Welcome to a packed edition of the Pulse of Pittsburgh Soccer. We’ve officially survived “Derby Week,” and if anyone thought the local soccer wars would quiet down after the final whistles, the social media banter proved otherwise.
From academy products stealing the headlines to a perfect six-point week and massive international tournament previews, there is a ton to unpack. And through the entire week — as always — we were there to provide first-hand coverage, reporting and perspectives.
Let’s dive in!
⚽ The Weekly Rundown: Scores & Updates
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Steel City FC (Men): A flawless six-point week for the defending Great Forest Division champions. They kicked it off with a historic 2-0 shutout win over Riverhounds Two in the first-ever USL2 Pittsburgh Derby, and backed it up on short rest Saturday with a gritty 1-0 victory over Akron City FC at Founders Field.
- Riverhounds Two: Suffered their first blemish of the USL2 season in Wednesday’s 2-0 Derby loss at F.N.B. Stadium, but bounced back with a wild, 4-3 road win at Cleveland. This young side has been thrown together pretty quickly and last week included appearances from USL Academy Contract players Warren Agostoni and Aldi Flowers-Gamboa showed plenty of tactical promise and high-tempo possession.
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Pittsburgh Riveters SC: Continued their unbeaten charge in the USL W League. They went into the grass at Founders Field and clashed with rivals Steel City FC, utilizing late heroics to keep their momentum rolling.
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Steel City FC (Women): Battled fiercely in a highly anticipated Route 28 Derby showdown at home against the Riveters, showcasing a deeply rooted, competitive roster filled with local club standouts. A quick turnraround over the weekend, were entangled in a back-and-forth 3-2 loss in Cleveland Sunday evening. The women started the game with intensity, striking twice in the early minutes to take an immediate two-goal lead. Unfortunately, they could not hold on against a Cleveland Force team that has not lost at home in nearly two seasons. The Force applied a lot of late-game pressure, were awarded a penalty, and then scored two outstanding goals in the final five minutes of the match to secure yet another home victory. Ruby Morgan (Eastern Kentucky ’28) had a great performance despite the loss, finishing with 10 saves, including a few difficult ones early in the match to keep Steel City ahead. The three goals conceded were simply quality from Cleveland, with some near-unsavable shots. One long-range top corner snipe, a bullet from 8 yards out that went top corner, and the conversion of a second-half penalty that just beat Morgan’s outstretched arm.
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Beadling SC (WPSL): Western Pennsylvania’s premier club continues to test its top-tier talent in the WPSL landscape, keeping the region’s elite collegiate and pre-professional women sharp during the summer grind. Through two matches in WPSL, they have lost road matches to International SC (3-0) and Erie (1-0).
🥊 The Social Media Soccer Wars & Bragging Rights
Derby week came and went, and the local bragging rights wars only intensified. The winners were openly boasting and throwing shade across social media timelines, and honestly? It’s fantastic banter for the local scene.
Steel City FC fans were quickly circulating images framing their 2-0 win over Hounds Two as a definitive local knockout.
Meanwhile, the Riveters and the Steel Army were bragging about dominating the local series—which to their credit—they have earned the right to do. The Riveters have now won all three head-to-head matches against Steel City since they kicked off their inaugural campaign last year.
🐦 Riveters SC on the Local Series Dominance
🐦 Steel Army Throwing Support Behind the Riveters
https://twitter.com/SteelArmy/status/2060151889891594453?s=20
An overflow crowd at Founders Field certainly added to a highly festive atmosphere on Wednesday evening. It brought together a wonderfully diverse crowd, with the Steel Army injecting authentic supporter culture flavor into what has traditionally been a heavily family-oriented environment nestled in the woods of the Allegheny Valley in Indiana Township.
🎓 Homegrown & Academy Brilliance Steals the Show
The most exciting takeaway from the rivalries is that when the pressure amplified, youth academy talents on both sides stepped up to produce.
On the W League side, Anna Korney did it again. For the second consecutive year in the Derby, the 16-year-old academy standout came off the bench for the Riveters at Founders Field to score a crucial goal against Steel City.
On the men’s side, depth and youth ruled the weekend. On Saturday, it was Butler High School and Steel City Academy product Nick Niebauer coming off the bench to strike the late 82nd-minute winner against Akron City.
And of course, the undisputed hero of Wednesday’s historic USL2 Derby was former West Allegheny standout and current Duquesne star Jaxon Ervin, who bagged a devastating three-minute brace to down Hounds 2. The kids are more than alright.
🧩 The Identity Rift: Developing Elite Talent
The mutual respect between the clubs is clearly evident as both coaching staffs spoke highly about how tough their respective local opponents were on the pitch. However, there is a fascinating underlying tension regarding how these organizations view their own identities—especially when it comes to player development:
The Riveters boasted it’s outstanding current Pittsburgh-area products (nine) on their active roster.
🐦 Riveters SC on Their Elite Pro Pipeline Blueprint
https://twitter.com/RivetersSC/status/2060434210611999137?s=20
Steel City FC counters with a deeper, well-documented homegrown core of players on both the men’s and women’s sides.
