Match Info
Central Conference Semifinals
No. 2 Riveters (9-0-1) vs. No. 3 Racing Louisville FC (6-1-2)
Date: Friday, July 3
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: F.N.B. Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvLOU
PITTSBURGH (July 1, 2026) — It’s two years and two USL W League Playoff appearances for the Riveters, and this year they will look for an extended stay in the postseason beginning in the second Central Conference Semifinal on Friday night against Racing Louisville FC at F.N.B. Stadium.
Last year, the team was bounced 2-0 in their playoff opener by eventual national semifinalist Minnesota Aurora FC, but this season, armed with a better seed and an unbeaten record as the Great Forest Division champions, the Riveters feel better equipped to advance.
Balanced scoring and stifling defense have been the team’s calling card this season with 17 different players accounting for the Riveters’ 32 goals in the regular season. Sabrina Bryan, who took the nod as the Steel Army supporters’ group Player of the Year, led the Riveters with four goals in the regular season, while Lola Abraham led all players with eight goal contributions — two goals and a team-high six assists. Add on three goals and two assists from both Ellen Molloy and Tanum Nelson, plus the emergence of late-arriving Makenna Dominguez with a goal and two assists in her first two matches, and the offensive weapons are in place.
Ending the season with a clean sheet — the Riveters’ seventh in 10 matches — gets things back on the right track for a team that allowed only five goals all season. In goal, Lexi Grundler has been in goal for five of those clean sheets, Bailey Herfurth had two, and the Riveters also have the option of Caitlyn Thompson, who posted a team-record nine saves in last year’s playoff contest.
All of that is to say the Riveters feel they are better positioned this year than last, but they will meet a Louisville side in the playoffs for the first time after pinching the Valley Division title from Indy Eleven — a former W League champ — by a single point.
Racing is the W League side under the NWSL side of the same name and the same organization as Louisville City FC, the longtime rivals of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the USL Championship. The history between the two clubs extends beyond the pro teams, as they both compete at the youth level in the ECNL’s Ohio Valley Conference, meaning the teams have players who have battled the other side since the youth levels.
Louisville enters the playoffs without the prolific scoring record of the Riveters; they scored 18 goals in their nine-match regular season but also conceded 10, and two of their three clean sheets came against winless Toledo Villa. Maci Barlow, Livvy Moore and Cooper Stiefvater share the team lead with three goals each on the season, and Moore, the University of Kansas product, was at the center of their attack with a team-best four assists, as well.
Friday’s match is the second match of the semifinal doubleheader after No. 1 Minnesota Aurora faces No. 4 Union FC Macomb in the first match at 3:30 p.m. Tickets for the semifinal are being sold as a single ticket for both games, and they are available through Ticketmaster and at the F.N.B. Stadium Box Office.
Both matches also will be streamed live via SportsEngine Play. (Link goes to the Riveters vs. Racing stream)
Downloadable Game Notes
