# 2018 Bethlehem Steel FC season

The 2018 season was Bethlehem Steel FC's third season of competitive soccer in the United Soccer League and second season competing in the second division of American soccer. Steel FC competed in the league's Eastern Conference.

## Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of March 23, 2018.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
| 1 | GK | John McCarthy | United States |
| 4 | DF | Mark McKenzie | United States |
| 8 | MF | Derrick Jones | United States |
| 14 | MF | Fabian Herbers | Germany |
| 15 | DF | Joshua Yaro | Ghana |
| 19 | FW | Cory Burke | Jamaica |
| 20 | MF | Marcus Epps | United States |
| 21 | MF | Anthony Fontana | United States |
| 24 | MF | Adam Najem | United States |
| 28 | DF | Ray Gaddis | United States |
| 29 | GK | Jake McGuire | United States |
| 30 | MF | Eric Ayuk | Cameroon |
| 32 | DF | Matthew Real | United States |
| 36 | MF | Omar Holness | Jamaica |
| 37 | FW | Chris Nanco | Canada |
| 38 | FW | Santi Moar | Spain |
| 39 | MF | Drew Skundrich | United States |
| 40 | FW | Brandon Allen | United States |
| 41 | MF | Mike Catalano | United States |
| 42 | FW | Aidan Apodaca | United States |
| 43 | DF | Prosper Chiluya (on loan from Kafue Celtic) | Zambia |
| 44 | DF | Brandon Aubrey | United States |
| 45 | MF | James Chambers | Republic of Ireland |
| 47 | DF | Olivier Mbaizo | Cameroon |
| 48 | DF | Matt Mahoney | United States |
| 49 | MF | A. J. Paterson | United States |
| 50 | FW | Tonny Temple | United States |
| 52 | FW | Issa Rayyan | United States |
| 53 | DF | Ben Ofeimu | United States |
| 62 | GK | Kris Shakes | United States |
| 63 | MF | Brenden Aaronson | United States |
| 64 | GK | Tomás Romero | El Salvador |
| 68 | MF | Michael Pellegrino | United States |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Number | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| January 8, 2018 | Brandon Allen | 40 | FW | New York Red Bulls | Signed |
| January 9, 2018 | Omar Holness | 36 | MF | Real Salt Lake | Signed |
| January 10, 2018 | Brandon Aubrey | 44 | DF | Toronto FC II | Signed |
| January 22, 2018 | Olivier Mbaizo | 47 | DF | Rainbow FC | Signed |
| February 19, 2018 | A. J. Paterson | 49 | MF | Wright State Raiders | Signed |
| February 21, 2018 | Aidan Apodaca | 42 | FW | California Baptist Lancers | 2018 Philadelphia Union Draft Signing |
| March 1, 2018 | Mike Catalano | 41 | MF | Wisconsin Badgers | 2018 Philadelphia Union Draft Signing |
| March 14, 2018 | Drew Skundrich | 41 | MF | Stanford Cardinal | Signed |
| April 25, 2018 | Michee Ngalina | 46 | FW | Montverde Eagles | Signed |
| July 16, 2018 | Faris Pemi Moumbagna | 35 | FW | Montverde Eagles | Signed |
| September 12, 2018 | Selmir Miscic | 55 | MF | Philadelphia Union Academy | Signed |

### Out

| Date | Player | Number | Position | New club | Fee/notes |
| November 2, 2017 | Seku Conneh | 36 | FW | Ansan Greeners FC | Contract expired |
| November 2, 2017 | Amoy Brown | 39 | FW | St. Andrews | Option declined |
| November 2, 2017 | Josh Heard | 40 | MF | Real Monarchs | Contract expired |
| November 2, 2017 | Hugh Roberts | 42 | DF | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Option declined |
| November 2, 2017 | Chris Wingate | 43 | DF | Bærum SK | Option declined |
| November 2, 2017 | Charlie Reymann | 44 | DF | — | Option declined |
| November 2, 2017 | Yosef Samuel | 49 | MF | Atlanta United 2 | Contract expired |
| December 21, 2017 | Cory Burke | 41 | FW | Philadelphia Union | Signed to MLS Contract |
| January 18, 2018 | Matthew Real | 47 | DF | Philadelphia Union | Signed to MLS Contract |
| May 22, 2018 | Brandon Allen | 40 | FW | Nashville SC | Transfer |

### Loan in

| Date | Player | Number | Position | Parent club | Fee/notes |
| February 20, 2018 | Prosper Chiluya | 43 | DF | Kafue Celtic | On loan for 2018 season |
| March 18, 2018 | John McCarthy | 1 | GK | Philadelphia Union | First team/short-term loan |
| March 18, 2018 | Mark McKenzie | 4 | DF | Philadelphia Union | First team/short-term loan |
| March 18, 2018 | Derrick Jones | 8 | MF | Philadelphia Union | First team/short-term loan |
| March 18, 2018 | Marcus Epps | 20 | MF | Philadelphia Union | First team/short-term loan |
| March 18, 2018 | Adam Najem | 24 | MF | Philadelphia Union | First team/short-term loan |
| March 18, 2018 | Eric Ayuk | 30 | MF | Philadelphia Union | First team/short-term loan |
| March 18, 2018 | Matthew Real | 32 | DF | Philadelphia Union | First team/short-term loan |

## Competitions
### USL regular season

The 2018 USL season will be contested by 33 teams, 16 of which compete in the league's Eastern Conference. All teams will play a regular season total of 34 matches between teams within their respective conference. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams from each conference advance to the 2018 USL Playoffs for a chance to compete for the USL Championship Title.

