Pittsburgh-area soccer team Northern Steel Fusion takes home top prize at US Club Soccer National Cup

When Blair Gerlach talks about his team, Northern Steel Fusion, pride brims in his voice – and with good reason. In late July, the Pittsburgh-area U-14 girls club soccer team Northern Steel Fusion – for whom Gerlach is Director of Coaching – traveled to the US Club Soccer National Cup, in Westfield Ind., where they took home the top prize.

“When you talk about working with players at this age [under 14],” Gerlach tells CP by phone recently, “these are kids who are about to go into high school; you’re trying to get them the experience of playing on a big stage for when they step on their high-school field as freshman they can actually compete with some of these seniors.”

And the players had ample opportunity to prove themselves, playing five games over four days (July 21-24); a four-game round robin followed by a match between the top two teams. The first two games were ties – 0-0 and 1-1 – followed by Northern Steel Fusion winning game three, 3-0 and game four, 4-0. The final game was a nail-biter, where they won 3-2 against Minnesota-based team REV GU14 Academy Black in overtime.

“It was really frustrating while it was happening because you’re 30 seconds away from a national championship if you give up a goal and … then you get into overtime and score and you’re like, ‘Ok never mind,’” Gerlach recalls. “But it was really exciting.”


He notes that, at this level of competition – where scores were close across the board — the team needed to not only win, but actually score, building up its goal differential to secure a top seed.

“But,” he says, “they came out and they put up these numbers … [It’s] shocking at a national level to win a game 3-0 and 4-0. So you put the pressure on these kids and they rose to a level [of playing] two full games not only scoring goals but pitching shutouts. So in three of our four games, in the beginning, we didn’t let up a goal. It was fantastic.”

That kind of stress is a lot for anyone to handle, especially in that young age bracket, but Blair likes to take the honest approach when it comes to offering guidance to the players.

“I’m a big believer is telling people the truth, and really letting them know what’s at stake. So I don’t really hold anything back from them,” he says. He gives some positive reinforcement, reminding the team members that they’ve earned their place in the competition: “A little bit of ‘I trust you, that’s why I brought you here, you’re good enough to be here,’ … but holding them accountable at the same time to make sure that they do their job,” he says. “It’s a little bit of confidence building, a little bit of that challenge.”

Northern Steel Fusion roster

Stephanie Adkisson – 18
Alison Altman – 93
Andrea Bean – 42
Gabrielle Boden – 10
Natalie Brands – 41
Elena Carlson – 3
Isabella Cinalli – 49
Tehya Dave – 16
Vanessa Drohan – 7
Alexandra King – 25
Samantha King – 15
Gabby Kutchma – 9
Ava Lamory – 8
Amanda Malobicky – 21
Victoria Michalski – 6
Kara Rocco – 13
Erin Rodgers – 47
Brianne Torchia – 22