PITTSBURGH (July 3, 2026) — Sixteen-year-old Anna Korney scored twice, and the Pittsburgh Riveters romped to the first playoff win in team history by defeating Racing Louisville FC, 5-0, tonight in the USL W League Central Conference Semifinals at F.N.B. Stadium.
Brielle LaBerge, Sabrina Bryan and Lilly Bane also scored for the Riveters (10-0-1), who will host Minnesota Aurora FC (13-0-0) in the Conference Final on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Lexi Grundler made six saves in the Riveters goal, shutting out Louisville (6-2-2) and keeping her perfect record of six clean sheets in six starts for the team.
First half
Korney came away from the match thinking she could have had even more than her two goals. The first near miss came in the ninth minute, when she turned in the box and fired a shot that struck the underside of the crossbar and stayed out.
But in the 21st minute, Korney had the Riveters in front when she received a pass in the left side of the box from Bryan and placed a shot perfectly in the bottom right corner of the net for the first postseason goal in team history.
The Riveters pressed forward for a second goal, and Bella Vozar just missed on it when she won the header from a corner kick in the 37th minute, but the ball was headed downward so firmly it bounced up and over the goal. Minutes later, Korney could have had her second when she again got free on the left and circled the keeper, but Louisville defender Juliet Strange was in position to clear the ball off the line.
The second goal came in stoppage time, and it was the first of the season for LaBerge, the left back. She found Ellen Molloy with a pass in the midfield and continued her run forward. Molloy returned the ball to LaBerge, who darted between a pair of defenders into the box and finished in the same right corner as Korney’s opener.
Molloy ended stoppage time with a long free kick that forced a save off the crossbar, one of four Riveters efforts off the woodwork in the match.
Second half
Korney hit the post for a second time two minutes into the half, but she would not be denied in the 51st minute. This time, she worked into the right side of the box after receiving a pass from Vozar, and she hit a hard shot that got under the goalkeeper.
It was 4-0 only a minute later, when Tanum Nelson got into the left side of the box and fed Bryan in front of the goal for a soft finish into the open part of the net. Nelson then nearly got the fifth of the night, but she instead became another victim of the crossbar with a shot that popped straight up before hitting the back of the bar on its descent.
Grundler made her best save of the match in the 69th minute, a leaping stop to push a shot by Avery Krupp over the bar. And in the 79th minute, Bane put the finishing touch on the scoring by making a near-post run and turning the ball into the goal from a pass by Gabby Beinecke from the left side.
Hitachi Player of the Match
Anna Korney had a standout performance as she totaled six shots — two goals, two off the frame, one saved and one cleared off the line. It was the first multi-goal game as a Riveters player for Korney, who now has four on the season.
What’s next?
The Riveters will battle top-seeded Minnesota Aurora FC at 7 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the USL W League’s national semifinals. The teams met a season ago in the opening round of the playoffs, and the Aurora took a 2-0 win.
Riveters SC lineup (4-3-3) — Lexi Grundler; Brielle LaBerge, Piper Coffield (Taylor McCullough 80’), Taylor Green (Grace Bannon 80’), Bella Vozar; Ellen Molloy (Shannon Studer 61’), Emme Butera, Tanum Nelson (Annamarie Williams 71’); Sabrina Bryan (Emily Hanrahan 61’), Anna Korney (Gabby Beinecke 71’), Makenna Dominguez (Lilly Bane 61’)
Racing Louisville FC (4-2-3-1) — Sophia Reeder (Adelle Finerty 71’); Whitney Cooper, Juliet Strange (Isabella Holtgrave 61’), Alexandra Lewis, Grace Sampson (Madison Ellorimo 46’); Jocelyn Vesci (Samantha Miro 61’), Brunella Pilati; Isabella Acosta, Avery Krupp, Maci Barlow; Lily Burchett (Emery Skrodzki 71’)
Scoring summary
PIT — Anna Korney 21’ (Sabrina Bryan)
PIT — Brielle LaBerge 45+1’ (Ellen Molloy)
PIT — Anna Korney 51’ (Bella Vozar)
PIT — Sabrina Bryan 52’ (Tanum Nelson)
PIT — Lilly Bane 79’ (Gabby Beinecke)
Discipline summary
LOU — Juliet Strange 45+2’ (caution – tactical foul)