#### Standings (Eastern Conference)

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 4 | Charleston Battery | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 56 | Conference Playoffs |
| 5 | New York Red Bulls II | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 71 | 59 | +12 | 52 | Conference Playoffs |
| 6 | Bethlehem Steel FC | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 50 | Conference Playoffs |
| 7 | Indy Eleven | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 49 | Conference Playoffs |
| 8 | Nashville SC | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 42 | 31 | +11 | 49 | Conference Playoffs |

#### Results

All times in Eastern Time.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 34 | 50 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 32 | 16 | +16 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 25 | −1 |
Last updated: February 9, 2019 Source: 2018 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 | 33 | 34 |
| Stadium | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | L | L | D | D | L | W | L | W | W | L | W | D | D | D | W | L | L | D | L | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | D | D | W |
| Position | 1 | | | | | | | 13 | | 5 | 8 | | | 8 | | 8 | | 10 | | | | | | 6 | | 6 | | | | | | 6 | | 6 |

### USL Playoffs
## Statistics

    As of February 9, 2019
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | USL | USL | USL Playoffs | USL Playoffs |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Defenders: ||||||||||
| 3 | DF | USA | Jack Elliot | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Mark McKenzie | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | GHA | Josh Yaro | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | USA | Richie Marquez | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | USA | Matthew Real | 21 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | ZAM | Prosper Chiluya* | 16 | 1 | 14+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | USA | Brandon Aubrey | 28 | 0 | 26+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 47 | DF | CMR | Olivier Mbaizo | 24 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 48 | DF | USA | Matt Mahoney | 35 | 2 | 31+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 53 | DF | USA | Ben Ofeimu‡ | 12 | 1 | 7+3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Midfielders: ||||||||||
| 8 | MF | USA | Derrick Jones | 14 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | GER | Fabian Herbers | 14 | 5 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | USA | Marcus Epps | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | USA | Anthony Fontana | 16 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | USA | Adam Najem | 15 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | CMR | Eric Ayuk | 4 | 1 | 3+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | JAM | Omar Holness | 11 | 2 | 2+7 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | USA | Drew Skundrich | 28 | 2 | 14+12 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | USA | Mike Catalano | 10 | 0 | 2+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | MF | IRL | James Chambers | 29 | 5 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 49 | MF | USA | A. J. Paterson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | MF | USA | Brenden Aaronson‡ | 18 | 1 | 11+5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Forwards: ||||||||||
| 19 | FW | JAM | Cory Burke | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | USA | Marcus Epps | 12 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | FW | CMR | Faris Pemi Moumbagna | 15 | 3 | 9+4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | CAN | Chris Nanco | 32 | 5 | 10+20 | 5 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 38 | FW | ESP | Santi Moar | 35 | 6 | 24+9 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | USA | Brandon Allen | 7 | 2 | 4+3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | FW | USA | Aidan Apodaca | 17 | 2 | 7+9 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 46 | FW | COD | Michee Ngalina | 24 | 7 | 17+6 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 50 | FW | USA | Tonny Temple‡ | 7 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | FW | USA | Issa Rayyan‡ | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | FW | USA | Jeremy Rafanello‡ | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
    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.

### Goalkeepers

As of February 9, 2019.
Players included in matchday squads :
| Nat. | No. | Player | Apps | Starts | Record | GA | GAA | SO | | |
| | 23 | John McCarthy | 12 | 12 | 5–2–5 | 14 | 1.17 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| | 29 | Jake McGuire | 21 | 21 | 9–10–2 | 26 | 1.24 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| | 64 | Tomas Romero‡ | 1 | 1 | 0–0–1 | 1 | 1.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 14–12–8 | 41 | 1.21 | 8 | 0 | 0 |

## Honors
### Team of the Week

* Week 1 Team of the Week: F Brandon Allen
* Week 5 Team of the Week Bench: M Derrick Jones
* Week 8 Team of the Week: M Santi Moar
* Week 10 Team of the Week: M Fabian Herbers, Bench M Adam Najem
* Week 12 Team of the Week: M Santi Moar
* Week 13 Team of the Week: D Matthew Real
* Week 14 Team of the Week: M Derrick Jones
* Week 15 Team of the Week: M Chris Nanco
* Week 16 Team of the Week: M Drew Skundrich
* Week 17 Team of the Week Bench: M Fabian Herbers
* Week 20 Team of the Week: M Brenden Aaronson
* Week 21 Team of the Week: D Olivier Mbaizo
* Week 22 Team of the Week: G Jake McGuire
* Week 24 Team of the Week: D Matthew Mahoney, M Santi Moar

### USL Coach of the Month

August: Brendan Burke