Men’s First Team Stays Unbeaten After Dominant 3-0 Top-Table Win

By Zander Plizga

Cheswick, PA – Steel City FC move to 3-0-1 on the season after an early offensive explosion propels them to a 3-0 victory over fellow top-table side, FC Buffalo. Despite a weather delay pushing kickoff back an hour, the Men’s First Team delivered an electric first-half performance. Scoring three goals in the opening 30 minutes of action and comfortably managing the rest of the match to secure another victory at Founder Field in front of a crowd of over 1,000 fans.

Goals Galore

The first half of action saw three different players etch their names into the scorebook, with each goal being better than the previous. Johan Nissen-Lie (Bellarmine ’28) opened the scoring in the 6^th minute on a gritty individual effort to press onto a sloppy back pass header from Buffalo. Nissen-Lie beat the keeper to the ball and poked it over his outstretched hand, before celebrating in the corner with hundreds of SCFC academy kids in attendance for the match.

Just three minutes later, another goal hit the back of the net, this time coming from a set piece straight off the training pitch. Jake Lane (Old Dominion ’27) muscled a defender off the ball before taking on another and being brought down from behind on the edge of the box and endline. Jaxon Ervin (Duquesne ‘26) stepped up and clipped a free kick to the back post, where  Sava Catlett (Oregon State ’29) looped a header over the keeper and onto the underside of the bar, before narrowly crossing the plane of the goal line. This put Steel City up 2-0 inside of 10 minutes of action.

Fantastic Finish

The final goal came in the 29th minute from an outstanding 18-pass move from Steel City. A flurry of quick combos from Cam Territo (Duquesne ’23) to Ervin to Nick Graeca (John Carroll ’25) and back to Ervin capped off the incredible sweeping move. Once Ervin received the set from Graeca, he opened his hips and curled the shot into the far post top corner for his third goal of the season.

Moving towards the second half, Buffalo saw more possession but was unable to break through a strong Steel City midblock.

Steel City substituted heavily to start the second half, making six changes, but the results were the same. SCFC continued to dominate the game and created a lot of dangerous chances, despite being unable to find the back of the net.

There’s another one?

Carter Kopay (Pitt ’30) made his Steel City FC debut and continued the long line of Kopays to play for the Men’s First Team. Carter is now the third Kopay to see action on the Men’s First Team.

Carter even shared the midfield with his older brother Ryan Kopay (FDU ’29) throughout the extent of the second half. The resemblance in their play-style is uncanny; both glide past defenders while dribbling, get stuck into challenges, and can run forever. Carter impressed in his debut with his ability to create off the dribble, and Ryan managed the game with his ability to slow down or speed up the pace of the game.

Academy POTY Takes the Pitch

Sean Regan (John Carroll ’30), a member of the Men’s team since the age of 15, was also among the second-half changes. Regan was named the 2026 Academy Player of the Year, later in the day, and has made meaningful appearances in big games over the past few years. He continues to impress with his work rate and ability to make an impact at such a young age.

Staying Clean

Goalkeeper Josh Lane (RMU ’27) and the Steel City Backline continued the defensive dominance, as Lane and the defence notched their fourth clean sheet of the season.

Three academy products saw time in the backline today: Luke Fiscus (Duquesne ’28), Zander Plizga (Mount Union ’26), and Regan. The depth of the backline is another strength of Steel City, as three substitutions were made at the half, and not a beat was missed.

Up Next

Steel City FC returns to action on Wednesday, June 10, when they host Pittsburgh Riverhounds II at Founders Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and tickets are available HERE.

Saturday’s game will also be broadcast on SportsEngine.