Match Previews

Match Info

Riveters (2-0-1) vs. Cleveland Force (2-1-0)
Date: Wednesday, June 3
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Krenzler Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #CLEvPIT

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PITTSBURGH (June 1, 2026) — The Riveters hit the road again for the second of three straight away matches when they visit the Cleveland Force on Wednesday night in Ohio.

Both teams are coming off wins over Steel City FC — the Riveters by a 2-0 count on the road Thursday and the Force taking a 3-2 comeback victory Sunday in Cleveland. Those early results have shaped the Great Forest Division into what could be shaping up to be a three-team race with the Riveters on seven points, the Force on six and Flower City 1872, with one more match played, leading the way on eight points.

But if the Riveters are to have a chance at retaking first place at midweek, they will need to get a result at the only place they suffered defeat in their first regular season, Krenzler Field on the Cleveland State campus. The Riveters were tripped up 3-2 on the road there a season ago, and, coupled with the 0-0 home draw in the team’s inaugural match, the Force are the only divisional foe the Riveters have not defeated.

The team has shown its goal-scoring chops in its first three matches, finding the net 10 total times with nine different players scoring — center back Taylor Green is the only player with two on the season — and an additional three others contributing assists. The team has mostly succeeded keeping things tight on the back line, too, but the three goals allowed in the 3-3 draw against Flower City and an early breakaway by Steel City that forced an excellent 1-on-1 save by Bailey Herfurth shows some area where things still can be cleaned up.

The Force swiped the win against Steel City with a pair of goals after the start of the 90th minute by Chloe Hughes and Lilly Boebel, and University of Florida midfielder Sophia Sindelar leads the team with three goals on the season. Even with two wins from three matches, the Force have yet to post a clean sheet this season, a streak the Riveters will aim to extend.

Fans planning to catch the match live will be able to follow the stream live on SportsEngine Play.

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Match info

Riveters (1-0-1) vs. Steel City FC (1-0-0)
Date: Thursday, May 28
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Founders Field, Indiana Township, Pa.
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #STCvPIT

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PITTSBURGH (May 26, 2026) — The Riveters’ first road trip of 2026 won’t be a long one, as they will make the short drive outside of the city to face Steel City FC on Thursday night at Founders Field.

The teams played two tight matches a season ago with the Riveters winning both and getting an important late goal in each. The first was an insurance goal by Sabrina Bryan that sealed the 3-1 win at Founders Field, and the second was the stoppage-time game winner by Gina Proviano in the regular-season finale that secured a 2-1 win and the Great Forest Division title in front of a home crowd for the Riveters. Familiarity will be there between the teams after those two matchups, not to mention the high number of Western Pa. raised players on both sides.

For the Riveters, the game provides something of a bounce-back opportunity after needing a late equalizer by Bailey Herfurth to come away with a 3-3 draw at home against Flower City 1872. While the point could prove to be a critical one, coach Scott Gibson will be looking for tighter defensive play after conceding three goals at home for the first time. Likewise, he is looking for his team to be more clinical in open play situations with four of the team’s eight goals coming from set pieces, a total that doesn’t include Lola Abraham‘s opening finish against Flower City that came from the second phase of play after a corner kick.

Steel City has slightly less of a track record to analyze with only one match played so far this season, a 1-0 win on the road at FC Buffalo last Friday in which Marissa Salisbury scored the lone goal 10 minutes after halftime. But many of the same key players from a year ago are back with the side, including Duquesne standout Maya Matesa and both of Steel City’s goal scorers from last year’s matches, Margherita Memoli and Emily Graeca.

The match has an early start for the Riveters with a 6 p.m. kickoff time. It also will be the team’s only outing of the season on a grass surface, but how much of an impact that makes could depend on if any rain falls between now and what is expected to be a sunny Thursday afternoon.

A strong Riveters contingent again is expected to make the trip up Route 28 to Indiana Township, but fans unable to make the match will be able to follow the live stream on SportsEngine Play.

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Match Info

Riveters (1-0-0) vs. Flower City 1872 (1-0-0)
Date: Saturday, May 23
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: F.N.B. Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvFLC

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PITTSBURGH (May 21, 2026) — A chance to take the early frontrunner position in the Great Forest Division comes this Saturday when the Riveters host Rochester, N.Y. club Flower City 1872 with both sides looking for a second consecutive win.

