Lucky Strikes Topple Dynamo in Coed GPSL Title Thriller at Hamilton Park

The 2025 CoEd Over-19 GPSL Thursday night season kicked off back in early June under the lights and rain at Carnegie Mellon’s soccer field, though most league matches unfolded across familiar city turf — Schenley Oval, Cupples Stadium, and Brentwood High School.

Ten squads took the pitch this season, a mix of former and current NCAA athletes alongside players more into the game for fun than glory. But don’t let the co-ed label fool you — the competition was fierce.

Now in its 20th year, the GPSL CoEd league was born from the PA West Adult Soccer Women’s GPSL, and it’s still going strong. Founding commissioner Rich Mader helped get it all started two decades ago, and the league’s still growing.

With a round-robin format, every match mattered, especially down the stretch. The top eight teams earned the chance to play at Highmark Stadium — home of the Riverhounds and Riveters — a dream for many local players who don’t often get the chance to play on a professional pitch right on the Mon.

The penultimate night saw four matches on the banks of the Monongahela, with two high-stakes semifinal clashes front and center. The undefeated Pittsburgh Dynamo took care of business against newcomers North United OG that were led by a strong mix of youth and seasoned vets — including a few parent-child duos.

The other semifinal featured a heated rivalry that’s been bubbling for years — the #2 seeded Lucky Strikes versus #3 Iron City FC. It was a tight, tense affair, with Lucky Strikes squeaking by 1-0 to punch their ticket to the title game.

That set up a championship showdown on August 14th between Dynamo and Lucky Strikes — this time, not at Highmark, but at Hamilton Park in Castle Shannon, where fans and dogs packed the sideline for the season finale. Unlike the usual 70-minute league matches, the title bout stretches the full 90 — and this one delivered from start to finish.

Back and forth they went in a nail-biter that saw Dynamo claw back twice with equalizers, only for Lucky Strikes to bury the game-winner late and hand Dynamo their first — and only — loss of the season, sealing a 3-2 victory and hoisting the cup, claiming the coed GPSL title for 2025. At press time it was reported that both teams were enjoying post-game beers.

A tip of the cap to all the players, captains, refs, fans and doggos who made the 2025 season one to remember. We’ll see yinz back out there in the fall.