(June 3, 2026) — Taylor Green, Alexis Tylenda and Lola Abraham each found the net to send the Pittsburgh Riveters to a second consecutive shutout road win by taking down the Cleveland Force tonight at Krenzler Field in Cleveland.
The win avenges the only regular-season loss suffered last year by the Riveters (3-0-1), who clamped down defensively to hand the Force (2-2-0) their first home defeat in two years.
Lexi Grundler made her Riveters debut in goal and needed to make only a single save for the shutout.
First half
The match shaped up as a defensive battle with each team trying to create havoc for the other with their defensive pressure. The end result was an opening 30 minutes that saw just seven shots — 5-2 in the Riveters favor — and only one of those, taken by Kennedy Neighbors, finding the target.
The Riveters turned up the pressure heading to halftime, and in the 38th minute, Tylenda nearly opened the scoring with a curling left-footed shot from distance that struck the crossbar squarely and bounced away.
The opening goal came just a minute before halftime on a play that began from a corner kick.
The Force was unable to clear the ball fully, and the Riveters sent it back wide on the right to Emme Butera. Butera’s cross was flicked further across goal by Bella Vozar at the front post, and Green was waiting at the back post as the center back scored her team-leading third goal in four matches.
Second half
The Riveters’ offense kept rolling out of the break, and the lead was doubled in the 49th minute.
Tylenda carried the ball down the right side before playing Neighbors toward the goal line and into the box. Neighbors ran down the ball and dropped a pass back to Tylenda at the top of the box, and Tylenda ripped a shot that skimmed the underside of the crossbar for her second goal in as many matches.
Eight minutes later, the lead was 3-0 after Tanum Nelson won a challenge for the ball in the center circle to send it wide to Abraham on the right side. Abraham did the rest, dribbling all the way down the flank before cutting inside at the top of the box and setting up a left-footed shot placed into the bottom left corner of the net for her second goal of the season.
The Riveters continued to hold on defensively, and Grundler made her only save in the 81st minute as Force leading scorer Sophia Sindelar tried a shot from nearly 30 yards out. In addition to Grundler starting, both Azalea Mihailovich and Hadley Murrell made their Riveters debuts as substitutes in the match.
Hitachi Player of the Match
Kennedy Neighbors contributed an assist on the game’s second goal and one shot on target. Her play and distribution, particularly from the middle of the field, allowed players like Tylenda and Abraham to find space down each wing and created problems for the Force throughout the match.
What’s next?
First place in the Great Forest Division will be on the line when the Riveters meet fellow unbeaten Flower City 1872 (3-0-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 6 in Rochester, N.Y. Flower City and the Riveters played to a thrilling 3-3 draw on May 23 in Pittsburgh, and the New York side picked up a 4-2 win tonight over their in-state rivals, FC Buffalo.
Riveters SC lineup (4-3-3) — Lexi Grundler; Brielle LaBerge (Brooke Fabri 72’), Piper Coffield (Gabby Lamparty 61’), Taylor Green, Bella Vozar; Emme Butera, Tanum Nelson (Kate Friday 81’), Ellen Molloy (Shannon Studer 61’); Lola Abraham (Azalea Mihailovich 72’), Kennedy Neighbors (Hadley Murrell 81’), Alexis Tylenda (Sabrina Bryan 61’)
Cleveland Force lineup (4-2-3-1) — Abigail Kudla; Meredith Werner (Cara Petry 60′), Lauren Mahoney (Mollie Finn 46′), Sarah Van Euwen, Alyssa Gimmel (Mikyla Hau-Golden 67’); Brynn Severance, Julia Rocky; Lilly Boebel (Kaylee Synk 46’, Mary Dziuba 68’), Sophia Sindelar, Chloe Hughes; Isabella Antonio
Scoring summary
PIT — Taylor Green 44’ (Bella Vozar)
PIT — Alexis Tylenda 49’ (Kennedy Neighbors)
PIT — Lola Abraham 57’ (Tanum Nelson)
Discipline summary
PIT — Lola Abraham 70’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Head coach Scott Gibson (caution – leaving technical area)