The Riveters have the benefit of being at home for the second straight week after a 5-0 win over FC Buffalo, and they will look for a repeat of that performance before playing their next three matches away from home. Defense led to offense in the season opener, as both starting center backs, Piper Coffield and Taylor Green, scored by getting on the end of set pieces. Outside backs Brielle LaBerge and Bella Vozar excelled as creators, each recording two assists, giving the back line six goal contributions between the four of them.

Riveters coach Scott Gibson was able to get minutes for the maximum 18 players in the opener, including Riveters debuts for eight players: Green, LaBerge, Emme Butera, Lola Abraham, goal scorers Shannon Studer and Ellen Molloy, and substitutes Emily Hanrahan and Gabby Lamparty. While a week off between matches means players are well-rested, it’s likely he’ll utilize some squad rotation as he gets a feel for the varied ways the team can set up ahead of a series of two-match weeks in June.

Flower City, meanwhile, played its season opener Wednesday night at home and turned in an impressive 3-1, come-from-behind win over the Cleveland Force. Eva Poissant, a University at Buffalo player, scored a brace after Cleveland took a 1-0 lead only 19 minutes into the game, and Siena midfielder Catherine Rogers added a 78th-minute goal to secure the result for Flower City.

The Riveters swept both meetings with Flower City a year ago, holding on for a 3-2 win in Rochester before taking a rain-soaked 2-0 triumph back in Pittsburgh.

Saturday’s match again will be shown live on SportsNet Pittsburgh and streamed via SportsEngine Play. SNP and SNP+ also will re-air the match multiple times throughout the day Sunday. Tickets for the match are still available through Ticketmaster and at the F.N.B. Stadium Box Office.

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Downloadable Game Notes

Match Info

Riveters (0-0-0) vs. FC Buffalo (0-0-0)
Date: Saturday, May 16
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: F.N.B. Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvBUF

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PITTSBURGH (May 14, 2026) — Exactly one year to the day after the Riveters made their debut on the Pittsburgh sports scene, the team will embark on Year 2 in the USL W League when they host FC Buffalo on Saturday at F.N.B. Stadium.

As the reigning Great Forest Division champions, expectations are high for the Riveters entering the 2026 season. The team’s roster this year sports a balance of returning players and talented newcomers, and the biggest challenge facing the team will be getting that group to mesh in what amounts to a two-month sprint toward the playoffs.

The back line is probably most reflective of the mix Scott Gibson will have to sort out. Right back Bella Vozar returns after being the only player to start every 2025 match, and center back Piper Coffield was fourth in minutes played, though Coffield is just getting back to action after a knee injury in her Fall college season. With Coffield working her way back and 2025 center back partner Natalia DiSora out with an injury of her own, Gibson will need to tinker with the back line, but he has plenty of promising options to choose from, including newcomers Hadley Murrell, Taylor Green, Gabby Lamparty and Brielle LaBerge, to name a few.

Annamarie Williams also returns from her regular starting role as a box-to-box midfield player, and the Riveters have other reliable players for that sort of role, including Minah Syam and Kate Friday. All three appeared in 9 of 11 matches a season ago, and they again will be relied upon in varying combinations to control the middle third.

On the attacking end, midfielder Tanum Nelson — the team’s scoring leader with six goals and two assists in 2025 — will not join the team until later in May and is out for the opener. Sabrina Bryan (three goals, one assist), Alexis Tylenda (two goals, three assists) and Kennedy Neighbors (one goal, one assist) all come back from regular starting roles, however, and forward-thinking new options include Emily Hanrahan, who comes over from Flower City 1872 with W League experience; Ellen Molloy, who joins having played at the top level in the League of Ireland; and Lola Abraham, who is fit again after missing the 2025 season with a knee injury.

That is hardly an exhaustive list of capable players on a very deep team, and midfielders Sierra Dupre and Fiona Mahan are just two more examples of players who, like Abraham, missed 2025 but have been around the Riveters system and seem poised to contribute. Goalkeeper might be a question mark, but it also could be a question with three correct answers between returner Bailey Herfurth, newcomer Lexi Grundler and 2025 playoff standout Caitlyn Thompson, the latter two of which were sharp in the team’s intra-squad scrimmage Tuesday.

As for Buffalo, who proved to be one of the major threats to the Riveters a season ago, they also have a fair share of returners from the team that pushed the Riveters to the limit in a late-season 1-1 draw last year. Sarah Woods, the goal scorer in that match, is back, along with returners Erin Weir, Paige Szymanski, Skylar Cornell and others. But like the Riveters, who have three players off their inaugural team now in the pro ranks, Buffalo will have to contend with the loss of their highest-profile player, Linda Ullmark, now with the NWSL’s Houston Dash.

