Louisville City FC host Bethlehem Steel FC in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal of the 2017 USL Cup Playoffs at Slugger Field Friday.
The post-season fixture was finalized after Steel FC drew, 1-1, with St. Louis FC on Sunday afternoon, pushing the Pennsylvania side into eighth place in the final USL regular season standings with 44 points, and eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff seedings.
After winning the Eastern Conference regular season, LouCity (18 wins, 6 losses and 8 ties) are ranked first seed in the USL Eastern side of the post-season playoff bracket, and now host the bottom-seeded team, Steel FC (12-12-8) in the opening round.
LouCity have already met Bethlehem twice during the 2017 regular season, winning the first meeting 3-1 away from home, on August 20, at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, and tying the second meeting – LouCity’s first Friday night fixture – 2-2, on September 15, at Slugger Field. In the all-time series, LouCity leads with two wins and two draws.
Defender, Richie Marquez gave Steel FC their only goal against LouCity when the two met in August and forwards Corey Burke and Santi Moar got on the score sheet for Bethlehem when the clubs drew 2-2 at Slugger Field.
Coached by Brendan Burke, Bethlehem features the potent international attacking duo of Dutch-born midfielder Seku Conneh, who led the club in the regular-season goal scoring with 10 in 25 appearances for the club, and Jamaican striker Burke, who netted nine goals in 24 regular-season appearances.
Irish midfielder James Chambers can also be something of a goal-scoring threat for Steel FC from his position, posting five in 27 games, while goalkeeper Jake McGuire has racked up 74 saves and five clean sheets in 22 appearances, but has also let in 26 goals.
The official USL affiliate of the Philadelphia Union, Steel FC claimed one of the eight conference playoff spots when Orlando City B fell to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. It is the club’s first appearance in the USL Playoff Cup.
In only its second season of modern existence, Steel FC has had a strong sophomore regular season campaign, setting a club record for victories (12), goals (46) as well as netting an impressive eight-match unbeaten streak during the summer.
