Pittsburgh Riveters ready for Year 2 of growth, stability

Riveters players greet fans after the team’s first-ever match against the Cleveland Force on May 16, 2025 at Highmark Stadium. (Photo: John Sykes/Riveters SC)

If you ask Scott Gibson what his favorite memory of the inaugural Pittsburgh Riveters USL W-League season was last year, you might find yourself surprised.

The Riveters — who play in the “pre-professional” W-League — entered the scene with a splash, winning the Great Forest Division Title. The team made the playoffs, advancing to the Central Conference Playoffs.

Despite falling in the opening round to the Minnesota Aurora, the season was a smashing success. Local products like Tessa Dellarose, Lucia Wells and Piper Coffield were highlights on a college-and-youth heavy roster.

But, Gibson’s favorite memory goes back to the home opener at F.N.B. Stadium (known as Highmark Stadium last year).

“Running out on that field, for the first game, and seeing that crowd? I don’t think the girls weren’t expecting that,” Gibson said to Pittsburgh Soccer Now after training last week. “I don’t think many people were expecting that.”

Now, in the program’s second year, the goal is simple: growth. And that goes for growth on the field and off the field.

“It’s on everyone to continue to push the game forward,” he said. “It’s not just a flash in the pan one year. And I don’t think it will be that. But it’s not just my job; it’s our organization’s job, it’s the player’s job, it’s the supporters base too, that they need to rally and stick behind it, because these players, these girls work extremely hard, and they’re extremely dedicated.

“last year, it was an inaugural year. There was a buzz behind it; it was new, it was fresh. How do we keep taking those steps to make sure that that stability is there for the women’s game in Pittsburgh?”

Talent that graced the pitch last season — like Coffield, Wells, Sabrina Bryan, Bella Vozar and Lilly Bane, to name a few — will help push that growth. So will new players, including the likes of Taylor Green, Irish international Ellen Molloy and El Salvador international Makenna Dominguez.

“We’ve got a lot of players that are coming in, ready to get started,” Gibson said. “Hopefully they’ll settle in. It’s a big thing, right? They’re moving into a new city, a new environment and a new club. So that’s the hardest thing in this league; making sure they settle quickly because it’s a short season.

“We play on Saturday night, so it’s a pretty quick turnaround.”

“New” players set to make debuts

There are the new players on the roster and then there are “new” players that are part of the Riveters team.

Gibson and his coaching staff will utilize three players that were on the team’s roster last year, but missed out on the season due to recovery from injuries. Those players are Lola Abraham from the University of Pittsburgh, Clemson University commit Sierra Dupre and University of Alabama product Fiona Mahan.

In the Riveters’ official preview press release, the club stated that all three players “have been around the Riveters system and seem poised to contribute.”

Abraham suffered an ACL injury in her freshman season at Pitt in 2024, but returned last year with 18 starts, two goals and two assists.

Dupre finished high school early (at Upper St. Clair) to begin playing for Clemson in January, taking on the spring season. Meanwhile, Mahan — who will be a sophomore at Alabama this upcoming fall season — will look to record her first minutes since recovering from an ACL injury.

Earlier in the year, Gibson shared that he was excited for Mahan to return to the pitch. “We are also excited to welcome a healthy Fiona back to the squad, as we know what qualities she brings after working her for years in the Riverhounds Academy,” he said, via a team press release.

Replacing a ‘Star’ player

The question heading into the offseason — and roster-building — was how to replace star midfielder Tessa Dellarose.

That’s not just an adjective to describe the former University of North Carolina national champion: Dellarose is literally a star, featuring for the Chicago Stars of the NWSL. Currently, she is sidelined with a hamstring injury, but has enjoyed a successful start to her rookie campaign with one goal in eight matches, totaling 523 minutes.

“Tessa’s a tough, tough void to fill,” Gibson said to PSN. “I mean, she came through our youth program, she’s played for the Riveters went to North Carolina, and now is in the NWSL, so we’re absolutely delighted for her pathway and her journey. It’s not just a case of just replacing Tessa; it’s a place of building on from what we’ve got last year, how many pieces to replace a player of her caliber. But we’re excited about the roster that we put together.”

The Riveters are returning last year’s leading goal scorer Tanum Nelson, who earned six goals and two assists in 2025. Additionally, Sabrina Bryan brings heavy experience, as well as goals with three last year.

“We think there’s a number of players that are coming in that are new, that are very talented,” Gibson said. “We’ve gone a little bit more experience-based this year. Last year we were extremely young. Very unnaturally. And that showed in the last game against Minnesota where we had 15- and 16-year-olds playing, which is great, again, for those girls in that pathway. But to try and keep the longevity of the season, we’ve tried to go a little bit older.”

Gibson said that the team has picked up mainly upperclassmen and players out of college this season. However, there is some high school ‘flair’ on the roster, including South Fayette standout Mia Deramo — who will be attending Youngstown State University this fall.

But, the roster is much older than last year, Gibson stated.

“Last year, we had Anna Korney, who was 15, and Sabrina [Bryan], who was 26 at the time, and they played together, which is great. It’s just filling in the middle and making sure that that the stability is there throughout. We marry that experience in that with our academy players that came through. We’re never going to lose that identity. That’s why we do it. It’s part of the DNA of what we’re doing.”

All about building and growth

With returning and new players, Gibson is ready to get the season started. Last year, in the club’s first year of existence and participation in the USL W-League, a struggle that the Riveters faced was time.

“Last year, we were unfortunate to not get the win in the first game. But we needed time to gel,” Gibson explained. “So, hopefully, we’ve learned that from week one last year. We didn’t get to gel quickly last year, so we’re hoping to get on quickly and get three points against Buffalo.”

This year, the team has enjoyed a simple luxury in the offseason, as well. Gibson said that, during Christmas break, college players got together and trained together, even doing intra-team scrimmages.

“We didn’t have that last year. But we had that this year,” Gibson said. “That continuity for those players has been good.”

Preseason only started this past week, with players arriving to Pittsburgh. However, training and planning has been long underway. Now, it’s about gelling together and putting out a good product for the league’s Game of the Week against Buffalo on Saturday, at F.N.B. Stadium, at 7 p.m.

“Year one, it’s the inaugural year. Everything’s new, everything’s fresh,” Gibson said. “Maybe there’s not as much pressure as people think — although there was pressure on us last year to do well. There always is at this club. I mean, to play for the organization, that comes with it; you want to be on top. We always want to be the best.

“So going into year two, it’s about evolving and growing, learning from last year’s experiences and adding onto the squad, which we’ve done.”