Saturday’s match will air live on SportsNet Pittsburgh channels with support from this year’s new presenting broadcast partner, Restano Heating & Cooling. The match will be shown in its entirety on SportsNet Pittsburgh+, and coverage will be joined in progress on the main SNP channel after the conclusion of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball coverage. SNP and SNP+ also will air multiple replays of the match through Monday. The match is also the USL W League Game of the Week, and that coverage will be available on SportsEngine Play.

For Opening Night at F.N.B. Stadium, there will be plenty of off-field entertainment, as well, highlighted by the reveal of the new Riveters mascot, a post-match fireworks show and the traditional autograph session after the game. It also will be a STEM Night celebration at F.N.B., perfectly timed after the announcement of the team’s new partnership with Hitachi Energy. STEM night activities and tables will be in the Tailgate Zone and the University of Pittsburgh’s Formula SAE car — a student-engineered and built race car — will be on display near the West Gate.

Tickets for the match are still available through Ticketmaster and at the F.N.B. Stadium Box Office. The Tailgate Zone will open at 5 p.m., and gates will open at 6 p.m.

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Match info

USL W League Playoffs
Central Conference Semifinals
#4 Riveters (6-1-3) vs. #1 Minnesota Aurora FC (10-0-2)
Date: Friday, July 4
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh+
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvMIN and #RivetersRise

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PITTSBURGH (July 3, 2025) — A division title and playoff berth in hand, the Riveters now have a chance to add more to the story of the team’s first season when they open the USL W League Playoffs by hosting top-seeded Minnesota Aurora FC in the second of two Central Conference Semifinals on Friday at Highmark Stadium.

The Riveters, champions of the Great Forest Division, will have the benefit of home field behind them. In five regular-season matches at Highmark Stadium, the team was an unbeaten 4-0-1 and conceded only one goal — a penalty kick last Friday in their title-clinching 2-1 win over Steel City FC.

The hosts will have to shuffle their lineup with some players away due to college and other commitments, but the Riveters do receive a boost with two of their youngest standouts back in the fold. Natalia DiSora is back from her time in camp for the U.S. Under-18 National Team and should retake her spot in the center of defense, while Anna Korney, the youngest goal-scorer in the Riveters’ short history, has also rejoined the team after playing with her Riverhounds Development Academy 2009 Girls team at the ECNL Playoffs in San Diego.

One of the Riveters’ strengths in recent matches has been an ability to still find scoring with a wide variety of players. The team’s last three goals were all scored by players who came off the bench — Minah Syam at Buffalo and Sydney Lindeman and Gina Proviano vs. Steel City — and the assist on all three goals also came from substitutes.

Minnesota comes into the match as champions of the Heartland Division for the fourth consecutive year, and the Aurora have yet to lose a divisional match in that time. However, that has only translated to mixed playoff results for the Aurora, who reached the W League final in 2022 but were bounced in the first round a year ago by Indy Eleven.

Natalie Tavana leads the Aurora with six goals on the season, but their strength has been a shut-down defense anchored by Camber Hayes that has give up just four goals all season. The team also features a set of triplets, the Rapp sisters, one of whom — midfielder Catherine — was named to the W League Team of the Month in May.

The winner of the match will advance to the conference final at 7 p.m Sunday, where they will face the winner between No. 2 Kings Hammer and No. 3 Detroit City FC, who won the Central Conference a year ago as the host team.

Tickets for Saturday’s semifinals are available through Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office; one ticket is good for both games of the semifinal round. The Riveters’ match will air live on SportsNet Pittsburgh+, and the stream will be available on SportsEngine Play.

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Match info

Riveters (5-1-3) vs. Steel City FC (3-1-4)
Date: Friday, June 27
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh+
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvSTC and #RivetersRise

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PITTSBURGH (June 26, 2025) — It’s the final step of a 10-game sprint through the USL W League season, and the Riveters can lock up the Great Forest Division title in their first season with a win Friday night against Steel City FC.

A win, or a draw and FC Buffalo dropping points in one of their remaining two matches will be enough for the Riveters, who have the most straightforward path. But Steel City, despite entering the match fourth in the division, is the only other team in control of its path to the title if it can win its last two matches against the Riveters and FC Buffalo on the road Sunday.

Adding more to the divisional drama is Buffalo visiting the Cleveland Force at the same time Friday night in a match where the loser would be eliminated from contention, even if the Riveters were to slip up. But the Riveters aim is to make that match in Ohio purely for bragging rights by taking care of business at home.

