Falcon Footprint: Bowling Green contingent drives both sides of the Pittsburgh’s W League Derby

While Syam is a Pittsburgh native who starred locally (Avonworth High School / Riverhounds Development Academy), the others have traveled far to get here. Butera and Lamparty hail from Ohio, Grundler from Nashville, and Green from the Chicagoland area.

“Being together was huge for us,” Lamparty said. “[Minah] played here in previous seasons, so I think she was very excited that she could have some people from school also come play with her.”

There was also plenty of influence from the Falcons’ coaching staff.

“Our coach [Chris Fox, head coach at BGSU] recommended that we try something different, and that it would be a good atmosphere,” Butera said.

Grundler concurred.

“Chris has a good relationship with Scott [Gibson, Riveters Sporting Director]… transferring in, it has helped a lot building connections with the girls on the team,” Grundler said.

These five players have enjoyed a massive taste of success since arriving in Western Pennsylvania this summer. The Riveters are currently undefeated at 7W-1D-0L and have clinched the Great Forest Division title for the second consecutive year. The team has recorded six clean sheets and boasts a remarkable 24-4 goal differential. For the BGSU crew, spending extra time together this summer has accelerated their on-field connection.

“Taylor and I don’t live together [at school],” Lamparty said. “We’re together all the time now… I feel like that leads to on-the-field chemistry even more.”

Green agrees. She and Lamparty will both be seniors this season and are slated to anchor the Falcons’ back line as the starting center-back pairing.

“Coming into a new environment is always difficult. Being all together and helping each other through those hard times brings us even closer and builds us up more,” Green said.

Lamparty has already seen the positive developmental effects of pulling on the Riveters jersey.

“Everyone is very competitive, so that is also helping us,” Lamparty said. “Just being uncomfortable… when things are uncomfortable, you are forced to get out of your comfort zone and grow in different ways.”

With Green and Lamparty serving as fixtures on the back line, Grundler has appreciated the opportunity to get extra summer reps with her collegiate defenders.

“Gabby and Taylor are center-backs… we’re a ‘build from the back’ team at BG, so we all need to be on the same page and have a really good connection,” Grundler said.

A unique aspect of the USL W League experience is that collegiate players get real, in-game reps against top-tier athletes from across the country. Bowling Green is a Division I program in the MAC, but much of the summer competition — and many of their Riveters teammates — feature for “Power Four” schools in the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, and Big 12.

“Playing against other girls from Power Four schools is obviously helpful,” Syam said. “We obviously aren’t a Power Four school at BG, but playing against that gives us more experience, in a way.”

“I think just staying sharp with each other… you don’t forget those little things,” Green added.

“Especially us five working together, doing extra together, we’re all just very bought in and we know what we have ahead of us too,” Lamparty said.

Of course, the BGSU contingent has seamlessly integrated into the larger roster, forming strong bonds with teammates up and down the squad.

“We’ve all become good friends; even though it’s been such a short time, we all trust each other a lot,” Grundler said. “Just coming here for the summer and being able to get game minutes… and having my teammates from school around me while doing it has helped my confidence on the field.”

Syam had early conversations with her college teammates about the Riveters organization and found they were on board straight away.

“I just told them how it really is, what the environment is,” Syam said. “I didn’t need to hype it up that much. It’s a great team and the culture speaks for itself.”

The Riveters’ regular season ends on June 27, with the W League playoffs starting shortly after. The BGSU collegiate season looms closely behind, kicking off with an exhibition match against Purdue on August 5. With pre-season imminent, these grueling summer games have played a major role in keeping the players sharp.

“The way that this league is scheduled and set up, I think it really replicates the NCAA Tournament and the MAC Tournament,” Butera noted. “Back-to-back games against really good opponents that all play differently and all have different strengths and weaknesses will really help us.”

Lamparty feels confident about the group’s collective focus heading back to school.

“There’s something unsaid with how we are as a team,” Lamparty said. “We’re just very together and bought in. Even coming here—I wouldn’t have thought I would be in Pittsburgh either, but it just goes to show we want this, and we’re going to do anything we have to do.”

The five Riveters are not the only BG Falcons in town this summer. Payton O’Malley, the starting goalkeeper for the Falcons last fall, is currently in her third season playing for cross-town rivals Steel City FC. O’Malley is a local product (Chartiers Valley High School / Century United) who values the freedom the summer league offers.

“You get to try different things that maybe you wouldn’t try in a college atmosphere, or work on things that you want to polish when you head back to school,” O’Malley said.

“I think you just get to expand your game a little bit.”

That expansion included a high-profile individual milestone at the end of May, when O’Malley traveled to Cary, North Carolina, to compete in TST—the star-studded, million-dollar 7v7 world championship tournament. Selected to anchor the net for Ultrain FC, a global soccer app squad that reached the national semifinals last year, O’Malley faced off against lethal attacking players in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.

Though it meant missing Steel City’s first two regular-season matches, including the first Derby clash this season against her college teammates, the unique reps against elite talent provided the perfect springboard for her return to the W League.

“Facing that level of competition at TST naturally sharpens your game preparation,” O’Malley noted.

“It forces you out of your comfort zone, which is exactly what you want as a goalkeeper trying to elevate your level before heading back to campus.”

Similar to her BGSU teammates across town, O’Malley is intensely focused on chasing a MAC title in the autumn.

“We want to win the regular season, we want to win the tournament,” O’Malley said. “We have big goals, we know that they are big goals, but we don’t think that they are out of reach by any means.”

When they report back to campus in August, they’ll bring a massive wealth of competitive match minutes with them.

“I’ve been finding myself making more runs into the box and getting in that attacking half more,” Syam said of her personal tactical growth.

Green has found a distinct mental edge by adapting to a new environment.

“Coming here and it being a bit different… knowing that we can navigate those little things makes it easy in the big moments and big games to come together and play through,” Green said.

For Lamparty, it always circles back to the central theme holding the group together.

“It all comes back to being together and being there for each other,” Lamparty said.

The Riveters and Steel City FC are nearly finished with their summer campaigns, and the regular season will culminate in a final local clash against one another at FNB Stadium on Saturday, June 27.  In the first match between the two sides, Riveters defeated Steel City FC, 2-0, before an overflow crowd at Founders Field.  

For O’Malley, facing off against her daily collegiate teammates adds an extra layer of excitement to the derby match.

“We go against each other in practice all the time, especially in the spring season,” O’Malley smiled.

“I think all of us kind of thrive on that competition… but at the end of the day, all of us are very close.”