PITTSBURGH (Nov. 5, 2025) — Another quartet of returning players is locked in for the 2026 Pittsburgh Riveters SC season with Lucia Wells, Lola Abraham, Minah Syam and Kate Friday confirming they will return for the team’s second USL W League season.
All four players were a part of the Great Forest Division-winning inaugural season, and all have Pittsburgh-area roots. The four are winding down their college seasons at Division I schools, including Wells and Abraham locally with the University of Pittsburgh.
“We are delighted to welcome back four more excellent players to the Riveters for the 2026,” Riveters head coach Scott Gibson said. “The experience that Lucia, Kate and Minah got this past season will provide them with a platform to provide an even greater impact next season, while Lola will be like a new signing and will bring an immediate impact to the team. We are very familiar with the character and leadership that they will bring as each of them came through the RDA system.”
Wells, 20, is a versatile performer from Pittsburgh’s North Hills who can play attacking positions and as a wing back, both roles she filled at times in the Riveters’ first year, playing 10 of 11 matches. Wells also scored in the Riveters’ second match, a win over Flower City 1872, which made the Pitt junior both the first Pittsburgh native and first Riverhounds Academy product to score for the Riveters.
Abraham, 19, is an Oakmont native who was with the Riveters a season ago but did not appear in any matches as she trained with the team while rehabbing an injury. The Pitt sophomore forward made a healthy return to the field this Fall with the Panthers, starting every match and recording two goals and two assists.
Syam, 19, was one of the Riveters’ most frequent contributors off the bench in 2025, appearing in 9 of 11 matches. The midfielder also scored one of the season’s more memorable goals, striking late in the match to earn a critical 1-1 draw at FC Buffalo. A redshirt freshman at Bowling Green University, the Avonworth High School graduate was recently named to the Mid-American Conference’s All-Freshman team.
Friday, 19, also appeared in 9 of 11 matches in 2025, filling varying midfield roles and often entering the match to protect a lead. She just completed her sophomore college season starting every match for Florida Gulf Coast University, her first in the Sunshine State after the Fox Chapel native transferred to FGCU from Xavier University.
Gibson and the Riveters staff are continuing to assemble this year’s roster with a mix of returning and new players to be announced. The team also will bring in players for evaluation beginning with this year’s Open Tryouts on Nov. 29. For more information, visit riveterssc.com.