The Riveters have yet to concede a goal at Highmark Stadium this season, and a 0-0 draw in the season opener against the Force is the only blemish on the team’s home record. Coach Scott Gibson must make at least one change on his back line, however, with center back Natalia DiSora unavailable while in camp with the United States Under-18 Women’s National Team. Fortunately, the Riveters get back center back Piper Coffield for Friday’s match, making it a probable like-for-like change on defense.

Up front, the Riveters have all of their regular starters available, though 15-year-old Anna Korney, who made a spot start and scored in the first meeting with Steel City, is away at the ECNL National Championships. But with the other two scorers from that 3-1 win, Olivia Damico and Sabrina Bryan, top scorer Tanum Nelson plus Alexis Tylenda, who missed the first Steel City match, the Riveters have potency in their division-leading attack with 22 goals on the season.

Steel City, meanwhile, kept itself in the hunt by grabbing a late 3-3 draw in a wild contest last Saturday with Flower City 1872. All six goals in the match were scored after halftime, and Maya Matesa earned the point for Steel City with her second goal of the match in the 90th minute. Matesa leads her team with three goals on the season, but Steel City has plenty of other threats — 10 different players have scored the club’s 14 goals through eight matches.

The match is the second leg of the Soccer is for Everyone celebration that began at last Saturday’s Riverhounds match, which means postgame fireworks to be enjoyed by what is expected to be a standing-room-only crowd. A limited number of tickets for the match are still available through Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office.

For those not in the stadium, the match will be aired live on SportsNet Pittsburgh+, courtesy of presenting partner 84 Lumber, with re-airings to be shown on the main SportsNet Pittsburgh channel at 1 p.m. Saturday and 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Those out of market or without a television can also stream the broadcast through SportsEngine Play.

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Match info

Riveters (5-1-2) vs. FC Buffalo (4-2-1)
Date: Saturday, June 21
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Coyer Field, Buffalo, N.Y.
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #BUFvPIT and #RivetersRise

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(June 20, 2025) — The Great Forest Division is coming down to the final eight days of the season, and the Riveters’ final road match Saturday at FC Buffalo could go a long way toward deciding who ends on top.

A win by the Riveters would put the team one point away from clinching the division — and other results around the division could make things official by the final whistle — but a win by Buffalo would put the New York side in control of the race, though with two matches still ahead for them next week.

The first meeting between the teams on June 8 turned into the Tanum Nelson show, as the Riveters’ midfielder recorded the club’s first hat trick before halftime in the 3-0 win at Highmark Stadium. That was the start of the Riveters’ current three-match win streak, but Buffalo rebounded from that to win three straight matches of its own, largely behind the scoring of Carissima Cutrona. Cutrona posted a four-goal game in a win over the Cleveland Force, and entering the weekend, Nelson and Cutrona share the scoring lead in the Great Forest Division with six goals.

Apart from the scoring leaders, the match also lines up to pit a pair of NCAA Championship-winning teammates against each other in the Riveters’ Tessa Dellarose and Buffalo’s Linda Ullmark. The University of North Carolina duo each was away from their W League sides for a stretch of the season — Dellarose while winning The Soccer Tournament 7v7 and Ullmark while playing with the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team — but both were back in the starting lineup in their teams’ last matches.

The Riveters will hope to keep their high-scoring ways going with 13 goals in the past three matches, beginning with the home win over Buffalo. Nelson, Olivia Damico, Sabrina Bryan and Gina Proviano all have multiple goals in that time, while the emergence of 15-year-old Anna Korney and the return last match of Alexis Tylenda give coach Scott Gibson no shortage of attacking options.

But managing things defensively has been the bigger challenge, particularly on the road. The Riveters have kept a clean sheet in all four home matches but have yet to do so on the road, and all seven goals the team has conceded in 2025 have come in the second half. Still, if the Riveters are able to get off to another fast start and make it hold up as they did in their last road match at Steel City, a 3-1 win, the division title will be that much closer to their grasp.

Fans not making the trip to Buffalo will be able to catch all the action streamed live on SportsEngine Play.

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Match info

Riveters (4-1-2) vs. Erie Sports Center (0-3-3)
Date: Sunday, June 15
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Highmark Stadium
Tickets: Ticketmaster
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh & SportsNet Pittsburgh+
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #PITvESC and #RivetersRise

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PITTSBURGH (June 13, 2025) — A massive midweek win and favorable results elsewhere have given the Riveters a clear path to the Great Forest Division title, and the first necessary step comes Sunday night when the team hosts Erie Sports Center at Highmark Stadium.

