# 2017 Bethlehem Steel FC season

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.

## 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 June 21, 2017.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
| 4 | DF | Ken Tribbett | United States |
| 12 | DF | Keegan Rosenberry | United States |
| 15 | DF | Josh Yaro | Ghana |
| 16 | DF | Richie Marquez | United States |
| 19 | DF | Aaron Jones | England |
| 20 | MF | Marcus Epps | United States |
| 24 | MF | Adam Najem | United States |
| 26 | DF | Auston Trusty | United States |
| 29 | GK | Jake McGuire | United States |
| 32 | DF | Giliano Wijnaldum | 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 | United States |
| 51 | GK | Matthew Freese | United States |
| 52 | FW | Issa Rayyan | United States |
| 55 | MF | Dawson McCartney | United States |
| 57 | FW | Justin McMaster | Jamaica |
| 60 | MF | Josue Monge | United States |
| 64 | GK | Tomas Romero | El Salvador |

## Transfers
### In

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

### Out

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

### Loan in

| 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 |

## Competitions

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.

### USL regular season

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)

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Conference Playoffs |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 32 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 50 | 35 | +15 | 53 | Conference Playoffs |
| 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 32 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 53 | Conference Playoffs |
| 5 | Charlotte Independence | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 48 | Conference Playoffs |
| 6 | FC Cincinnati | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 46 | Conference Playoffs |
| 7 | New York Red Bulls II | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 44 | Conference Playoffs |
| 8 | Bethlehem Steel FC | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 44 | Conference Playoffs |
| 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 | |

#### 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 |
| 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 |

### USL Playoffs

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.

## Statistics

As of October 28, 2017.
Players included in matchday squads :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | Playoffs | Playoffs | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 3 | DF | | Jack Elliott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | | Ken Tribbett | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Brian Carroll | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Maurice Edu | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Charlie Davies | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | | Keegan Rosenberry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Fabian Herbers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | | Josh Yaro | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | | Richie Marquez | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | | Aaron Jones | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 20 | MF | | Marcus Epps | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | | Derrick Jones | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Adam Najem | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | | Auston Trusty | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | | Giliano Wijnaldum | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 36 | FW | | Seku Conneh | 26 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | | Chris Nanco | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 38 | FW | | Santi Moar | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | | Amoy Brown | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | | Josh Heard | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 41 | FW | | Cory Burke | 25 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
| 42 | DF | | Hugh Roberts | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 43 | MF | | Chris Wingate | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | | Charlie Reymann | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | MF | | James Chambers | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 47 | DF | | Matthew Real | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 48 | DF | | Matt Mahoney | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | MF | | Yosef Samuel | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 50 | DF | | Mark McKenzie‡ | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 52 | FW | | Issa Rayyan‡ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | FW | | Tiger Graham‡ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | MF | | Dawson McCartney‡ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | MF | | Seth Kuhn‡ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | MF | | Justin McMaster‡ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | MF | | Anthony Fontana‡ | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 60 | MF | | Josue Monge‡ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 63 | MF | | Brendan Aaronson‡ | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 68 | MF | | Michael Pellegrino‡ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 46 | 77 | 3 |

### Goalkeepers

As of October 28, 2017.
Players included in matchday squads :
| Nat. | No. | Player | Apps | Starts | Record | GA | GAA | SO | | |
| | 23 | John McCarthy | 3 | 3 | 1-1-1 | 3 | 1.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | 29 | Jake McGuire | 23 | 23 | 10-6-5 | 26 | 1.13 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| | 46 | Matt Perrella† | 0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | 64 | Tomas Romero‡ | 7 | 7 | 1-5-1 | 16 | 2.29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 12-12-7 | 45 | 1.45 | 6 | 2 | 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.
    Players with names marked † were transferred/released from the club midseason.
    League denotes USL regular season
    Playoffs denotes USL Playoffs

## Honors

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