Playoff bound
Second-half rally leads Riveters to division title, postseason
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Riveters faced unfamiliar territory Friday night in front of a sold out crowd of 5,751 at Highmark Stadium in its regular-season finale against Steel City FC.
Pittsburgh trailed at home for the first time all season. The Riveters also faced their lone halftime deficit, and with captain and Brownsville Area High School graduate Tessa Dellarose, and normal starters Natalia DiSora and Annamarie Williams, not being available for the match, coach Scott Gibson’s squad had an uphill battle to face in the second half.
Pittsburgh responded with two strikes following halftime to turn a one-goal deficit into a 2-1 victory over its nearby rival.
The Riveters’ triumph clinched the Great Forest Division championship and a spot in the USL W League playoffs, which begin on the fourth of July at Highmark Stadium in the semifinals of the Central Conference Playoffs. The matchups are to be determined. A win by Pittsburgh would put Gibson’s team into the championship at Highmark Stadium two days later.
“The feeling of getting a winner at the end was perfect,” Gibson said. “It took a lot of patience and not panicking. It just shows you the fine margins in sport.
“We had training yesterday, and it was super light. We were doing a little bit of finishing at the end, and on the last kick of the ball, she (Dellarose) felt something in her quad, and I couldn’t let the girls know I was sick to my stomach because I am like, ‘What are we going to do here.’ That was a restless night of sleep for me trying to come up with a contingency plan.”
DiSoria had played in every match for Pittsburgh, but the center back, who will be a senior at Upper St. Clair this season, was selected for the United States Under-18 Women’s National Team Training Camp.
“Natalia has played every minute for us, and the call-up is much deserved,” Gibson said. “It is phenomenal, and that is why we do this. We want to help players go on to the next journey. We also didn’t have Annamarie Williams, who has started every game for us. That midfield was very different, and you could tell in that first half.”
The Riveters’ playoff chances were in jeopardy in the first half after Steel City took a 1-0 lead on Emily Graeca’s penalty-kick goal in the 31st minute because a loss would have tied Pittsburgh with the Cleveland Force, who owned the tiebreaker due to a 3-2 victory on May 28 in Cleveland after the two played to a scoreless draw in the first half.
Steel City’s Lucy Ream drew a foul in the penalty area before Graeca put a shot past Pauline Nelles into the bottom right corner of the net.
“We just didn’t get going in the first half,” Gibson said. “We were a little flat, and I have to give a lot of credit to Steel City. I thought they were very well organized and did their homework on us. They looked to play the right way, and a very tough opponent to go against.”
The Riveters regrouped at halftime and peppered Steel City’s Payton O’Malley with shots on target. The balls weren’t the prettiest or strongest, but it made O’Malley active, and the pressure paid off in the 70th minute when Jayden Sharpless passed to Sydney Lindeman, who put the ball towards the net on the left side of the pitch from 30 yards out. The ball split Steel City defenders and teammate Alexis Tylenda before settling in the bottom right corner of the net and a 1-1 tie.
The tally was Lindeman’s first of the season.
“I was trying to hit Alexis, and as it went through, I knew the ball was going into the net,” Lindeman said. “The mindset coming out in the second half was to keep grinding, keep working and putting the ball on target.”
With the match level, Pittsburgh would have still won the division and qualified for the playoffs with a draw, but the Riveters earned the victory on what turned out to be the last play in the 95th minute.
Canon-McMillan graduate Lilly Bane tapped the ball forward against pressure from two Steel City defenders to Plum native Gina Proviano, who turned and fired the ball with her left foot to the upper left hand of the goal and past O’Malley, who made a diving attempt to keep the ball out of the net.
The tally was Proviano’s third goal of the season.
“It was definitely a surreal feeling to get that goal, and at home,” Proviano said. “We have come such a long way in our inaugural season. We started training in May, and this team feels like a family to me. There has been adversity at times, but we always come out to play every match. We only found out yesterday about Tessa (Dellarose) being injured, but we were able to overcome it.
“The crowds have been amazing, and when I see these little girls running out on the field after the match to see us, I get a little emotional when that happens, and it’s an honor for me to get to represent the city and the black and yellow.”
The Riveters thought they had tied the match in the 54th minute when Sabrina Bryan made several nifty moves to create some space before a deflected ball lead to Lucia Wells, who put the ball into the open net, but Wells wasn’t onside and the goal was quickly waved off.
Pittsburgh’s Abi Hugh, who attended high school at St. Joseph Central Catholic High School in Huntington, W.Va., before a career at Marshall University, had a long-range shot in the top corner stopped by O’Malley before the Riveters cracked the scoreboard.
Hugh, who started nine matches for Pittsburgh, has ties to Fayette County, as her mother, Tammy Hugh, is a graduate of Laurel Highlands, and her father, Chris Hugh, graduated from Tri Valley (now Albert Gallatin) High School. Hugh is the granddaughter of Bob McKnight.
Hugh also made a key defensive play in the 80th minute when she blocked a chance by Steel City’s Maya Matesa from nine yards out.
Gibson lauded Hugh’s play in his press conference after the match.
“Abi Hugh is a leader and she has been amazing for this team, so far,” Gibson said. “We have had to play her out of position, and go to center back when Piper (Coffield) was out, and, obviously, when Natalia (DiSoria) is out, she is naturally a left back. She went in with no complaints and did very well. She is such a team player.”