Steel City FC (Pennsylvania)
Football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steel City FC is an American pre-professional soccer club based out of Pittsburgh. The club has two senior teams, with the men's team playing in the USL League Two and the women's team playing in the USL W League, along with several youth teams.
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| Full name | Steel City Football Club | |
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| Founded | 2019 as "Pittsburgh Hotspurs" | |
| Ground | Founders Field, Cheswick, Pennsylvania | |
| Capacity | 1,500 | |
| Head coach | Dan Brower (Men) Tom Ovenden (Women) | |
| League | USL League Two USL W League | |
| 2025 | 1st, Great Forest Division 4th, Great Forest Division | |
| Website | steelcityfc.com | |
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Men's team history
Formed in the 1980's as a youth soccer team, the Pittsburgh Hotspurs launched its Men's First Team in 2019 to compete in the National Premier Soccer League.[1] According to the team's first coach Tom Campbell, NPSL officials contacted the Hotspurs about joining the league after the Fort Pitt Regiment folded after the 2018 season.[2] Ahead of the cancelled 2020 season, the Hotspurs partnered with the women's team Steel City FC. The team won their first trophy in 2020, winning the NPSL Members Cup over Cleveland SC, FC Buffalo, and Erie Commodores FC.[3]
In 2021, the Hotspurs merged with another youth soccer club, Arsenal FC of Pittsburgh. Prior to the start of the 2023 season, the entire Pittsburgh Hotspurs organization rebranded as Steel City FC, adopting the former name of the women's team.[4]
Steel City FC made their U.S. Open Cup debut in 2024,[5] losing to NISA club Michigan Stars FC in the first round by a score of 1-0.[6]
In December 2024, Steel City announced it would join USL League Two for the 2025 season,[7] being placed in the newly-formed Great Forest Division within the Central Conference.[8] In their first season in USL League Two, Steel City FC won the Great Forest Division title to clinch a playoff spot[9], though they lost to the Flint City Bucks in the conference quarterfinals, 4-3.[10]
Following the 2025 season, Steel City qualified for the 2026 U.S. Open Cup, their second appearance in the tournament.[11] Steel City FC faced defending USLC champion Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the first round[12], the first match between two Pittsburgh-area clubs since the Harmarville Hurricanes defeated Morgan Strasser in the national quarterfinals of the 1957 National Challenge Cup.[13]
Seasons
- As of July 19, 2025
| Season | League | Position | Playoffs | USOC | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Conf | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Conf. | Overall | |||
| Pittsburgh Hotspurs | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | NPSL | East | 10 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 25 | -15 | 5 | 0.50 | 6th | 84th | DNQ | DNQ |
| 2020 | NPSL | Rust Belt | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | NPSL | Rust Belt | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 24 | 2.40 | 2nd | 10th | RQF | DNQ |
| 2022 | NPSL | Rust Belt | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 24 | 2.00 | 2nd | 26th | RQF | DNQ |
| Steel City FC | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 | NPSL | Great Lakes | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 32 | 2.67 | 1st | 5th | RF | DNQ |
| 2024 | NPSL | Great Lakes | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 8 | +28 | 24 | 2.40 | 1st | 9th | RF | R1 |
| 2025 | USL2 | Great Forest | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 12 | +14 | 27 | 2.25 | 1st | 15th | CQF | DNQ |
| 2026 | USL2 | Great Forest | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 3 | +17 | 30 | 2.50 | 1st | |||
| Total | – | – | 78 | 51 | 14 | 13 | 167 | 89 | +78 | 168 | 2.15 | - | - | - | |
U.S. Open Cup matches
| March 21, 2024 First round | Steel City FC | 0-1 |  Michigan Stars FC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Report |
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Stadium: Ambrose Urbanic Field Attendance: 1,142 Referee: Alex Parent |
| March 25, 2026 First Round | Steel City FC | 1-2 |  Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 7:00 PM ET |
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Report |
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Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 4,287 Referee: Samuel Reynolds |
Women's team history
The club's women's team was founded as a separate organization, competing in the Women's Premier Soccer League through the 2019 season.[1][14] Ahead of the 2020 season, Steel City FC merged with the Pittsburgh Hotspurs.[15] The team joined United Women's Soccer for the 2021 season.[16] Following the 2020 merger with the Pittsburgh Hotspurs, the team continued to use the moniker Steel City FC until 2022, when the team competed under the Hotspurs brand for a single season before the entire organization rebranded as Steel City FC.[17]
In December 2024, the women's team joined the men's team in moving to the USL and joined the USL W League for 2025,[7] with the team placed in the newly-formed Great Forest Division within the Central Conference.[18]
Seasons
- As of July 4, 2025
| Season | League | Position | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Conf | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Conf. | Overall | ||
| Steel City FC | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | WPSL | Can Am | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 4 | +21 | 16 | 2.29 | 2nd | 12th | DNQ |
| 2016 | WPSL | Great Lakes | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 25 | -10 | 3 | 0.30 | 6th | 93rd | DNQ |
| 2017 | WPSL | Great Lakes | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 26 | -10 | 12 | 1.50 | 3rd | 49th | DNQ |
| 2018 | WPSL | Ohio Valley | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 22 | -9 | 7 | 0.86 | 6th | 75th | DNQ |
| 2019 | WPSL | Keystone | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0.86 | 3rd | 50th | DNQ |
| 2020 | WPSL | Ohio Valley | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 | |||||||||||
| 2021 | UWS | Midwest South | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 9 | 0.90 | 4th | 33rd | DNQ |
| Pittsburgh Hotspurs | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | UWS | Penn-NY | 10 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 30 | -17 | 2 | 0.20 | 5th | 44th | DNQ |
| Steel City FC | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | UWS | East | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 13 | 1.63 | 7th | 17th | R1 |
| 2024 | UWS | East | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 10 | +14 | 18 | 2.25 | 5th | 9th | DNQ |
| 2025 | USLW | Great Forest | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 1.30 | 4th | 50th | DNQ |
| 2026 | USLW | Great Forest | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 15 | 1.50 | 4th | 49th | DNQ |
| Total | – | – | 98 | 36 | 49 | 13 | 181 | 197 | -16 | 121 | 1.23 | - | - | - |
Players
Men's first-team squad
- As of 2022[19]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Colors and Badge
During their time as Pittsburgh Hotspurs, the club predominantly wore blue and yellow. Following the rebrand, the club adopted a new color scheme of dark blue, light blue, black, and gold.
The club's crest is dark blue and gold with stylized trusses and arches evoking the look of the city's 446 bridges. Above the team name is a gold astroid similar to those found on the logo of the Pittsburgh Steelers, flanked by "EST. 2021", the first year the men's and women's first teams competed following the merger. The badge combines elements of the Pittsburgh Hotspurs' crest with the crest used by Steel City FC prior to the merger of the two clubs.
Stadium
Both the men's and women's first teams currently play their home games at Founders Field, a 1,500-seat venue built primarily for rugby in the Pittsburgh suburb of Cheswick. Previously, the men's team played home games at the Ellis School's athletic field in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood.
The men's team also hosted Michigan Stars FC at the University of Pittsburgh's Ambrose Urbanic Field during the 2024 U.S. Open Cup.
Honors
- National Premier Soccer League
- Great Lakes Conference Regular Season Champions (2): 2023, 2024
- NPSL Members Cup (1): 2020
- USL League Two
- Great Forest Division Regular Season Champions (2): 2025, 2026
