Pennsylvania High School Soccer Standouts Find Roles with Pittsburgh Riveters

DuBois' Anna Korney, South Fayette's Gabby Beinke and Caitlyn Thompson all played key roles in the Riveters' USL W Conference semifinal game

Anna Korney, left, fights for the ball with a few Minnesota Aurora FC defenders Friday at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. Korney is a 15-year-old student at DuBois High School and plays in the USL W League, which is a pre-professional league. / Josh Rizzo

PITTSBURGH - Western Pennsylvania girls soccer stars Anna Korney, Gabby Beinke and Caitlyn Thompson were all asked to grow up quickly. Korney, a student at DuBois High School, and Beinke, who plays at South Fayette, are both 15 years old and are the two youngest players on the 42-player roster of the Pittsburgh Riveters, a USL W League squad.

They were both called upon to play significant minutes for the Riveters during their 2-0 loss to Minnesota Aurora FC in a USL W Central Conference semifinal playoff game, Friday at Highmark Stadium.

Thompson, who is 17 and also plays at South Fayette, started in the net for the Riveters.

“It was bittersweet,” Korney said. “As a team, we wanted to win this one for Pittsburgh, so it was very unfortunate we didn’t get the result. However, personally, I was excited and thankful for the opportunity to play in such a meaningful game.

Pittsburgh was without six starters for its playoff match. Piper Coffield, a 19-year-old defender who plays for Indiana University and is a Mars graduate, expressed her respect for Korny after the match.

“I told her at the end of the game, I have nothing but respect for her,” Coffield said. “She’s 15. Playing 90 minutes in a game like this is absolutely incredible. I think it’s a challenge for them and something our group has had to overcome all year. It’s different, but I was excited that some people got an opportunity today.”

Who are the Riveters?

The Riveters are a pre-professional team that just completed their first season in the USL W League. The league is aimed at players in the under-23 age group who are aspiring professionals or former professionals.

The hope is that the league will help younger players transition from the youth level to the higher level of competition. Pittsburgh (6-2-3) won the Great Forest Division, finishing three points ahead of the Cleveland Force.

“I know we want to win the whole thing, but it takes steps, right?” Pittsburgh coach Scott Gibson said. “To be unbeaten at home in the regular season and to only concede one goal from a PK, I mean, today was probably an offside goal and a PK. We haven’t given up a goal in open play, which is good for us right?”

Love it when a plans come together

Many of the players the Riveters had were unavailable because they had to return to college. Pittsburgh played in the playoffs without top scorers Tanum Nelson and Olivia Damico, who play at Cornell and Penn State, respectively.

Pauline Nelles, who made eight starts in goal for the Riveters, had a visa issue. Thompson hadn’t appeared for the team before starting in the playoffs.

Gibson was happy with how she handled her first action.

“She stood up today and made some great saves that were tricky,” Gibson said. “She’s been more of the training goalkeeper. She gets the most shots hit at her in training, which helps prepare her for this. For a 17-year-old to step into that environment is amazing.”

Pittsburgh Riveters forward Anna Korney, a DuBois High School student, attempts to take the ball from Minesota Aurora defender Camber Hayes Friday afternoon during a USL W Conference semifinal at Highmark Stadium. / Josh Rizzo

Answering the Call

Korney appeared in two games during the regular season. She scored the first career goal against Steel City FC on June 11. During Korney’s two appearances, she put four shots on target in 43 minutes.

Korney started training with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy when she was 11. The Riverhounds announced last year that they were starting the Riveters and were set to play this fall.

Korney, who was invited to a U.S. camp last November, got the invite to train from the Riveters when Gibson got in touch with her dad in May.

“He said he wanted me to train with them as soon as my school ended for the year because they trained right in the middle of the day,” Korney said. “I was excited, but extremely nervous at first. They were all so inclusive and kind. They are great players who made training challenging.”

Maintaining Balance

Korney said balancing playing in the Elite Clubs National League, her DuBois High School team, and the Riveters hasn’t been too bad. She utilizes the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Pittsburgh a few days a week to catch up on homework.

“It’s easy to balance it all because we only play high school in the fall,” Korney said “The league that the Hounds plays in is the ECNL, so they actually encourage us to play high school soccer by allowing us to have the fall off. Then, as soon as high school ends, we jump right into club soccer. At the end of the spring, Riveters and club kinda overlapped a bit, but it was still pretty easy to manage.”

--Josh Rizzo | rizzo42789@gmail.com | @J_oshrizzo