Photo courtesy of Sara Skotzke of SGR Media Shots
TICKETS: Season tickets | Women’s USL home opener | Doubleheader — men’s home opener
FC Buffalo’s 2026 USL2 and USL W League seasons began on the road Saturday with mixed results as the men headed to Ohio and the shorthanded women down to Pennsylvania.
The men picked up a valuable point away to Akron City, taking a 1-0 lead through Lucas Soares (Williams Baptist University / Anapolis, Brazil) off an Ali Alomari (Niagara University / Lackawanna, NY) feed but conceding before halftime to leave the score 1-1.
Kevin Leiva (Futuro FC / Santiago, Chile) appeared to make it 2-1 in the second half but the referee whistled for a handball in the buildup and stopped the goal from meeting the scoreboard.
The women faced an early-season kickoff in front of a sold-out 5,000+ crowd in Pittsburgh as a rough scheduling flaw left the blue and gold traveling to Pennsylvania with just 15 players including three debutants in the Starting XI and three more first-time players coming into the game off the bench.
The game began with a spell of FCB possession but took a turn when Pittsburgh Riveters punched in a wrongly-awarded corner. Pittsburgh would ride a spell of momentum to a 3-0 lead that could’ve been worse were it not for a double save on a penalty from 17-year-old goalkeeper Jordan Senz (WNY Flash / Erie, Pennsylvania).