While that homegrown talent appears to be somewhat split on the women’s side, the men’s squad featured a heavily Pittsburgh-centric side in their Derby match. The Steel City men’s head coach Dan Brower cited that 12 of the 20 players on the active roster for the Derby match were homegrown products, while four more currently feature for local Pittsburgh-area collegiate programs.
To combat this, Riverhounds Two added first-team academy contract standouts Warren Agostoni and Aldi Flowers-Gamboa ahead of the Steel City clash. Both have been training directly with the senior professional squad all season.
The truth? It lies somewhere right in the middle. Both models are absolutely thriving in our backyard. There are a multitude of players on these rosters who have trained or played in their youth careers with the opposing academy, or sharpened their teeth at Beadling SC, Century, or elsewhere across western PA. Regardless of the crest, it’s a massive win for the Pittsburgh soccer market as clubs angle for a competitive edge and the local standard continues to rise.
Even better news for fans? There are massive Derby rematches locked onto the June slate. The men renew their battle at Founders Field next week, while the ladies will officially conclude their respective regular-season campaigns with an epic showdown at Highmark Stadium on June 27.
🇺🇸 Sounding Off: 2 Weeks Until the World Cup!
We are officially less than two weeks away from the biggest sporting event on the planet! To kick off our comprehensive coverage, we welcomed veteran journalist Mike DeCourcy onto the Sounding Off on Soccer podcast.
Mike has covered the USMNT and USWNT for decades and brought incredible perspective to the show.
He will be on the ground in Los Angeles for the USMNT’s highly anticipated World Cup opening match against Paraguay. We’ll be checking in with Mike throughout the tournament for exclusive columns and updates, so stay tuned. Plus, look for some more fun content on the World Cup coming soon!
🦺 Hounds Takeaways: A Strange Schedule & A Chance to Tinker
Switching gears to the senior pro side, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds put together an impressive win on Saturday.
However, as noted in my latest takeaways piece, the Hounds are dealing with a bizarre, choppy during the World Cup in the U.S. year type league schedule as they now turn back to USL Cup competition after playing one league match.
Does this strange gap in the schedule help or hurt?
On one hand, it gives Head Coach Rob Vincent a unique window to tinker with lineups, manage heavy veteran minutes, and give valuable game time to depth guys. On the other hand, they need to keep their edge sharp as they look to get over the hump against a Charleston Battery side they have notoriously struggled against in recent seasons.
🚗 On the Road & At Home: The 2-Week Master Schedule
Keep this bookmarked! Outside of a massive Steel City Saturday doubleheader at Founders Field on June 6 and a mid-week Derby rematch on June 10, our local squads are heavily racking up the highway miles over the next fortnight. Plus, we’ve got the USMNT pre-World Cup friendlies locked in as the countdown officially hits the single digits.
Here is the master broadcast and attendance schedule for the next two weeks:
| Date | Matchup | Competition / Venue | Time (EST) |
| Wed June 3 | Riveters (W) vs. Cleveland
Hounds 2 vs Buffalo |
USL W League
USL League Two |
7:00 PM
6:00 PM |
| Thu June 4 | Steel City (W) vs. Erie | USL W League | 6:00 PM |
| Sat June 6 | USMNT vs. Germany | International Friendly (Chicago, IL) | 2:30 PM |
| Steel City (M) vs. Buffalo | USL League Two (Founders Field) | 3:00 PM | |
| Riveters (W) vs. Flower City Hounds 2 (M) vs Lorain County |
USL W League (Rochester, NY)
USL League Two (OH) |
3:00 PM
7:00 PM |
|
| Beadling SC (W) vs. Niagara 1812 | WPSL (Away – NY) | 4:00 PM | |
| Steel City (W) vs. Buffalo | USL W League (Founders Field) | 6:00 PM | |
| Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Charleston Battery | USL Championship (Patriot’s Point) | 7:00 PM | |
| Sun June 7 | Beadling SC (W) vs. Rochester NY | WPSL (Away – NY) | 1:00 PM |
| Tue June 9 | Steel City (W) vs. Cleveland | USL W League (Founders Field) | 6:00 PM |
| Wed June 10 | Steel City (M) vs. Riverhounds Two | USL2 Pittsburgh Derby (Founders Field) | 6:00 PM |
| Beadling SC (W) at Erie | WPSL (Erie, PA) | 7:00 PM | |
| Fri June 12 | Riveters (W) vs. Erie | USL W League (F.N.B. Stadium) | 7:00 PM |
| USMNT vs. Paraguay | World Cup Group Stage (Los Angeles, CA) | 9:00 PM | |
| Sat June 13 | Steel City (M) vs. Erie | USL League Two (Founders Field) | 3:00 PM |
| Steel City (W) vs. Flower City | USL W League (Rochester, NY) | 6:00 PM | |
| Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. Indy Eleven | USL Championship (F.N.B. Stadium) | 7:00 PM |
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