USL League Two – Great Forest Division – Pittsburgh Derby
FINAL: Steel City FC 2, Riverhounds Two 0
Box Score: USL League Two Match Center
Match Summary
Steel City FC flexed its veteran muscle and clinical transition play to claim a historic piece of local soccer lore, defeating Riverhounds Two, 2-0, on Wednesday night at Highmark Stadium. In the first-ever USL League Two version of the Pittsburgh Derby, the defending Great Forest Division champions used a devastating three-minute blitz early in the second half to seize control of the match.
The victory hands Riverhounds Two (2-1-0) their first defeat of the young season, while Steel City FC (1-0-1) secures a massive three points to kickstart their title defense and state their claim as the region’s top pre-professional squad.
The difference-maker on the night was Steel City winger Jaxon Ervin, who found the back of the net twice in rapid succession to completely break open a scoreless tactical battle.
“Guys were maybe questioning Steel City, their way, our way—how we approach the game and how we build a team,” Steel City Head Coach Dan Brower said post-match.
“But I think we showed today that we can build a good team, a quality team that people are proud of and represents the city well. We had 12 of 20 from Pittsburgh that grew up in Pittsburgh, and we had another four that go to college around here… This is a Pittsburgh team. I think we represented the city very well tonight.”
The undisputed hero on the pitch was Ervin on the wing, who found the back of the net twice in rapid succession to completely break open a scoreless tactical battle.
“To put on for our city and to win definitely means a lot for us,” Ervin echoed.
While Ervin provided the definitive clinical edge, the visitors were anchored by a spectacular performance from Robert Morris University goalkeeper Josh Lane, who racked up a series of diving saves to preserve the clean sheet.
Despite controlling long stretches of possession and throwing a wave of talented attackers onto the pitch, the young Hounds couldn’t crack a disciplined Steel City defensive block, learning a tough lesson in Derby intensity on their home turf.
On the other side of the pitch, Riverhounds Two goalkeeper Jack Moxom acknowledged that the hosts let their own high standards slip against a quality opponent.
“We knew coming in that they were going to be a good team,” Moxom noted.
“We just didn’t live up to our standard, and the standard that this group has set has been really high.”
How It Happened
First Half
The opening 45 minutes of the highly anticipated USL League Two Pittsburgh Derby between Steel City FC and Riverhounds Two wrapped up in a tactical, scoreless stalemate at Highmark Stadium.
The defending Great Forest Division champions, Steel City FC, jumped out on the front foot early, leaning heavily on their experienced core.
Target man Nathan Prex proved to be a handful for the young Hounds backline, racking up three quick shots in the opening twenty minutes, while Cam Territo missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock, sending a free header wide at the far post. Despite the early pressure, the visitors couldn’t find the clinical edge to punish the hosts, leaving them frustrated to come up empty on their best looks.
As the half progressed, Riverhounds Two settled into the match and began asserting control over longer stretches of possession. Driven by the high-pressing energy of USL Academy contract players Aldi Flowers-Gamboa and Warren Agostoni—both earning valuable ffitness minutes in their debuts with the League Two squad—the Hounds successfully choked out Steel City’s buildup play.
The tactical shift pushed the majority of the action into the midfield and Steel City’s defensive third, allowing the Hounds to rack up a series of corner kicks. However, despite earning five set-piece opportunities by the 36th minute, the young Hounds struggled to turn their territorial dominance into dangerous shots on target, frequently meeting a resolute Steel City defensive shape in transition.
The tension coming out this new local rivalry boiled over just before the halftime whistle.
In stoppage time, Hounds Two midfielder Adrian Biaggi picked up the game’s first booking after a heavy, late challenge that left the official reaching for his pocket, with some in attendance wondering if it warranted a red.
With the score locked at 0-0, the second half looks to be a chess match of endurance and depth.
While the Hounds proved they could dictate the tempo on the ball, Steel City’s veteran squad was eager to cash in on the counter-attack, forcing both coaching staffs to carefully play their cards with their bench options in the final 45 minutes.
Second Half
While the match was deadlocked at the half, Moxom observed that the game eventually played right into Steel City’s hands as tactical discipline broke down. “I think it was a very transitional game, which I think is exactly what they wanted it to be,” Moxom explained, noting that the Hounds struggled to establish possession and find wide areas.
The second half opened at a frantic pace, with both sides trading golden opportunities to break the deadlock right out of the locker room.
In the 50th minute, Steel City’s Jake Lane found himself with a massive chance as he burst into the left side of the penalty area following a clever ball from Ryan Kopay, but his shot sailed too high.
Just three minutes later, Riverhounds Two answered with their most dangerous sequence of the night when Caleb Borneo unleashed a blistering strike, forcing Josh Lane into his first major action of the evening—a brilliant, full-extension diving save to deny the hosts.
Ervin had nothing but praise for his keeper’s performance, adding, “Josh played on his head today. Wow. There was a wall in his goal… He was player of the match for me to be honest.”
That save proved to be the turning point, as Steel City immediately weaponized the momentum. In the 55th minute, Jake Lane redeemed his earlier miss by whipping a terrific, pinpoint cross from the far left side all the way to the back post. Ervin timed his run perfectly, meeting the ball with a powerful header to shatter the stalemate and put the visitors up 1-0.
Before the Hounds could even catch their breath, Steel City struck again. In the 57th minute, an emphatic interception at midfield from Mathieu Brick sparked a lightning-fast counter-attack.
The ball was fed quickly to target man Nathan Prex, who showed elite vision by sliding a slide-rule pass between two backtracking Hounds defenders. Ervin caught the transition ball in full stride, racing into the box and executing a clinical finish past a rushing Moxom to double the lead.
