October 6, 2017 USL Toronto FC II--Toronto FC II vs Bethlehem Steel FC game recap (from bethlehemsteelfc.com)
Steel FC Strikes for Four Goals to Down Toronto FC II By Bethlehem Steel FC Communications, 10/06/17, 10:00PM EDT Santi Moar collects first-half brace, Derrick Jones and Seku Conneh tally second-half goals to help Steel FC push ahead of playoff line Needing a win to continue the club’s pursuit of its first playoff appearance, Bethlehem Steel FC netted a season-high four goals to complete a regular-season sweep of Toronto FC II, 4-2. Santi Moar sparked the Steel FC offense with a first-half brace while Derrick Jones and Seku Conneh each tallied scores to seal the result for the club. Moar’s two goals came in a three-minute span, the quickest in the young club’s history. Moar completed the night with an assist on Conneh’s goal. Philadelphia Union midfielder Adam Najem collected a pair of assists to push his season total to a club-record eight. Playing in their penultimate road match, Steel FC came out eager and pinned Toronto FC II into their half of the field for the opening 25 minutes of the half. After Steel FC had a pair of long-distance chances miss wide, Moar stepped up and converted. Collecting a long pass from defender Auston Trusty, Moar raced toward goal and fired a shot that Toronto goalkeeper Mark Pais couldn’t stop. Steel FC and Moar didn’t rest after the opening goal and doubled the lead moments later. Finding space in the midfield after a forcing a Toronto FC II turnover, Seku Conneh notched a touch pass to Adam Najem to spring a counter attack. Najem took three touches before connecting with Moar with a through pass. After a touch to push the ball into the 18-yard-box, Moar fired his left-footed shot into the back of the net for the brace. The second half saw more chances from Steel FC offensively, netting a third goal. With Toronto FC II looking to fight back into the match, the visitors put the lead out of reach as Aaron Jones fired a quick pass toward Najem. With defenders racing toward him, Najem found Derrick Jones on a diagonal run in front of goal that Jones finished in the 53rd minute. After Toronto trimmed the lead to a pair of goals, Conneh sealed the victory for the club in the 81st minute with his 10th goal of the regular season. After Toronto was unable to clear a Steel FC corner, Moar flicked a header in front of goal that the 21-year-old forward slotted for his third-straight match with a goal. Conneh’s tally also made him the club’s first goalscorer to reach the double-digit mark. Toronto FC II fought back with goals from Shaan Hundal in the 61st and 88th minute, as he claimed the team lead in goals with his brace. Hundal’s first goal came after Steel FC blocked his initial shot inside the box but the forward collected the blocked shot and slotted inside the far post. With time winding down, Hundal doubled his scoring total, scoring off a cross from substitute Ryan Telfer. With the victory, Steel FC pushes its unbeaten-streak to six matches as the club ends the night in the sixth position with 12 victories and 43 points overall. The result pushes the club ahead of FC Cincinnati, Orlando City B and USL-defending champion New York Red Bulls II with two matches remaining for all the clubs. Bethlehem Steel FC returns to action for its final road match of the regular season when the club faces the Rochester Rhinos on Tuesday, Oct. 10. The match will be featured as part of the USL Game of the Week and will be streamed online via the WatchESPN app. Kick-off from Capelli Sport Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. MATCH RECAP Bethlehem Steel FC 4, Toronto FC II 2 Ontario Soccer Centre Vaughan, Ontario, Canada MATCH STATS Shots: 19-18 (Bethlehem) Shots On Goal: 6-6 Corners: 7-3 (Bethlehem) Saves:4-2 (Bethlehem) SCORING SUMMARY BST – 19’ Santi Moar BST – 22’ Santi Moar (Adam Najem) BST – 53’ Derrick Jones (Adam Najem) TOR – 61’ Shaan Hundal BST – 81’ Seku Conneh (Santi Moar) TOR – 88’ Shaan Hundal (Ryan Telfer) DISCIPLINE SUMMARY None BETHLEHEM STEEL FC STARTING XI Jake McGuire; Charlie Reymann, Auston Trusty, Josh Yaro, Aaron Jones; James Chambers (Hugh Roberts 67’), Derrick Jones, Adam Najem; Santi Moar, Chris Nanco (Yosef Samuel 77’), Seku Conneh (Brenden Aaronson 87’). Substitutes not used: Tomas Romero, Matthew Mahoney, Josh Heard. TORONTO FC II STARTING XI Mark Pais; Lars Eckenrode, Mitchell Taintor, Julian Dunn; Anthony Osorio, Sergio Camargo (Ryan Telfer 85’), Matthew Srbely, Brian James (Noble Okello 71’); Jordan McCrary, Shaan Hundal, Daniel Da Silva (Luca Uccello 65’). Substitutes not used: Angelo Cavalluzzo, Brandon Onkony, Aidan Daniels, Malik Johnson. LVHN TEAM NOTES •Bethlehem Steel FC scored a season-high four goals tonight, tying the club record established in 2016 at Wilmington. The match was Steel FC’s eighth-consecutive game in which they scored at least one goal. •Santi Moar tallied his fifth and sixth goals of his rookie campaign tonight to move into third this season in Steel FC scoring. Moar’s brace was the club’s third fourth in team history (all this season) and was the quickest with the goals coming three minutes apart. •Philadelphia Union midfielder Adam Najem registered a pair of assists in the match, pushing his club-record mark to eight this season. Najem also becomes the first player in club history to tally two assists in a single match. •Derrick Jones scored his first USL goal of 2017 in the second half. Jones’ tally is his sixth all-time with Bethlehem Steel FC and his first since scoring at Charleston on Sept. 10, 2016. •Seku Conneh notched his 10th goal of the season late in the second half, becoming the first player in club history reach the double-digit scoring mark. Conneh has now scored in three-straight matches and now holds the club record for single-season goals.
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