hutter (though Hutter, who played his high school ball at Montour, is also playing with Steel City FC on Saturday!), a couple 30-something former Riverhounds/USL veterans, Neil Shaffer (Beaver Area/Robert Morris) and Stefan Lundberg (Kiski Area /Duquesne) among the many notable local players that round out the roster.

** Check out the full Bridge City FC roster here **

The opening match will be played at the Classic City Center in Fort Wayne.

Look for a post-match recap to follow the match and follow along with updates on PSN and Bridge City FC social media platforms.

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