As the calendar turns to Halloween week, the Pittsburgh soccer calendar is filled with plenty of treats.
Over the weekend, the Riverhounds and Duquesne women’s soccer clinched home playoff matches while the WPIAL soccer playoffs continue on — as they are in the midst of Championship week. The rest of the college teams in the area are wrapping up their respective regular seasons to varying degrees of success.
Last night — eight teams in four classifications punched their tickets to the WPIAL Finals at Highmark Stadium to be played later this week (but as early as Wednesday!!).
We have the latest calendar below, plus be sure to check out our latest on the ever-changing and fluid WPIAL Championship week schedule, which includes semifinals in all classifications on Monday and Tuesday, then with the Riverhounds now confirmed to host playoff match vs Hartford at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday — the WPIAL will be shifting the Finals schedule to Wednesday through Saturday, with two matches each day.
Duquesne women are set to host a home A10 playoff on Saturday (vs Fordham at 2:30 p.m.) and Steel City FC take the next step in qualifying for US Open Cup tournament when they host Capital City Islanders on Sunday. Both matches will be played at Rooney Field.
Also — if you didn’t see it posted yesterday — it was pretty awesome to see former Quaker Valley and current Chatham University standout Bennett Haas, who was born profoundly deaf, contribute to the US Deaf Men’s National Team’s 3-1-win vs Germany on Sunday in Connecticut.
Haas and US Deaf Men’s National Team will be heading to Japan in November to compete in the Deaflympics.
It’s safe to say that the Pittsburgh Soccer Now crew — myself included, along with Ed Thompson, Matt Popchock and a few others — we’ll be putting in the hours over at Highmark Stadium (and in case of Zac Weiss and Colton Coreschi) and Rooney Field this week — as we’ll do our best to stay on top of all things Pittsburgh soccer!
“I would encourage you to bring all the energy you can”
The Hounds had to do it the hard way, didn’t they?
On Saturday night, while they were on the front-foot for most of the match, as the team’s acting Head Coach Rob Vincent pointed out, the Hounds couldn’t quite find the goal, settling for a scoreless draw against an equally desperate to secure a playoff-berth Phoenix side.
I was there and here’s my match report.
Riverhounds battle Phoenix to scoreless draw, earn home playoff with some help
Bottom line — for only the second time this decade — the Hounds will be hosting a home playoff match at Highmark Stadium.
“I would encourage everyone to bring all the energy you can, because we’re going to need it,” Robbie Mertz shared after Saturday’s match when learning about the Hounds’ playoff opponents.
“Once the whistle blows, you have to find a way to find composure and quality, and that’s what’s going to win the game.”
Mertz then stated that while it’s been a few years since they’ve been at home for playoffs, he said he’s rather forget the last time they hosted (2023 first round upset loss to Detroit City FC), preferring to recall playing before a charged-up crowd in the first round in 2019.
“We’ve gotten into a groove, in the playoffs, you know, Birmingham, 2019, Things can happen,” Mertz then smiled, referring to 2019, when the Hounds hosted Birmingham, winning in an unprecedented rout, 7-0, which remains Pittsburgh’s only playoff win ever at Highmark Stadium.
Now, the Hounds makeshift coaching staff, led in the past three games by acting Head Coach Rob Vincent along with Sporting Director Dan Visser, Jon Busch and Kenardo Forbes, have steered the team forward and ended the regular season with a 2W-0L-1D finish, which secured a much-coveted home playoff match.
Look for more coverage from Pittsburgh Soccer Now leading up to Saturday’s match, which was officially announced by USL Championship. as Mark Goodman will be taking a closer look at this fascinating matchup with Hartford, a team the Hounds beat twice already this season — with the last meeting being among the most contentious in recent Riverhounds’ history.
The club is making every effort to push ticket sales ahead of Saturday’s match, as the Hounds hope to pack Highmark Stadium to capacity, and then some, as this match will be a ‘Black-Aht’, as they are encouraging fans to wear black.
Special Season for Duquesne Women
What a difference a year makes.
On Sunday, Duquesne women’s soccer team completed a regular season completing a remarkable turnaround.
“I could cry right now,” Eva LaVecchia emoted.
“It’s amazing honestly to see how hard we work. We’re up here early and we stay here late. We’re just here to work, compete and to win.”
Have to hand it to Duquesne’s athletic administration who were determined to revive the program with a fresh start and provide a new voice.
That’s where Jessica Giegucz was hired.
A largely upperclassmen-based roster, including LaVecchia, would have to buy in were it to make this season a successful one.
Coaches across the conference placed Duquesne 10th in the preseason poll, but an undeterred Dukes side put the finishing touches on the third seed and hosting an Atlantic 10 Championship game following a 4-2 victory over La Salle Sunday afternoon at Rooney Field.
Be sure to read Zac Weiss’s feature on the Dukes.
Weiss: Duquesne Women’s Soccer’s Season — A Special One
It has been a special season — and a record-breaking one too for the program with Maya Metasa shattering the all-time and single season goal scoring marks. On Sunday, Matesa scored her 16th and 17th goals of the season and Brianna Moore 47 seconds in her eighth. Both assisted each other as well. Together they rank first and fifth in points, with Matesa setting the program record for goals.
