Bethlehem Steel Affiliation Already Paying Off for Union

The Philadelphia Union didn't have a game last week -- but some of their players did.

And it was a big one, at that.

With most MLS teams idle due to an international break, seven first-team Union players participated in Bethlehem Steel FC's inaugural game Friday night - a 1-0 road win over FC Montreal.

And more are expected to be called in for the much-anticipated home opener of Philly's new expansion minor-league affiliate this weekend.

"It's a great resource," Union head coach Jim Curtin said. "If you think of guys coming off injury, guys coming off of international duty, whatever it may be - there's a million different scenarios we could talk through. But it's a great opportunity in a very good league with a very good standard of play. And we have a very good staff there that we have with the same ideas and style that we want to play."

While the Union front office built a Bethlehem roster they believe can compete well in the USL, they also gave us an early glimpse of how heavily they'll lean on their own players. Last week, the Steel's entire starting front four - Eric Ayuk, Walter Restrepo and Leo Fernandes and Fabian Herbers - was made up of Union players, including two (Fernandes and Herbers) who play regularly. And goalkeeper John McCarthy and rookie defenders Taylor Washington and Joshua Yaro also played a full 90 minutes.

Not only that, Herbers scored the game's only goal - the first in team history.

"Of course, he would have rather it come at the tail end of the New England game [on March 20] when he gets the good 1 v 1 with [Bobby] Shuttleworth," said Curtin, who's brought Herbers, a rookie, off the bench in each of the first three Union games. "But he's very happy. I think it's good for his confidence. Any time a young player gets on the board, it's good.

"He's making the most of his time," the Union coach added. "I think he's created a chance in every game he's been in in very minimal minutes. He's a high-quality player who I can't say enough of about his progress through the preseason. And now he's carrying it over into the regular season."

Herbers might see more time with the Steel as the USL season progresses, but it seems unlikely he'll be there Sunday afternoon when they take on FC Cincinnati at their new home at Lehigh University's Goodman Stadium.

That's because he'll almost certainly be on the 18-man roster when the Union hit the road to take on the Chicago Fire on Saturday (5 p.m., TCN). And although Curtin said there are no restrictions on when players can go down, he also admitted "maybe it doesn't make sense" to have a guy drive out to Bethlehem on very little sleep just a few hours after getting off a plane from Chicago.

That part of it will evolve throughout the year. No matter who's on the roster, though, it figures to be a special day when the Steel take on an FC Cincinnati team that features former Union players Antoine Hoppenot, Jimmy McLaughlin, Austin Berry and Corben Bone.

"It's exciting," Curtin said. "First and foremost, you only get one true home opener in your history so you have to make it count. I think it's a very important game; I know the fans will come out and support the group. Union first-team players aside, it's a very talented roster with some very exciting young players that will wear the Union jersey in the near future."

Making it even more special is the fact that the game marks the grand return of professional soccer to Bethlehem, which was once home to another Bethlehem Steel team that were the kings of American soccer in the 1910s and 1920s when it captured five U.S. Open Cups.

That incredible history - a local historian named Dan Morrison has referred to them as "the New York Yankees of their era" - has been helped kept alive by the Union, who wore jerseys in honor of that franchise during their own run to the U.S. Open Cup final two years ago.

But there's no denying that history is going to be brought to light even more this weekend.

"I think playing at home for the first time is always a special thing and these guys know the history," said Bethlehem Steel head coach Brendan Burke, a former Union assistant. "We've shown them a few videos to help them fully understand the history. We've talked to them about it. We've talked to them that we're representing the mentality of the city that they're going to playing their trade in.

"They get it. They know we'll be a gritty, blue-collar group. At a bare minimum."

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