May 31, 2025 By Jonathan Guth 6 min read

PITTSBURGH — It was only fitting that the first home goal in Riveters history would involve two WPIAL players.

Brownsville Area High School graduate and captain Tessa Dellarose fired a shot from outside the box that was saved by Flower City 1872 keeper Cate Burns, but Shaler graduate Alexis Tylenda buried the rebound for a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute of play on Friday night at Highmark Stadium.

“I had a little bit of open space in front of me, and it was just a good opportunity to take a shot,” Dellarose said. “We were talking about it beforehand, because it was slick and raining, to put it on goal and anything can happen. The goalkeeper happened to spill it, and Lexi was right there for it.

“I didn’t even realize it at the time that two hometown kids set it up for the opening goal here at this stadium, but it is really cool to know we are part of history.”

Pittsburgh would double its lead just before halftime in a 2-0 victory, which was also the first home win in franchise history after a scoreless draw in the team’s inaugural match on May 16.

“It was a great feeling to finally get a goal in front of all our fans that come out and support us,” Tylenda said. “It was so important for us to get that first goal. We wanted to show up for our fans because they showed up for us despite the rain.”

Dellarose scored 108 goals for the Lady Falcons in three seasons, but has settled into a role at midfield while playing for the University of North Carolina. The soon-to-be senior helped the Tar Heels win their 23rd national title on Dec. 9.

Midfielders don’t find their way onto the score sheet as much as forwards, which may not generate the headlines, but as the ultimate team player, Dellarose just wants to do whatever she can to help the team. She hasn’t scored in four matches this season for Pittsburgh, but the team is a plus-seven when she is on the pitch.

“My position involves a lot of facilitation and being impactful on both sides of the ball,” Dellarose said. “I’m happy to do whatever helps the team. It felt good to come out tonight and put together a solid 90 minutes of play. The rain made the field a little slick tonight, but it was really fun, and it is better than playing in blasting heat.”

The Riveters improved to 2-1-1 in the Great Forest Division of the USL W League, while Flower City dropped to 1-2-0. Pittsburgh has seven points and Flower City three.

The Riveters were coming off a 3-2 setback in Cleveland on Wednesday. Pittsburgh had a two-goal lead at halftime.

“There were some question marks coming into tonight’s match, and we were certainly under pressure, but the backbone and character of the team we have showed,” Pittsburgh coach Scott Gibson said. “This was the third game in a row we’ve been up 2-0 at halftime. When we played in Rochester (against Flower City) last week, we were up 2-0 and ended up winning, 3-2, so we made it tight, and we learned from the loss Wednesday night. We tightened it up a little bit in the second half tonight, and we weren’t as expansive going forward.”

The Riveters will be without Dellarose for at least the next two matches, as she will participate in The Soccer Tournament (TST) from June 4-9 in Cary, N.C. Dellarose will play for the US Women, who won the tournament last year with Dellarose earning MVP honors.

The US Women open play on June 5 against Austin Rise FC in group play at 6:30 p.m. The team will play Process FC and Angel City 7s at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on June 6. All matches can be viewed on ESPN+/ESPNU.

“We try to elevate our players to the highest-possible platform as soon as we can, and Tessa is obviously playing at the highest level, and she has played at the highest level,” Gibson said. “She put in a 90-minute shift today. We took Tessa off after 45 minutes in Cleveland. She had a little foot problem going. It wasn’t anything major, but Tessa battled through as a captain today, and we will send her off for a game or two.”

Dellarose was pleased to be able to play a full 90 minutes on Friday before a paid attendance of 4,063, despite a torrential downpour that continued throughout the match.

“It was frustrating having to come off the field on Wednesday,” Dellarose said. “I felt something in my foot, and I didn’t want to push it anymore because I was coming off the same injury, and I didn’t want to do anything to put it into jeopardy.

“Playing 90 minutes is definitely super important. You have to be match fit, and playing 90 is the only way to get there.”

Pittsburgh’s second goal came in the first minute of stoppage time before the first half ended when Tanum Nelson set up Olivia Damico for the tally and a 2-0 lead. Damico, a Victor, N.Y. native who played collegiately for Penn State, scored her first goal of the season.

“It felt really good to help my team out in that aspect,” Damico said. “Tanum put it on a platter for me, so it was really easy for me.”

The second half didn’t provide many chances, as Gibson had his team play more conservatively, but the Riveters earned four of their nine corner kicks in the second half.

“We are combining through the middle, switching play, getting out wide, and getting their defenders running back toward the red line and giving away corners,” Gibson said. “The girls have really been creating a lot of pressure. That is really impressive.

“Flower City is a big, physical team, which is probably an area where we are lacking. We have a few, but we just have to keep working.”

Tylenda nearly sprung Robin Reilly for a breakaway in the 65th minute, but the pass went too far, and Burns picked up the ball to stop the threat.

Pittsburgh’s Pauline Nelles stopped a shot from Eva Poissant, as she turned a flicked header on goal, but the German keeper raced to the bottom right corner of the net to push the ball around the post.

Nelson had the home team’s lone shot on target in the 86th minute that was stopped by Burns.

The Riveters had six shots on goal. Nelles stopped all four of Flower City’s shots on goal for her second clean sheet this season.

“Pauline (Nelles) is an outstanding goalkeeper,” Gibson said. “The goals on Wednesday night, she had no chance, and those were not her fault. We are just happy to get a home win and a clean sheet.”