PITTSBURGH (Sept. 25, 2024) — Pittsburgh Riveters SC has named Scott Gibson as the first head coach in the team’s history, as preparations for Pittsburgh’s new women’s soccer team kick into gear ahead of the Riveters’ inaugural 2025 season in the USL W League.
Gibson currently serves as the Director of the Riverhounds Academy and the head of the Academy’s girls program in the Elite Clubs National League. He has played a part in the development of more than 100 young women who have progressed to college soccer careers, including top athletes at elite programs, such as North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pitt, Rutgers and Indiana. More than a half dozen girls from the Hounds Academy have been invited to U.S. Youth National Team camps, and in the past year, two have represented the United States in competition — Tessa Dellarose in the U-20 age group and Sierra Dupre at the U-16 level.
With that track record of development and the strong connections he has forged with his players and with college coaches nationally, Gibson was the ideal fit to lead the Riveters into their first year of competition.
“We’re thrilled to announce Scott as the first-ever head coach of the Pittsburgh Riveters. His wealth of coaching experience and the strong bonds he’s formed with our Academy players made him the obvious choice to lead us into our inaugural season. We’re lucky to have someone of his caliber as such a pivotal member of our organization,” said Dan Visser, Riverhounds and Riveters Sporting Director.
“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity and responsibility to be the head coach for the Pittsburgh Riveters. Having witnessed firsthand the growth of the women’s game over the past 15 years in Pittsburgh, this is another step forward in the overall vision that we have as a club,” Gibson said. “In 2012, we launched our first girls academy team with the hope that one day we could provide a pathway to players, and the Riveters will now provide that. I am excited to get to work with our incredible staff to make this a team that our community and supporters will be proud to get behind.”
A native of Saltburn, England, Gibson came to the U.S. to play collegiately at Duquesne University. After his college career and a stint as a pro player with the Riverhounds, he moved into his role as Riverhounds Academy Director, a position he has held since its inception in 2007. As the director, Gibson has overseen the growth of the Academy from its roots as a training program to a comprehensive developmental and team model serving more than 1,100 boys and girls annually.
Teams that Gibson coached include the first Hounds girls team, which in 2013 won the U-15 US Club Soccer National Championship, as well as the 2007 Girls team that reached the final of the ECNL North American Cup in 2023. He also served as an assistant coach with the Riverhounds pro team during the 2014 season, and he has been selected to coach in the ECNL’s National Selection Game — all-star events at the league’s annual college showcases — in Houston in 2023 and Dallas in 2024.
Gibson will continue as the Hounds’ Academy Director in addition to leading the Riveters, who will extend the pathway for girls in the region to continue their career in women’s soccer. The Riveters will begin play in May 2025, and news will be announced in the coming month about tryout opportunities, players joining the team and more.