BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bethlehem Steel FC continued its pursuit of a high finish in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 victory against Toronto FC II at Goodman Stadium on Sunday evening. Jamaican international Cory Burke scored the first goal of the game in the 58th minute, volleying in an inch-perfect cross into the box by Chris Nanco. The road side would respond in the second half, however, as Jordan McCrary drew a penalty kick, which was subsequently converted by captain Mitchell Taintor in the 73rd minute. Bethlehem would retake the lead in the 80th minute, though, with James Chambers converting a penalty kick after Burke was taken down in the box. Nanco would score a late goal to secure the win. With the result, Bethlehem moves to 10-8-3 on the year, while Toronto is now 4-13-6 overall this campaign.

Scoring:
58’ – BST – Cory Burke (Chris Nanco)
73’ – TOR – Mitchell Taintor (PK)
81’ – BST – James Chambers (PK)
90+2’ – BST – Chris Nanco

• #BSTvTOR: Full match and Opta box score

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. With eyes on securing a home match in the first round of the 2017 USL Playoffs, Bethlehem did enough to record an important win on Sunday. Now entering the final stretch of the regular season, Bethlehem is just seven points behind the Charlotte Independence, who currently sit atop the Eastern Conference. Seven of the club’s final 11 games in the regular season will be on the road, but the club has recorded an impressive 5-4-0 road record to date this campaign – one of few teams across the USL to have a winning road record.
• 2. Toronto is not out of the playoff race just yet, but the club has only recorded one win in its previous six games, putting pressure on the Canadian side with only nine games remaining in its regular season. Jordan McCrary and Aikim Andrews were a couple of bright spots for the club, creating chances moving forward.
• 3. Chris Nanco and Cory Burke have started August off well. On Aug. 5, Nanco scored the first goal, which was assisted by Burke, in Steel FC’s 2-1 victory against Ottawa Fury FC. On Sunday, the duo was at it again, as Nanco provided the assist to Burke for the first goal of the match. Nanco then provided a beautiful through ball to Nanco in the second half, which led to the penalty-kick call by center official Kevin Broadley. Nanco then added a goal of his own to cap off the impressive win at home in the 92nd minute.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:

Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel FC – The midfielder scored one goal and provided one assist to lead the club to a win on Sunday. He also completed 82.8 percent of his passes on the day.

Upcoming Games:
Bethlehem Steel FC at Charlotte Independence – Aug. 16, 7 p.m. ET, Sportsplex at Matthews
Toronto FC II at Richmond Kickers – Aug. 19, 7 p.m. ET, City Stadium