USL League Two – Great Forest Division
FINAL: Steel City FC 0, Lorain County Leviathan FC 0
Local fans converged at Founders Field on Wednesday evening to watch Steel City FC take on one of USL League Two’s newest expansion members, Lorain County Leviathan, in a defensive match that ultimately ended in a 0-0 scoreless draw.
The reigning Great Forest Division champions had hoped to start their title defense strong with a dominant win at home, but the Leviathan proved to be a remarkably stingy opponent in their franchise debut.
“I think we showed a lot of quality,” team captain Ashwin Menon said.
“We showed what Steel City is about, and that is important…I think everybody saw that we just needed to put the ball away…something to work on, something to build towards.”
Steel City wore their dark blue kits, while Lorain County wore light blue kits with matching socks and yellow shorts.
The field is also home of the Pittsburgh Harlequins rugby team, but also carries a storied soccer history, features a thick grass surface; this created some odd bounces throughout the game that impacted passing and ball movement for both teams.
Steel City wore their traditional dark blue kits, while Lorain County took the pitch in light blue tops with matching socks and yellow shorts. Founders Field, which also serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Harlequins rugby club and carries a storied local soccer history, features a thick natural grass surface. The grass setup created some odd bounces throughout the evening that impacted fluid passing and ball movement for both teams.
There was heavy back-and-forth action early on, but Steel City successfully established residency in the attacking half for most of the first half. Winger Jaxon Ervin (West Allegheny / Duquesne) repeatedly threatened down the right flank, though he was unable to fully unlock the final layer of the Leviathan defense.
Lorain County grew more aggressive toward the end of the opening 45 minutes. A flurry of intense back-and-forth sequences unfolded in the shadow of the Lorain County net as halftime approached, with chippy play breaking out on both sides. Despite the late pressure, the first half ended deadlocked at 0-0.
The second half began with a similar back-and-forth rhythm, but neither team was able to find the clinical final touch to break the game open. Lorain County found much more success moving the ball and threatening Steel City up and down the pitch than they did in the opening half.
Significant contributors driving the attack for Steel City were Jack Lane, who generated a handful of quality chances, as well as Ervin, who continued to find success driving the ball deep into the opponent’s territory. When the hosts did get shots past the Leviathan keeper, the Lorain County backline repeatedly came to the rescue to secure the clean sheet and escape Cheswick with a road point.
Head Coach Dan Brower felt his squad did enough to earn a result, but credited the expansion side’s defensive resilience in the box.
“I thought we had the run of the play, I thought we created more chances than our opponent but they defended really well in their box,” head coach Dan Brower said. “And when we got the ball behind their goalkeeper, they came up with some amazing saves off the line. I think they took two or three off the line.”
Brower feels that the team will gel together more with time.
“It’s really early days. We’re happy with many elements of the game, but definitely some things to clean up,” Brower added.
“Really proud of some efforts out there today.”
Up Next:
Steel City FC will prepare for an absolute blockbuster next week as they travel to Highmark Stadium on Wednesday, May 27, to face cross-town expansion rivals Riverhounds 2 in the first-ever pre-professional Pittsburgh Derby. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
Match Highlights
First Half:
10′ – Shot by Steel City inside the box, diving two-handed save by the goalie
12′ – Corner kick for Steel City; punched away by the goalie, SC gets another chance but the penalty is called, Lorain gets possession
17′ – Throw-in for Lorain, possession quickly shifts to SC
23′ – Lorain with a scoring chance, but is offside
24′ – Irvin (Steel City) hacked down, hobbled briefly with apparent lower leg injury; recovered before long of his own power
26′ – 28 for Steel City has a great chance inside the box, does not get aggressive with it
27′ – Corner for Lorain, headered out of play by Steel City to set up another corner; kicked out of the box by SC
35′ – Prex with a good chance; saved by Lorain goalie McLaughlin
43′ – Corner by Lorain, taken by Steel City
45′ – Late foul by Steel City
Second Half:
50′ – Throw in by Steel City
52′ – Strong chance by Steel City, blocked
55′ – Steel City’s Ashwin Menon shown yellow card for hit on McLaughlin
58′ – 1-on-1 chance for Steel City, offside
62′ – Corner kick by Lorain, defended
63′ – Subs for Steel City
64′ – Lorain has a breakaway, defended on a chasedown by Steel City
65′ – Jake Lane with a great chance, defended by Lorain
70′ – Steel City with a chance on the left side, kicked away by Lorain
75′ – Big shot by Jack Lane hits off the left post
Discipline Summary
-
[22′] – [Lorain] – [Jonke] (Yellow Card)
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[55′] – [Steel City] – [Ashwin Menon] (Yellow Card)
Lineups
Steel City FC Starting XI: Josh Lane (GK); Zander Plizga; Ashwin Menon; Luke Discus; Sean Regan; Mathieu Brick; Jaxon Ervin; Cam Cerrito; Nathan Prex; Ryan Kopay; Nick Niebauer
Subs Used: Cormac Apostolides, Sava Catlett, Johann Nissen-Lie
Lorain County Starting XI: McLaughlin (GK); Nagy; Maiolo; Hijaz Handzel; Odorcic; Valentic; Trickett; Jonke; Janssen; Sheehan
Subs Used: Cheetham
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