That tactical shift cited by Moxom — the pace changing and becoming transitional game led directly to Ervin’s rapid-fire brace, as the Hounds’ backline was caught flat-footed.
“First one, good ball over the top, good finish,” Moxom recalled of the breakthrough.
“And the second one, he kind of gets a lucky slip through, and you know, it’s just the game, it happens.”
Ervin didn’t think it was luck — raving about the ball that Prex threaded between the Hounds Two defenders.
“The center back even slid on it and still didn’t get to it,” Ervin said of Prex’s pinpoint assist.
“Prexie played a great ball and I was in on goal and I was able to slot one home again and go to the corner and celebrate with the boys again.”
Down but not out, the Hounds fought back furiously to find a lifeline.
In the 60th minute, an inswinging set-piece from Neto scooted dangerously through a crowded box, forcing Josh Lane to aggressively punch the ball away from oncoming attackers. The Hounds’ pressure intensified around the 72nd minute, creating a pair of grand chances off the feet of Borneo and substitute Bennett Painter. Once again, however, Lane was equal to the task, pulling off consecutive spectacular diving saves to completely slam the door on the Hounds’ comeback hopes.
As the match entered its final stretch, both coaching staffs emptied their benches, bringing on waves of substitutes.
The Hounds injected fresh attacking life with the additions of Painter, Nicholas Legendre, Ashton Miles, Maximilian Haberman, Michael Lee, and J.J. Vozar. Meanwhile, Steel City successfully managed the game’s tempo by blooding Nick Greaca, Johan Nissen-Lie, John Krug, Nicholas Niebauer, Cormac Apostolides, and John Bence to lock things down defensively.
Steel City nearly added a third in the 83rd minute when an Apostolides header off a corner went just over the crossbar. In the 90th minute, Michael Lee sent one final, blistering cross into the box from the left wing, but it flashed across the face of goal with no Hounds jersey there to connect—a sequence that perfectly encapsulated a frustrating, empty-handed evening for the hosts despite six minutes of stoppage time.
Despite the bitter result, the Pitt shot-stopper remains incredibly optimistic about the foundation being laid with the Hounds Two squad this summer.
“We have a great group of guys. We train really hard,” Moxom said.
Brower, who has led Steel City to three straight Division titles, the first two while they were still in NPSL and last year’s in the club’s debut season in USL League Two, acknowledges that there’s a lot of season left.
“It’s about sustained performance, culture, where, you know, winning, winning is not just three points,” Brower explained.
“You can make them sure that we have winning actions and winning mindset, and this is what we’re driving home to the guys right now, and we have, the leadership to do that.”
Match Notes
- This was the first-ever all-Pittsburgh clash between two clubs from the Greater Pittsburgh region in USL League Two or its predecessor (PDL)
- Duquesne Men’s Head Coach Chase Brooks was in attendance. He had a chance to see a number of his players in action.
- Local Pittsburgh Ties Player Tracker (who played in this match):
- Steel City:
- Nathan Prex (Seneca Valley)
- Jaxon Ervin (West Allegheny / Duquesne)
- Cam Territo (Duquesne)
- Josh Lane (Robert Morris)
- Luke Fiscus (Hampton / Duquesne)
- Ryan Kopay (Moon / FDU & Akron)
- Alexzander Plizga (Hampton / Mt. Union)
- Sean Regan (Fox Chapel)
- Nathan Prex (Seneca Valley / Lebanon College)
- Nick Graeca (Dubois / John Carroll)
- John Krug (Chartiers Valley / Robert Morris)
- Nicholas Niebauer (Butler)
- Mathieu Brick (Duquesne)
- Riverhounds Two:
- Aldair Flowers-Gamboa (Plum) *
- Warren Agostoni (Latrobe) *
- Jack Moxom (Pitt)
- Niklas Soerensen (Pitt)
- JJ Vozar (Riverhounds Development Academy / Pittsburgh native)
- Steel City:
*Riverhounds SC First Team USL Academy Contract player
Lineups & Match Information
Hounds 2 Starting Lineup included three players who have been with the First Team (Warren Agostoni, Aldi Flower-Gamboa & Israel Neto)
Steel City FC Starting XI:
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GK: Joshua Lane (41)
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D: Mathieu Brick (17)
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D: Ashwin Menon (24)
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D: Alexzander Plizga (28)
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D: Cam Territo (48)
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M: Luke Fiscus (6)
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M: Ryan Kopay (23)
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M: Sean Regan (39)
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F: Jaxon Ervin (7)
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F: Nathan Prex (9)
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F: Jake Lane (14)
Subs
Start of 2nd half:
- Steel City — John Catlett (for Sean Regan)
- RH2 – Brady McGlone (for Amari Everage)
As the match entered its final stretch, both coaching staffs emptied their benches, bringing on waves of substitutes.
The Hounds injected fresh attacking life with the additions of:
- Painter, Nicholas Legendre, Ashton Miles, Maximilian Haberman, Michael Lee, and J.J. Vozar.
Steel City successfully managed the game’s tempo by blooding:
- Nick Greaca, Johan Nissen-Lie, John Krug, Nicholas Niebauer, Cormac Apostolides, and John Bence to lock things down defensively.
Scoring Summary:
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SCFC: Jaxon Ervin 55’ (Jake Lane)
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SCFC: Jaxon Ervin 57’ (Nathan Prex)
Discipline Summary:
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RH2: Adrian Biaggi (Yellow Card) 45’+
Post Match Interviews (Jaxon Ervin and Jack Moxom)
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