The Riveters are getting set for their first playoff game on Friday night at FNB Stadium, and head coach Scott Gibson and the women say that playoffs this year already feel different than last year. It does, it feels completely different. That doesn’t mean that necessarily the outcome will be different, but we do feel different pre preparing for this. Um, last year we had no idea. I mean, we had no idea. We got into the playoffs with the last kick of the game and the final game. This year we’ve had more time to think about it, analyze it, prepare for it, um, so we’ll be as prepared as we can be, and then it’s obviously up to the players to go out there and perform. Scott Gibson and the Riveters finished off the season undefeated. Now they’re focused on playoffs. The club is the 2 seed and will host Louisville in the opening round of the USLW playoffs Friday at 7. The Riveters got bounced in the first round of the postseason last year, but Cannonsburg native Lily Bains says with their undefeated record, the team definitely has more confidence this time around. Scott and the coaches are really on us, making sure that we aren’t getting complacent or just keeping the intensity up, and then like today, tomorrow we’ll taper down *** bit. And every day before the game we do the same drills, games, and it’s just kind of fun and loose but still like nice, sharp, and it gets us mentally prepared for our game. They know what we have to do and they’re excited to play at home again, right? They’re excited to play in front of *** bumper crowd. I’m sure that will be on Friday evening. Uh, and then hopefully we can get the job done and bring all those fans back for Sunday night. The other two teams in the bracket are Minnesota and Union. They will play against each other on Friday as well, and then the winner of those two games will face off against each other on Sunday in Coreopolis, Ashley Laotis, Pittsburgh’s Action Sports.
Pittsburgh Riveters ready for playoffs after undefeated season
Updated: 8:03 PM EDT Jul 1, 2026
The Riveters are gearing up for their first playoff game Friday night at FNB Stadium, with head coach Scott Gibson and the team reflecting on how this year’s postseason feels different from last year. “It feels completely different. That doesn’t mean that necessarily the outcome will be different, but we do feel different preparing for this,” Gibson said. “Last year, we had no idea. I mean, we had no idea. We got into the playoffs with the last kick of the game in the final game. This year, we’ve had more time to think about it, analyze it, and prepare for it. So we’ll be as prepared as we can be. And then it’s obviously up to the players to go out there and perform.” The Riveters finished the season undefeated and are now focused on the playoffs. The team is the No. 2 seed and will host Louisville in the opening round Friday at 7 p.m. Last year, the Riveters were eliminated in the first round of the postseason, but Canonsburg native Lili Bain said the team’s undefeated record has given them more confidence this time around. “Scott, the coaches are really on us, making sure that we aren’t getting complacent or just keeping the intensity up,” Bain said. “And then, like today, tomorrow we’ll taper down a bit, and every day before the game we do the same drills, games, and it’s just kind of fun and loose but still like nice, sharp. And it gets us mentally prepared for our game. You know what we have to do.” The team is also looking forward to playing at home in front of a large crowd. “They’re excited to play in front of a bumper crowd. I’m sure that will be on Friday evening. And then hopefully we can get the job done and bring all those fans back for Sunday night,” Gibson said. The other two teams in the bracket, Minnesota and Union, will play against each other on Friday as well. The winners of Friday’s games will face off Sunday in Corry.
PITTSBURGH —
The Riveters are gearing up for their first playoff game Friday night at FNB Stadium, with head coach Scott Gibson and the team reflecting on how this year’s postseason feels different from last year.
“It feels completely different. That doesn’t mean that necessarily the outcome will be different, but we do feel different preparing for this,” Gibson said. “Last year, we had no idea. I mean, we had no idea. We got into the playoffs with the last kick of the game in the final game. This year, we’ve had more time to think about it, analyze it, and prepare for it. So we’ll be as prepared as we can be. And then it’s obviously up to the players to go out there and perform.”
The Riveters finished the season undefeated and are now focused on the playoffs. The team is the No. 2 seed and will host Louisville in the opening round Friday at 7 p.m.
Last year, the Riveters were eliminated in the first round of the postseason, but Canonsburg native Lili Bain said the team’s undefeated record has given them more confidence this time around.
“Scott, the coaches are really on us, making sure that we aren’t getting complacent or just keeping the intensity up,” Bain said. “And then, like today, tomorrow we’ll taper down a bit, and every day before the game we do the same drills, games, and it’s just kind of fun and loose but still like nice, sharp. And it gets us mentally prepared for our game. You know what we have to do.”
The team is also looking forward to playing at home in front of a large crowd.
“They’re excited to play in front of a bumper crowd. I’m sure that will be on Friday evening. And then hopefully we can get the job done and bring all those fans back for Sunday night,” Gibson said.
The other two teams in the bracket, Minnesota and Union, will play against each other on Friday as well. The winners of Friday’s games will face off Sunday in Corry.