2017 Bethlehem Steel FC season

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The 2017 season was Bethlehem Steel FC's second season of competitive soccer in the United Soccer League and first season competing in the second division of American soccer. Steel FC competed in the league's Eastern Conference.

Bethlehem Steel FC

2017 season

Ownership Group

Head coach

Stadium

8th place

First Round

Top goalscorer

Seku Conneh (10)

Highest home attendance

3,215
(Jul. 9 vs. New York)

Lowest home attendance

2,976
(Apr. 23 vs. Orlando)

Average home league attendance

3,054

Home colors

Away colors

← 2016

2018 →

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of June 21, 2017.


No.	Pos.	Player	Nation
4	DF	Ken Tribbett (^[A])	United States
12	DF	Keegan Rosenberry (^[A])	United States
15	DF	Josh Yaro (^[A])	Ghana
16	DF	Richie Marquez (^[A])	United States
19	DF	Aaron Jones (^[A])	England
20	MF	Marcus Epps (^[A])	United States
24	MF	Adam Najem (^[A])	United States
26	DF	Auston Trusty (^[A])	United States
29	GK	Jake McGuire (^[A])	United States
32	DF	Giliano Wijnaldum (^[A])	Netherlands
36	FW	Seku Conneh	Liberia
37	FW	Chris Nanco	Canada
38	FW	Santi Moar	Spain
39	FW	Amoy Brown	Jamaica
40	MF	Josh Heard	Canada
41	FW	Cory Burke	Jamaica
42	DF	Hugh Roberts	United States
43	MF	Chris Wingate	Norway
44	DF	Charlie Reymann	United States
45	MF	James Chambers	Republic of Ireland
47	DF	Matthew Real	United States
48	DF	Matt Mahoney	United States
49	MF	Yosef Samuel	United States
50	DF	Mark McKenzie (^[B])	United States
51	GK	Matthew Freese (^[B])	United States
52	FW	Issa Rayyan (^[B])	United States
55	MF	Dawson McCartney (^[B])	United States
57	FW	Justin McMaster (^[B])	Jamaica
60	MF	Josue Monge (^[B])	United States
64	GK	Tomas Romero (^[B])	El Salvador

Signed to first team contract with Philadelphia Union.

Date	Player	Number	Position	Previous club	Fee/notes
November 14, 2016	Cory Burke	41	FW	Rivoli United	Loan made permanent^[1]
December 22, 2016	Hugh Roberts	42	DF	Richmond Kickers	Undisclosed^[2]
January 17, 2017	Matthew Real	47	DF	Philadelphia Union Academy	Undisclosed^[3]
January 30, 2017	Santi Moar	38	FW	Pfeiffer Falcons	2017 Philadelphia Union Draft Signing^[4]
March 2, 2017	Charlie Reymann	44	DF	Kentucky Wildcats	Trialist signing^[5]
March 3, 2017	Matt Mahoney	48	DF	Temple Owls	Trialist signing^[6]
March 8, 2017	Chris Nanco	37	FW	Syracuse Orange	2017 Philadelphia Union Draft Signing^[7]
April 5, 2017	Chris Wingate	43	MF	New Hampshire Wildcats	Trialist signing^[8]

Date	Player	Number	Position	New club	Fee/notes
September 29, 2016	Gabe Gissie	37	FW	Sacramento Republic FC	Contract declined^[9]
September 29, 2016	Nick Bibbs	38	DF	—	Contract declined^[9]
September 29, 2016	Jamie Luchini	43	FW	—	Contract declined^[9]
September 29, 2016	Fred	47	MF	—	Contract declined^[9]
January 30, 2016	Bolu Akinyode	42	MF	North Carolina FC	Transfer; Undisclosed fee^[10]
May 1, 2017	Matt Perrella	46	GK	Jacksonville Armada	Released^[11]

Date	Player	Number	Position	Loaned from	Fee/notes
April 1, 2017	Ken Tribbett	4	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 1, 2017	Brian Carroll	7	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 1, 2017	Charlie Davies	9	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 1, 2017	Aaron Jones	19	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 1, 2017	Marcus Epps	20	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 1, 2017	Adam Najem	24	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 1, 2017	Auston Trusty	26	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 1, 2017	Giliano Wijnaldum	32	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 1, 2017	Josue Monge	60	DF	Philadelphia Union Academy	Academy Call-up
April 1, 2017	Tomas Romero	64	GK	Philadelphia Union Academy	Academy Call-up
April 9, 2017	Jack Elliott	3	DF	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 9, 2017	Jake McGuire	29	GK	Philadelphia Union	Temporary loan
April 9, 2017	Mark McKenzie	50	DF	Philadelphia Union Academy	Academy Call-up
April 9, 2017	Issa Rayyan	52	FW	Philadelphia Union Academy	Academy Call-up

Bethlehem Steel FC compete in USL, which is the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. Steel FC's affiliation with the Philadelphia Union of MLS has prevented the team from participating in the U.S. Open Cup competition. The decision to make affiliated "farm teams" ineligible for the U.S. Open Cup was decided since the 2016 iteration of the tournament.^[12]

The 2017 USL season will be contested by 30 teams, 15 of which compete in the league's Eastern Conference. All teams will play a regular season total of 32 matches between teams within their respective conference. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams from each conference advance to the 2017 USL Playoffs for a chance to compete for the USL Championship Title.

