Bethlehem Steel FC Suffers Setback to Penn FC
September 2, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Philadelphia Union II News Release
Marcus Epps of Bethlehem Steel FC vs. Penn FC
(Philadelphia Union II)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Despite coming out of the gates strong, Bethlehem Steel FC suffered its second setback in its last eight contests with a 3-1 loss to Penn FC at Goodman Stadium on the campus of Lehigh University.
Steel FC jumped out to the early lead in the 10th minute, making the most of a turnover by Penn FC's defensive live. Pressing high up the pitch, Philadelphia Union midfielder Fabian Herbers forced a turnover and flicked a pass into the box toward Marcus Epps. The 23-year-old calmly delivered a right-footed shot past the oncoming keeper and inside the far post for the 1-0 lead.
The home side continued to press for a second goal with numerous opportunities but was unable to make the most of its early chances. Five minutes after the opening strike, Herbers and Faris combined for a give-and-go at the edge of the box but saw the shot miss right. Moments later Epps' nearly notched a brace but was turned away by the crossbar.
After withstanding attack after attack, Penn FC turned the momentum in its favor in the 32nd minute on a long-distance strike from Aaron Dennis. Eight minutes later, the visitors doubled its lead on the counter-attack. Striking after turning Steel FC away on a corner kick, Paulo Junior raced down the right wing and fired a ball to Lucky Mkosana to cap off the attack and give the visitors the 2-1 advantage.
Trailing by a goal, Steel FC nearly knotted the contest early in the second half as Epps fired a volley to an unmarked Drew Skundrich which was turned away from goalkeeper Romuald Peiser. With Steel FC pressing hard for an equalizer, Penn FC once again turned to the counter-attack for its final strike as Dennis found Junior for their third goal of the afternoon.
"It was poor, the game should have been over after 20 minutes," Bethlehem Steel FC head coach Brendan Burke said following the match. "We didn't show enough cutting edge in the first 20 minutes and when you don't put teams away and leave them in games, bad things can happen and that's exactly what happened today."
Bethlehem Steel FC concludes its regular season contests against Keystone State rivals later this week with a showdown at the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Friday, September 7. Kick off from Highmark Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
MATCH RECAP
Bethlehem Steel FC 1, Penn FC 3
Goodman Stadium
Bethlehem, PA.
MATCH STATS
Shots: 15-13 (Bethlehem)
Shots on goal: 6-5 (Penn)
Corners: 11-2 (Bethlehem)
Saves: 4-3 Penn)
SCORING SUMMARY
BST - 10' Marcus Epps (Fabian Herbers)
PEN - 32' Aaron Dennis (Miguel Jaime)
PEN - 40' Lucky Mkosana (Paulo Junior)
PEN - 60' Paulo Junior (Aaron Dennis)
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
BST - 5' James Chambers (Yellow Card)
PEN - 24' Lucky Mkosana (Yellow Card)
BST - 67' Matt Mahoney (Yellow Card)
BST - 85' Prosper Chiluya (Yellow Card)
PEN - 90' Aaron Dennis (Yellow Card)
BETHLEHEM STEEL FC STARTING XI
Jake McGuire; Prosper Chiluya, Brandon Aubrey, Matt Mahoney, Olivier Mbaizo; James Chambers, Drew Skundrich; Fabian Herbers, Brenden Aaronson (Chris Nanco 70'), Marcus Epps (Michee Ngalina 80'); Faris (Santi Moar 60').
Substitutes not used: Kris Shakes, AJ Paterson, Aidan Apodaca.
PENN FC STARTING XI
Romuald Peiser; Jake Bond, Kyle Venter, Ken Tribbett, Pedro Galvao; Richard Menjivar (Haruna Shaibu 85'), Migual Jaime, Paulo Junior (Isaac Osae 65'), Walter Ramirez; Lucky Mkosana (Saalih Muhammad 75'), Aaron Dennis.
Substitutes not used: Sean Lewis, Sal Barone, Marco Franco, Jorge Rivera.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Officials: Lorant Varga (Referee), Ross Kleinstuber (Assistant Referee), Tyler Wyrostek (Assistant Referee), Jaroslaw Werel (Fourth Official).
LVHN TEAM NOTES
- Marcus Epps collected his second USL goal of the season in the first half. The Union midfielder has combined for three goals in 24 appearances over the past two seasons.
- On Epps' goal, Fabian Herbers earned his fourth assist of 2018.He is now tied with Chris Nanco for second on the squad in assists, trailing Santi Moar's eight.
Images from this story
 Bethlehem Steel FC head coach Brendan Burke |
 Santi Moar of Bethlehem Steel FC vs. Penn FC |
 Marcus Epps of Bethlehem Steel FC vs. Penn FC |
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