Now, the Dukes will host Fordham on Saturday at Rooney Field.
College Wrap-Around
Looking around at the rest of the Division I college teams, with the final week (plus in the case of RMU MSOC) and last regular season matches to be played, here’s where the other programs stand.
RMU WSOC
The Colonials wrap-up the regular season by traveling to take on Youngstown State on Wednesday for the regular season finale Following Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Wright State, RMU (2W-4L-3D in Horizon League, 9 points) must now get a result in Youngstown and need some serious help — as they’re currently on the outside looking in, sitting in seventh place in a league where the top six teams qualify for the playoff tournament. They will also need Oakland (11 points) to lose in its final match to last place Detroit Mercy.
RMU MSOC
That’s right — the defending Horizon League champs are still unbeaten in league play, but they continue to settle for draws. Once again, on Saturday, the Colonials (now 2W-0L-5D, 11 points) — as they sit currently in third place with two matches to go.
As expected, the Horizon League race is very tight, with Cleveland State leading the way with 15 points, but after that, there’s a logjam of teams vying for second through sixth place spots that secure tournament playoff berths.
The challenge for the Colonials, is to secure at top two or three finish, they’ll likely have to come away with between four and six points in the last two matches — both on the road at Green Bay (on Friday) and Wright State (next Tuesday).
Duquesne MSOC
The Dukes head into its season finale at George Mason on Saturday, at Rooney Field (7 pm) licking its wounds — as they came up short on Saturday — losing 2-1 to
Pitt MSOC
There’s either the glass half full thought when it comes to Pitt men’s soccer or the glass half empty view.
If you look at the positives, the Panthers have not lost in its last three matches and they are going to have a fighting chance to extend its season in the ACC tournament.
But the Panthers (now 5W-6L-2D overall, 1-4-2 in ACC) blew their chance at a winning regular season record when allowing a late goal in settling for a 1-1 draw vs Wake Forest over the weekend.
If the Panthers can beat Louisville on Friday night in the regular season finale, they will end the season with a .500 overall record and will need to win at least two matches (maybe more) in the ACC tournament to have a legitimate chance to get an invite to the NCAA tournament this year. Under Jay Vidovich’s leadership, Pitt has not missed the NCAA tournament since 2018 (six straight seasons). Only Wake Forest and Georgetown have longer streaks in making the tournament in Men’s College Division I soccer.
Pitt WSOC
It’s been a disappointing campaign for Pitt in Ben Waldrum’s first season at the helm. The Panthers took another setback over the weekend, losing to Virginia, 2-0. The Panthers are now 5W-10L-2D overall and slumped to 1W-8L-0D in the ACC.
The season finale will be on Thursday evening, when the Panthers host Notre Dame at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
PITTSBURGH SOCCER SCHEDULE (10/29/2025 – 11/4/2025)
Wed
10/29/2025
Robert Morris (WSOC)
6:00 PM
A
Youngstown St
Youngstown, OH
WPIAL FINALS
6:00 PM
Highmark Stadium
WPIAL FINALS
8:00 PM
Highmark Stadium
Thurs
10/30/25.
WPIAL FINALS
6:00 PM
Highmark Stadium
WPIAL FINALS
8:00 PM
Highmark Stadium
Pitt (WSOC)
7:00 PM
A
Notre Dame
Ambrose Urbanic Field
Fri
10/31/2025
Robert Morris (MSOC)
1:00 PM
A
Green Bay
Green Bay, WI
WPIAL FINALS
6:00 PM
Highmark Stadium
WPIAL FINALS
8:00 PM
Highmark Stadium
Pitt (MSOC)
7:00 PM
A
Louisville
Louisville, KY
Sat
11/1/2025
WPIAL FINALS
10AM
Highmark Stadium
WPIAL FINALS
12 NOON
Highmark Stadium
Duquesne (WSOC)
2:30 PM
H
Fordham (A10 Q-FINAL)
Rooney Field
Riverhounds
6:30PM
Hartford (USL PLAYOFF)
Highmark Stadium
Duquesne (MSOC)
7:00 PM
George Mason
Rooney Field
Sun
11/2/2025
PIAA Playoff Brackets
Tues
11/4/2025
Robert Morris (MSOC)
2:00 PM
A
Wright St
Dayton, OH
PIAA 1st Round
John Krysinsky has covered soccer and other sports for many years for various publications and media outlets. He is also author of ‘Miracle on the Mon’ — a book about the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which chronicles the club, particularly the early years of Highmark Stadium with the narrative leading up to and centered around a remarkable match that helped provide a spark for the franchise. John has covered sports for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Sports Report, has served as color commentator on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broadcasts, and worked with OPTA Stats and broadcast teams for US Open Cup and International Champions Cup matches held in the US. Krysinsky also served as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at his alma mater, Point Park University, where he led the Pioneers to the first-ever winning seasons and playoff berths (1996-98); head coach of North Catholic boys (2007-08), associate head coach of Shady Side Academy boys (2009-2014).
