Steel FC recently caught our attention with a stunning new logo and kit designed by Icarus FC. While we were aware of Steel FC, we had failed to reach out thus far; a failure no longer! We wanted to know about the making of Steel FC and their upgrade from Bessemer to being the Linz-Donowintz of soccer in the Greater Pittsburgh Soccer League. Brian Luchini was happy to walk us through the history of the club and the transformation to its modern design – as well as the charitable cause from which sales of their newest kits are donated to.

Let's start at the start - When was Steel FC founded and what gave you the inspiration?

Steel FC was founded in 2015. At the time, our team had been playing year-round in different summer leagues as well as indoor winter leagues. While those leagues offered some quality competition, the majority of the time our players found themselves being hacked, fouled hard, kicked, stomped on, etc. from teams that were not up to the same quality as us. They would take their frustrations out to the point of causing injuries. The game started to become unhealthy for us. Therefore, we decided to join the Greater Pittsburgh Soccer League as a new team in the 2nd lowest division, the Miners Division (Division III). Having known players who already participated in that league, I was assured that our opponents were quality enough to play the game as it should be played and that gritty, unnecessary fouls would become minimal.

Tell us a little bit about the Greater Pittsburgh Soccer League; how many teams operate in that system and what is it like to gain promotion? Is there any greater motivation for a team than to know their success will be rewarded that way?

At the time we joined the GPSL there was 32 teams spread out between 4 divisions. The Keystone Division was known as Division IV and was the bottom division. Players in this division might've played in high school or on intramural teams. They play the game for fun, exercise, and camaraderie more than to win and get promoted. The next division, the Miner's Division, known as Division III, was the entry point for new teams joining the GPSL and is where teams started to play more competitively. Typically, players in this division played in high school and competed in a youth, club, or travel team. They know the game well from a mental standpoint but might not have the skill or fitness level to really compete at a higher level. The Championship Division, known as DII, is really where competitive teams take the games seriously as based on their standings, they can be promoted to the Premier Division or relegated to the Miners Division. Players in this division definitely played organized, competitive soccer in high school and college. The technical and physical ability starts to really show and team managers take the game seriously in that they decide who to recruit and cut mid-season and post season in order to make their team better. The Premier Division, known as Division I and the division Steel FC plays in, is the best adult amateur soccer division in Pittsburgh. Players in this division compete for the title each year and some teams, like ours, go on to participate in regional and national tournaments. Players in this division are top amateur quality. We have guys play in this league that have played D1 in college, at a high level overseas, are former USL players, and an ex MLS player or two. The motivation for each team to move up is knowing the fierce competition ahead of you and seeing how your team stacks up. My team started in the Miners Division in 2015, won that and moved up to the Championship Division in 2016. We competed in this division from 2016-2017 before winning it and moving up to the Premier Division in 2018. Since 2018 we have been competing in the Premier Division and look to capture the title each year. In 2019 in all local, regional, and national competitions we held a combined record of 14-3-3 and look to improve upon that during our 2020 campaign.

Steel FC has competed in both the USASA Amateur Cup as well as the US Open Cup - how deep have you run in those competitions and has funding ever felt like a prohibiting factor for a deeper run?

Yes, Steel FC has competed in the USASA Amateur Cup and the Open Cup. We have only done this once though as entering both these competitions in 2019 was our first time. In the 2019 USASA Amateur Cup, we exceeded expectations for our first go at it. Being a small team from Pittsburgh with barely a following, no one really gave us a shot or knew who we were. However, in our first game in the 2019 USASA Amateur Cup, we traveled down to Christos FC and came away with a 1-0 victory against the former National Amateur Cup Champions. We then hosted NPSL team, Philadelphia Lonestar, and was again victorious with a 4-1 win. This win put us in the USASA Region One Final. We traveled to Philadelphia last June for it and ended up being runner-up to eventual USASA Amateur Cup Champion, Newtown Pride FC. In the Open Cup this past year we hosted the 1st round of qualifying and faced Maryland side Germantown City FC. We won that match by a score of 3-1. We also hosted the 2nd round of qualifying as two Pittsburgh teams were pitted against each other. Our opponent for this match was Tartan Devils FC. This game took us to overtime where we again came out victorious by a 3-1 score line. In the 3rd round of qualifying we traveled to a familiar opponent, Christos FC. This was a great game with Christos having most of the possession and us dangerous on the counter-attack. However, an incorrect goal allowed (confirmed by the Open Cup committee from video evidence) was the difference in this one and we fell to them 3-2. Seeing as this is the only time we participated in the Open Cup, this is as far as we have ever gone. Again, though I believe we exceeded expectations as not many gave us a chance. I am happy for what my team accomplished and while the USASA Amateur Cup has been cancelled this year, we look forward to competing in the 2020-21 Open Cup if it happens. As far as how funding has affected my team goes, the only real issue we would have run into is if we would've beaten Christos FC in the 3rd round of qualifying. Had we won that game we would've been in the tournament proper. Had we been chosen to host, the costs to host the first-round proper would've been between $8,000-$10,000 due to ticket sales, EMS, advanced police security, referee fees, field rental fees, etc. etc. Us being a small club that pays for everything out of our own pocket, (we are not sponsored at all), it definitely would have been a struggle for us to come up with that amount of money in order to play just one game. We are actively looking for a sponsor but have had no real luck yet, especially with COVID-19 going on.

Tell us about your 2020 Midnight Steel FC kits; what inspired the jerseys and what has the club decided to do with the proceeds?

Our new 2020 Midnight Steel FC kits are really the exceptional work of icarusfc.com. I reached out to Robert and was looking for a new home jersey now that we have the time do to the shutdown. He came back to me and wanted to update our logo. I agreed and he came up with the triangle shape, black and gold banner, star, and white and blue checkered pattern. The triangle's 3 points represent the 3 rivers and an area where Pittsburghers gather called "The Point". The Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet at "The Point" and become the bigger, Ohio river. The black and gold colors are a representation of Pittsburgh sports teams, the star is a nod from our old logo, and the white and checkered pattern in the logo are taken from the City of Pittsburgh's flag. Altogether, the logo turned out great and from the logo, Icarus FC designed our new jersey which blew us out of the park. We cannot wait for them to come in and for us to finally be able to wear them (hopefully) this season. Right now, we have a few pre-orders in but would love to sell more. We are accepting the first batch of pre-orders through Monday, May 3rd. Feel free to check out our online store at steelfcsoccer.com/merchandise. Whatever proceeds we make will go towards 2020 GPSL expenses and Open Cup expenses. Additionally, some of the proceeds from our jersey sales will go towards fighting COVID-19 in the Pittsburgh area. Whatever we can give we will give. Any amount, no matter how small or large, makes a difference.

If you don't play this season... how are you doing? Will we see Steel FC in 2021 and beyond - what does the future look like for your club?

If we end up not playing this season it will definitely hurt from an emotional standpoint but the team will not fold. We have an eager squad looking to play any chance they get. If there is no season, we will enter winter seasons (if possible) and stay engaged in the soccer universe. Or if the season is cancelled but we get the all clear to play, I plan to host friendlies against quality teams any chance we can along with organizing and hosting a Corona Cup tournament. Regardless of what happens during the rest of 2020, we will be back in 2021 and plan to hit the ground running.

To Follow Steel FC: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Sports-Club/Steel-FC-256648575090131/

To Pick Up a Kit: https://www.steelfcsoccer.com/merchandise