Steel City FC Women hosted the Cleveland Force for a crucial Tuesday night divisional clash at Founders Field, grinding out a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
The crucial three points move Steel City to a balanced .500 record at 3W-3L-0D on the summer.
With the win, the club leaps into third place in the Great Forest Division with nine points, while the Cleveland Force fall to fourth place with six points.
How It Happened
1st Half
Steel City opened the match in an aggressive high press, effectively pinning Cleveland deep inside their own half for the opening stretch. The visitors struggled to adapt to Steel City’s crisp ball movement and heavy overloads. Returning standout Maya Matesa provided frequent, intelligent pressure on the frontline, forcing Cleveland’s backline into uncomfortable situations and turning the ball over in vulnerable areas.
The sustained tactical pressure paid off midway through the first half. After driving multiple sequences toward the edge of the Cleveland penalty box, the hosts finally broke the deadlock. Matesa generated the opportunity, cutting a precise lateral pass across the face of the six-yard box. Former North Allegheny star and current Maryland commit Abigail Stager intelligently wrestled the ball away from a tracking defender, collecting the pass and calmly cashing in on the close-range finish.
Steel City nearly doubled their advantage shortly before the intermission. Stager found herself on the dynamic end of a quick breakaway sequence, latching onto a well-weighted pass from Sam Miller before feeding the ball back into the center of the box. Margherita Memoli was on the receiving end and unleashed a powerful first-time strike, but a tracking Cleveland defender managed to block the effort.
While Pittsburgh dictated the overwhelming run of play, Cleveland rallied slightly toward the end of the half to settle the rhythm.
2nd Half
The visitors emerged from the locker room with renewed urgency after intermission, shifting the possession into a much more competitive, back-and-forth midfield battle.
Though the match turned more even-keeled, Steel City still carved out a handful of quality opportunities to cushion their lead—including a dangerous look from Sam Miller that just missed the frame. Both managers looked to their benches early in the half, shifting personnel to manage the physical demands of the mid-week contest.
Despite a highly physical edge to the tackle from both sides, refereeing staff kept a clean sheet of their own, as no yellow cards were doled out over the ninety minutes. Steel City’s midfield core excelled at winning second balls and cleanly wresting possession away from Cleveland’s counter-attacking threats.
With the offense unable to find a second insurance goal, the pressure fell squarely on the defensive unit in the dying moments of regulation.
Goalkeeper Payton O’Malley, returning to the lineup, stood tall to anchor the clean sheet.
As Cleveland pushed numbers forward in a desperate search for an equalizer, O’Malley stood resolute, making crucial back-to-back saves in the final minutes to secure the three points.
“We have really strong strikers, so when I’m facing constant pressure (from them) in practice, they’re just preparing me for any shots that I do face,” O’Malley said of her late-game heroics.
Despite earning the vital 1-0 result, Pittsburgh had numerous scoring sequences blocked or slide just wide of the post, leaving the squad with the distinct feeling that they left a larger scoreline on the table.
“That has been the story of the season so far,” head coach Tom Ovenden said.
“We’ve done enough box to box to get the ball into certain positions, we just haven’t had the calmness to make that final play.”
Next Up
The Steel City FC Women will look to parlay this momentum into a tough road test as they travel north to face Flower City 1872 on Saturday, June 13th. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
First Half key moments:
11′ – Shot on goal by Maya Matesa, blocked
13′ – Free kick for Steel City, too high
15′ – Free kick for Cleveland, offsides and blocked
18′ – Shot by Cleveland, high and over
20′ – Strong shot inside the box for Steel City, saved right at the goal line
24′ – GOAL scored by Abigail Stager for Steel City
27′ – Corner kick for Steel City
29′ – Scoring chance for Steel City, goes past the right post
31′ – Free kick for Steel City, punched away by the keeper
34′ – Abby had a great chance off a pass from Sam Miller and crossed it into the box, Margherita Memoli’s shot is blocked
43′ – Shot by Cleveland, wide left
Second Half key moments:
53′ – Shot by Matesa, saved by the keeper
56′ – Substitutions: Bri Ross comes in for Sydney Chontos
57′ – Strong chance for Steel City, ball knocked backward on a header
61′ – Breakaway chance by Cleveland, shot into the box laterally and saved by O’Malley
62′ – Shot by Miller, two-handed save
63′ – Substitution: Memoli and Salopek check out, Bella Gianfrancesco and Simone Sharpless come in
72′ – Referee makes controversial offsides call, returning possession to Cleveland
79′ – Scoring chance for Cleveland on a breakaway, saved by O’Malley
83′ – Bri Ross crosses one into the box, Soph Hooper tries the shot but it is blocked
88′ – Cleveland corner kick, O’Malley saves it
89′ – O’Malley makes another save on a strong shot down the middle
Match info:
–Steel City kits: blue with yellow lettering
–Cleveland kits: white with blue shorts and lettering
–Stoppage time added: one minute after first half, two minutes after second half
–Discipline: no yellow cards
Starting lineups:
Steel City: Payton O’Malley, Kelsey Salopek, Marissa Salisbury, Emily Graeca, Coco Dorfman, Margherita Memoli, Abigail Stager, Jayden Sharpless, Maya Matesa, Sam Miller, Sydney Chontos
Cleveland Force:
Abigail Kudla, Meredith Werner, Lauryn Contini, Isabella Antonio, Sarah Van Euwen, Lilly Boebel, Addison Russell, Julia Rocky, Chloe Hughes, Alyssa Gimmel, Brynn Severance
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