BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After clinching a place in the USL Cup Playoffs without playing on Thursday night, Bethlehem Steel FC will look to improve its position as it takes on Saint Louis FC at Goodman Stadium at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
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Bethlehem Steel FC news and notes
Current record: 12-12-7, 43pts
Steel FC suffered a 1-0 loss to the Rochester Rhinos on Tuesday night in the USL Game of the Week on ESPN3 at Capelli Sport Stadium.
Rochester's Jochen Graf scored the only goal of the game in the 38th minute and Bethlehem was unable to find a way through the tight Rhinos' defense to take a point from the game.
The loss put Bethlehem at risk of needing a victory in its final game of the regular season to reach the USL Cup Playoffs but thanks to Orlando City B losing on Thursday night to the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Steel FC sealed its first trip to the postseason in its second season.
Steel FC's loss in Rochester ended a strong run of form from Bethlehem, which had gone six matches unbeaten going into the match. Looking to build momentum in its home finale, Steel FC will want a win on Sunday to get back in form ahead of the playoffs next weekend.
Saint Louis FC news and notes
Current record: 9-14-8, 35pts
Saint Louis fell in its home finale last Saturday night as the Richmond Kickers took a 1-0 victory at Toyota Stadium – Saint Louis.
Richmond's Matt Bolduc scored one minute into the second half, and Saint Louis was unable to fight back in front of a sellout crowd to end its home slate in the club's third season.
Saint Louis dominated possession, managing 63.2 percent but was unable to find a way past Kickers goalkeeper Travis Worra, who recorded a four-save shutout in the contest.
Saint Louis has struggled for form in the final quarter of the season, going three matches without a win and earning just one win in the last seven matches to miss the postseason for a third successive season.
Series Notes
Squads
Bethlehem – GK: Jake McGuire, Kris Shakes, Tomas Romero; D: Josh Yaro, Richie Marquez, Aaron Jones, Austin Trusty, Hugh Roberts, Charlie Reymann, Matthew Real, Matt Mahoney, Maurice Edu; M: Derrick Jones, Adam Najem, Josh Heard, James Chambers, Yosef Samuel, Seth Kuhn, Brenden Aaronson, Mike Pellegrino; F: Fabian Herbers, Marcus Epps, Seku Conneh, Chris Nanco, Santi Moar, Amoy Brown, Cory Burke
Saint Louis – GK: Devala Gorrick, Jack Filla; D: Aedan Stanley, A.J. Cochran, Konrad Plewa, Austin Ledbetter, Matt Sheldon, Wes Charpie, Erick Cabalceta, Jack Maher; M: Sebastian Dalgaard, Dragan Stojkov, Mats Bjurman, Tyler David, Nick Radosavljevic, Octavio Guzman, Max Alvarez, Tony Walls, Emmanuel Appiah, Emir Alihodzic, Ivan Mirkovic; F: Seth Rudolph, Christian Volesky, Milan Petosevic, Daniel Jackson, Tyler Feeley
Discipline
Bethlehem – Accumulation warning: James Chambers, Seku Conneh, Anthony Fontana, Giliano Wijnaldum
Saint Louis – Suspended: Wesley Charpie; Accumulation warning: Austin Ledbetter, Dragan Stoijkov
Officials
REF: GREG DOPKA
AR1: Kevin Lock
AR2: Brandon Smith
4TH: Patrick Sudol
Game hashtag:
Twitter social handles
Bethlehem Steel FC – @BSteelFC
Saint Louis FC – @SaintLouisFC
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