Season Preview: Defending Champions Steel City FC lean on culture and continuity in loaded Great Forest Division

For the first time in history, the Pittsburgh region boasts two pre-professional men’s soccer teams competing in the same division. But while the newcomers down the river turned heads with a flashy expansion debut over the weekend, the kings of the North remain on their throne, leaning on deep-rooted chemistry to defend what is theirs.

This Wednesday, Steel City FC officially kicks off its 2026 USL League Two campaign at Founders Field.

Coming off an incredible 2025 run where they captured the Great Forest Division title in their very first season in the league, Head Coach Dan Brower’s squad enters 2026 with a massive target on its back. The summer landscape looks vastly different than the squad that pushed the professional Riverhounds SC first team to the absolute limit in a tight 2-1 U.S. Open Cup battle back in March. College assignments, overlapping schedules, and shifting summer availability mean this roster has naturally evolved—but its identity remains firmly intact.

Speaking with Pittsburgh Soccer Now ahead of the opening whistle, Coach Brower acknowledged the fluid nature of the early season.

“We’re certainly in the midst of a team-building process,” Brower said. “Everything is going according to plan so far, but it’s early.”

The Blueprint: The Power of Homegrown Freedom

While Riverhounds 2 made statements on Sunday with a heavily scouted, national-recruit layout, Steel City FC is doubling down on the formula that got them to the top: unshakeable continuity.

Coach Brower is returning a staggering 19 players from last year’s championship squad. Rooted in an inside-out developmental model, the club provides local collegiate standouts a familiar summer haven to stay sharp.

For dynamic University of Pittsburgh midfielder and local product Anders Bordoy, returning to Steel City for a second summer was an effortless decision. Bordoy, who grew up in Steel City’s (previously known as Hotspurs) youth system before spending time with the Riverhounds Development Academy and Memphis, found exactly what his game needed in Cheswick.

“I’d heard good things about Dan as a coach, as a guy,” Bordoy told Pittsburgh Soccer Now.

“I ended up at Steel City and then I’ve been there the past two summers and I haven’t looked back since. We get so much freedom. We get to express ourselves, express our talents, and if you make mistakes, there’s really no hard feelings… We play a nice possession and attacking style, which suits me as well, and so all the guys love it and I love it.”

Bordoy notes that this tactical freedom acts as the perfect springboard for the grueling fall NCAA Division I schedule in the ACC.

“The summer is a great almost like preseason to college soccer. Especially from a confidence level, playing in the summer helps you a lot and allows you to stay sharp, get your touches going. You can work on some more things maybe you wouldn’t try in a competitive season… Mentally and from a confidence standpoint, the summer really prepares you to have a good fall.”

A Tight-Knit Culture Defending the Crown

Steel City’s greatest weapon isn’t just tactical; it’s cultural. While outside professionals fortified the squad’s spring roster during their historic Open Cup run, the core that carries the club through the summer league is built on long-standing friendships.

“The team culture is very good about getting guys to return,” Bordoy explained. “Everyone there makes it entertaining and a great place to be around… Yeah, we have good performances on the field, we play good footy, but at the end of the day, everyone’s a family and it’s a culture almost. Everyone hears how good and fun it is, and I just think people want to keep it rolling.”

They will need that family bond to weather a brutal Great Forest Division gauntlet. The field of contenders has never been deeper, featuring established powerhouses like Akron City FC, FC Buffalo, and a dangerous expansion side in Lorain County Leviathan FC looking to pull off a day-one upset on Wednesday.

Then, of course, there are the neighbors.

Riverhounds 2 sent a pretty clear message through the division on Sunday with a 5-0 hammering of the Cleveland Force, anchored by an Israel Neto hat trick and starts from Bordoy’s own Pitt teammates, Jack Moxom and Niklas Soerensen.

“For me, being from here, expanding the talent pool is huge,” Bordoy said of the Hounds’ entry into USL2. “I think we’ve always had the quality guys to do it, it’s just there’s never been a clear pathway for Pittsburgh kids. Developing a little rivalry is just going to expand and allow people to see two Pittsburgh teams in action competing. It’ll be a great game, I believe, playing against some guys I used to play with and then some of my Pitt friends even.”

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Awakening the Sleeping Giant

After winning consecutive league titles across the NPSL and USL League Two over the past few years, Steel City knows they can no longer sneak up on the opposition. The days of playing the underdog role are over.

“Even coming to USL2 last year, we had a great squad, and I still think we were almost like a sleeping giant last year,” Bordoy reflected. “People knew that we succeeded in NPSL, but it was all like, ‘Oh, they haven’t done it in USL2 yet.’ So I think a lot of people maybe underestimated us. This year, people know we’re capable, people know who we are, and we’re going to have a target on our back. We’re going to have to adjust to that, but I think everyone is ready to make the switch and be ready to grind out results every day.”

The grind begins Wednesday night at Founders Field, setting the runway for an absolute blockbuster.

Exactly one week later, on May 27, Steel City will square off against Hounds 2 in the first-ever men’s pre-professional Pittsburgh Derby.

But before the local fireworks ignite, Brower’s men must establish the standard at home and remind the division exactly why the trophy lives in Cheswick.

Look for a post-match recap and reaction following Wednesday night’s opening whistle on Pittsburgh Soccer Now.

Match Details

• Matchup: Steel City FC vs. Lorain County Leviathan FC

• Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2026

• Kickoff: 6:00 PM ET

• Venue: Founders Field (Cheswick, PA)