Standings (Eastern Conference)

edit

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Louisville City FC (C)	32	18	8	6	58	31	+27	62	Conference Playoffs
2	Charleston Battery	32	15	9	8	53	33	+20	54
3	Tampa Bay Rowdies	32	14	11	7	50	35	+15	53
4	Rochester Rhinos	32	14	11	7	36	28	+8	53
5	Charlotte Independence	32	13	9	10	52	40	+12	48
6	FC Cincinnati	32	12	10	10	46	48	−2	46
7	New York Red Bulls II	32	13	5	14	57	60	−3	44
8	Bethlehem Steel FC	32	12	8	12	46	45	+1	44
9	Orlando City B	32	10	12	10	37	36	+1	42
10	Ottawa Fury	32	8	14	10	42	41	+1	38
11	Harrisburg City Islanders	32	10	7	15	28	47	−19	37
12	Saint Louis FC	32	9	9	14	35	48	−13	36
13	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	32	8	12	12	33	42	−9	36
14	Richmond Kickers	32	8	8	16	24	36	−12	32
15	Toronto FC II	32	6	7	19	27	54	−27	25

Source: 2017 USL standings
Rules for classification: 1) total wins; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champions

All times in Eastern Time.^[13]

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
32	44	12	12	8	46	45	+1	6	5	5	23	23	0	6	7	3	23	22	+1

Last updated: October 28, 2017
Source: 2017 USL season
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
Stadium	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H
Result	L	W	L	L	W	L	W	L	L	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	D	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	D	D	W	D	D	W	L	D
Position	11	10	12	15	11	13	9	9	13	7	11	6	5	4	4	5	5	6	7	7	6	6	6	8	9	9	8	7	9	8	8	8

Updated to match(es) played on October 28, 2017. Source: 2017 USL season and Current USL Standing
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Bethlehem Steel FC earned the final playoff spot during the 2017 USL season for the first time in the club's history. Finishing as the 8th seed, Steel FC's first round fixture was away at conference winning Louisville City FC.

All times in Eastern Time.^[13]

As of October 28, 2017.^[14]

Players with names in italics were on loan from Philadelphia Union for individual matches with Bethlehem.

Players with names marked ‡ were academy call-ups from Philadelphia Union Academy for individual matches with Bethlehem.

Players with names marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Bethlehem.

Players with names marked † were transferred/released from the club midseason.

League denotes USL regular season

Playoffs denotes USL Playoffs

Week 3 Player of the Week: F Seku Conneh^[15]
Honorable Mention: M Santi Moar^[15]
Week 6 Team of the Week: D Hugh Roberts^[16]
Week 8 Team of the Week: G Jake McGuire^[17]
Week 9 Save of the Week: G Jake McGuire^[18]
Week 10 Team of the Week Honorable Mention: F Cory Burke^[19]
Week 11 Team of the Week Honorable Mention: F Seku Conneh^[20]
Week 12 Team of the Week Honorable Mention: F Seku Conneh^[21]
Week 13 Player of the Week: M Adam Najem^[22]
Honorable Mention: D Auston Trusty^[22]
Week 15 Team of the Week Honorable Mention: D Aaron Jones^[23]
Week 20 Team of the Week: M Chris Nanco^[24]
Week 21 Team of the Week Honorable Mention: F Cory Burke^[25]
Week 24 Team of the Week Honorable Mention: M Marcus Epps^[26]
Week 27 Team of the Week: F Cory Burke^[27]
Week 28 Team of the Week Honorable Mention: F Seku Conneh^[28]
Week 29 Team of the Week: M Santi Moar^[29]

^ "Bethlehem Steel FC Reach Agreement to Make Cory Burke Loan Permanent". November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC signs Defender Hugh Roberts". November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC signs Defender Matthew Real". January 17, 2017. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC signs Forward Santi Moar". January 30, 2017. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC adds Defender Charlie Reymann". March 2, 2017. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC Signs Defender Matt Mahoney". March 3, 2017. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC inks Forward Chris Nanco". March 8, 2017. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC adds Midfielder Chris Wingate". April 5, 2017. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Bethlehem Steel FC Make Moves with 2017 in Mind". Bethlehem Steel FC. September 29, 2016. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC Transfers Boluwatife Akinyode to North Carolina FC". Bethlehem Steel FC. January 30, 2017. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
^ "Bethlehem Steel FC and Matthew Perrella Mutually Agree to Part Ways". Bethlehem Steel FC. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Bethlehem Steel, LA Galaxy II among clubs banned from U.S. Open Cup". January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "BSFC 2017 Schedule/Results". Archived from the original on February 12, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Bethlehem Steel FC Player Statistics". Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Conneh Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
^ "Elizondo Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
^ "Svantesson Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. May 16, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
^ "McGuire Grabs Fans' Choice Save of the Week". USLsoccer.com. May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
^ "Hoppenot Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
^ "Parra Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
^ "Frater Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Lancaster Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
^ "Ribeiro Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
^ "Martinez Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
^ "Spencer Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. August 15, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
^ "Martinez Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. September 5, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
^ "Mfeka Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. September 26, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
^ "Angulo Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
^ "Bonomo Named USL Player of the Week". USLsoccer.com. October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
32	44	12	12	8	46	45	+1	6	5	5	23	23	0	6	7	3	23	22	+1

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
32	44	12	12	8	46	45	+1	6	5	5	23	23	0	6	7	3	23	22	+1

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
32	44	12	12	8	46	45	+1	6	5	5	23	23	0	6	7	3	23	22	+1