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| Full name | Steel City Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 as Pittsburgh Hotspurs |
| Ground | Founders Field, Cheswick, Pennsylvania |
| Capacity | 1,500 |
| Head coach | Dan Brower |
| League | USL League Two |
| 2024 | 1st, Great Lakes Conference 5th, East Conference |
| Website | https://www.steelcityfc.com/ |
Steel City FC is an American pre-professional soccer club based out ofPittsburgh. The club has two senior teams, with the men's team playing in theUSL League Two and the women's team playing in theUSL W League, along with several youth teams.
Formed in the 1980's as a youth soccer team, the Pittsburgh Hotspurs launched its Men's First Team in 2019 to compete in theNational Premier Soccer League.[1] According to the team's first coach Tom Campbell, NPSL officials contacted the Hotspurs about joining the league after theFort Pitt Regiment folded after the2018 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 overCleveland SC,FC Buffalo, andErie 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 theirU.S. Open Cup debut in 2024,[5] losing toNISA clubMichigan Stars FC in the first round by a score of 1-0.[6]
In December 2024, Steel City announced it would joinUSL League Two for the 2025 season,[7] being placed in the newly-formed Great Forest Division within the Central Conference.[8]
| 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 toCOVID-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 |
| Total | – | – | 66 | 42 | 14 | 10 | 147 | 86 | +61 | 138 | 2.09 | - | - | - | |
The club's women's team was founded as a separate organization, competing in theWomen's Premier Soccer League through the 2019 season.[1][9] Ahead of the 2020 season, Steel City FC merged with the Pittsburgh Hotspurs.[10] The team joinedUnited Women's Soccer for the 2021 season.[11] 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.[12]
In December 2024, the women's team joined the men's team in moving to the USL and joined theUSL W League for 2025,[7] with the team placed in the newly-formed Great Forest Division within the Central Conference.[13]
| 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 toCOVID-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 |
| Total | – | – | 88 | 31 | 44 | 13 | 169 | 182 | -13 | 106 | 1.20 | - | - | - |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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 thecity's 446 bridges. Above the team name is a goldastroid similar to those found on the logo of thePittsburgh 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.
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 ofCheswick. Previously, the men's team played home games at theEllis School's athletic field in Pittsburgh'sShadyside neighborhood.
The men's team also hosted Michigan Stars FC at theUniversity of Pittsburgh'sAmbrose Urbanic Field during the2024 U.S. Open Cup.
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