Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Steel FC

Another week passed without a Union victory.

Philadelphia traveled to the west coast and returned home with one point rather than three. Despite the winless streak continuing, multiple Union players performed well.

Andre Blake made key saves and kept a clean sheet. Fabinho played his best game of the year, while containing Romain Alessandrini. Alejandro Bedoya was a force on both ends of the field.

All would be solid selections.

PSP’s player of the week, however, could be found in the Lehigh Valley rather than the California sunshine.

The who

Hugh Roberts chose a heck of a moment to score his first goal for the Steel.

A tense match was heading toward a scoreless conclusion as Bethlehem faced FC Cincinnati Saturday evening. The Steel earned a late corner, where James Chambers played it short to Adam Najem. The midfielder sent a cross into the box and Roberts rose above two Cincinnati center backs and sent a clean header to the far post, past the outstretched goalkeeper.

It was only the Steel’s second shot on target, but was all they needed to take three points from the contest.

Roberts was equally important in keeping Bethlehem’s second clean sheet of the season.

The 24-year-old finished with four interceptions and two clearances, and made the key challenge as Cincinnati desperately pushed for a late equalizer.

The center back effectively distributed the ball, as well. Roberts completed 41 passes with a 90.2% accuracy. In the opposition’s half, he maintained a healthy 71.4% passing accuracy.

The Steel have found a solid pairing to anchor their defense in Roberts and Auston Trusty, and Philadelphia fans should keep a close eye on the Union’s affiliate.

Previous Winners

• Week of February 27 – Derrick Jones
• Week of March 6 – Christian Pulisic
• Week of March 13 — Zack Steffen
• Week of March 27 — C.J. Sapong
• Week of April 3 — Seku Conneh
• Week of April 10 — Union U17s
• Week of April 17 — C.J. Sapong