Steel City FC soccer teams to join pre-professional leagues

Pre-professional soccer continues its growth spurt in the Pittsburgh region.

Steel City FC will join the USL W League (women) and USL League Two (men) in 2025, the United Soccer League announced Friday morning.

Steel City FC trains more than 1,500 players in and around Pittsburgh, with primary training sites in the city, North Huntingdon, Butler and Harmar.

Development is a trigger word in soccer circles as rising players look to build on their talents and carve a future in the sport.

Steel City FC is an outlet that expedites that process for women and men.

The club was formed when the Pittsburgh Hotspurs and Arsenal FC of Pittsburgh combined forces to create a developmental avenue.

The Steel City women’s team launched in 2015, playing in the Women’s Premier Soccer League. The men followed in 2019 in the National Premier Soccer League.

The women made the United Women’s Soccer League playoffs the last two years.

In a news release, Steel City FC director and owner Tom Ovenden said, “We are delighted to join the USL family. At Steel City FC, we continuously strive to move the game forward in the Pittsburgh area.

“With the club now competing in the W League and League Two, local homegrown talent on both sides of the game will have even greater access to the highest levels of competition in our region.”

Steel City FC will play home games at Founder’s Field in Cheswick. The teams will play in the Central Conference in both leagues.

In April, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds announced their intentions to field a team in the USL W League. The team was later announced as the Riveters SC and has signed local talent in Tessa Dellarose (Brownsville/North Carolina) and Piper Coffield (Mars/Indiana Univrsity), along with Coffield’s college teammate, Kennedy Neighbors.

The USL W League is set to begin its third year in the spring.

Rosters in the USL League Two and USL W League are comprised mainly of college-level players and recent college grads.

“We’re extremely excited to welcome Steel City FC to both the W League and League Two next season,” said Joel Nash, senior vice president of youth and pre-professional properties. “The club’s mission of developing its players while fostering their passion for the game closely aligns with the USL, so we’re thrilled to help them bring more opportunities to the Pittsburgh area.”

The Steel City FC men’s first team, which lists 36 players, includes Nick Kolarac, a West Allegheny alum who previously played with the Riverhounds, Deer Lakes alum Michael Sullivan, who plays at Pitt, Nate Ward (Greensburg Central Catholic/Indiana/St. Louis), Eben McIntyre (Charleroi/Pitt), Gabe Norris (Highlands/Robert Morris), Nathan Prex (Seneca Valley/Lebanon Valley) and others.

Among the players on the 34-player women’s team are Pitt’s Emily Greaca, a DuBois alum, Payton O’Malley (Chartiers Valley/Pitt), Mauriana Dorsch (Franklin Regional/Tiffin), Mckenzie Pritts (Yough/Robert Morris), Lucy Ream (Fox Chapel/Lipscomb), Bri Ross (Springdale), Kaitlyn Killinger (Plum/Pitt) and others.