With three matches to play, the Riveters need seven points — two wins and a draw — to be assured of winning the division and claiming a spot in the USL W League Playoffs in their first season. The first obstacle for the Riveters is Erie, a team that showed it can be pesky, organized and resilient by scoring a late goal to earn a 1-1 draw in the teams’ first meeting on June 5 in Erie.

The Riveters will want to avoid a letdown after winning their highly anticipated first match at Steel City FC, in which the youngest and oldest players on the field — 15-year-old Anna Korney and 26-year-old Sabrina Bryan — scored on each side of Olivia Damico‘s headed strike for a 3-1 win.

The victory in front of a packed crowd in the suburbs solidified the Riveters’ spot atop the division, but it also highlighted the biggest recurring issue for the team: allowing late goals, particularly on set pieces. It was a header from a long free kick by Margherita Memoli that gave Steel City life by cutting the lead to 2-1 in the 86th minute, and it was substitute Leya Bretz who stole a point for Erie in almost identical fashion, each time providing the lone blemish to prevent Riveters goalkeeper Pauline Nelles from adding to her three clean sheets on the season.

After being left on the bench for rest purposes Wednesday, captain Tessa Dellarose should be back in the center of the park for the Riveters on Sunday. That provides more depth for the Riveters in a position where Annamarie Williams has been reliable, Abi Hugh has filled in well and Jayden Sharpless stepped in with an effective first start of the year against Steel City.

Sunday night will be the team’s STEM Night promotion, with free 3-D puzzles for the first 500 fans in attendance. There will also be STEM-related activities and vendors around Highmark Stadium, as the Riveters encourage science, technology, engineering and math education for young girls (and boys!) in the fan base.

The match will be shown live on both SportsNet Pittsburgh and SportsNet Pittsburgh+, with the alternate station being the starting destination if afternoon coverage of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball runs long on SNP. A free stream is available on SportsEngine Play, and SNP+ will re-air the match three times on Monday, at 5 a.m., 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets for the penultimate home match of the regular season are on sale now through Ticketmaster and at the Highmark Stadium Box Office.

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Downloadable Game Notes

Match Info

Riveters (3-1-2) vs. Steel City FC (2-0-2)
Date: Wednesday, June 11
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Founders Field, Indiana Township, Pa.
Streaming: SportsEngine Play
Live updates: @RivetersSC on X/Twitter
Match hashtags: #STCvPIT and #RivetersRise

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PITTSBURGH (June 10, 2025) — The Riveters are now in the “back nine” of their regular season, to use the lingo of this week’s U.S. Open being played nearby in Oakmont, and up next is a crucial trip just outside of the city to face Steel City FC for the first time on Wednesday.

The game at Founders Field in Indiana Township, located northeast of Pittsburgh, is a critical one in the Great Forest Division standings. The winner will have the inside track to finishing atop the leaderboard, while the Cleveland Force will likely be cheering for a draw that would put them in the best spot to claim the division’s playoff berth.

The Riveters are coming off their most convincing performance of the season, which saw a first-half hat trick by Tanum Nelson provide all the scoring in a 3-0 win over visiting FC Buffalo on Sunday. The scoreline potentially could have been more lopsided in the Riveters’ favor after firing 21 shots toward goal, but some of those missed opportunities give reason to think the ceiling still has yet to be reached for the attack.

Captain Tessa Dellarose will be back with the Riveters after she and the US Women defended their title in The Soccer Tournament 7v7 in North Carolina over the weekend, though her minutes will be monitored after carrying a full workload during TST. Otherwise, coach Scott Gibson should have a full squad at his disposal for the critical contest.

Steel City is the lone unbeaten team in the Great Forest Division after having drawn their past two matches at home, both by 2-2 scores, against Buffalo and Erie. They have nine goals in their four matches, led by three from Emily Cooper, but six different players total have found the net for them.

One of the biggest adjustments facing the Riveters will be playing on the heavy grass of Founders Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Harlequins rugby team and for much of the decade of the 2000s, the University of Pittsburgh men’s and women’s soccer teams. The Riveters will have to adjust to the slower surface Wednesday, while Steel City will have to adjust the other direction for the remainder of their schedule with five road matches out of six over the final three weeks.

Wednesday night’s match will be streamed live via SportsEngine Play.

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Downloadable Game Notes