Bethlehem Steel FC acquire goalkeeper Todd Morton from Real Monarchs
Steel FC paid “an undisclosed transfer fee” to Real Monarchs for the West Chester, Pa. native
Bethlehem Steel FC have added a goalkeeper to their roster with the acquisition of West Chester, Pa. native Todd Morton from Real Monarchs.
The Steel announced on Thursday that they acquired the 23-year-old University of Delaware grad for “an undisclosed transfer fee” from the Real Salt Lake USL Championship affiliate.
“We are excited to complete Todd’s transfer to Steel,” Philadelphia Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner said in a news release. “This move allows us to further the development of another Philadelphia-area product, as well as bolster our USL goalkeeping roster for the remainder of the season.”
Morton is just the third player to be signed to a USL deal with the Steel and the first since Matt Perrella was signed to a USL deal prior to the 2017 season. Samir Badr was signed to a USL deal for the team’s inaugural season in 2016.
Morton, whose older brother Kyle Morton plays for Pittsburgh Riverhounds, went undrafted after finishing his college career at Delaware but ended up spending time with Orlando City in preseason and was signed by the Real Monarchs prior to the start of the season.
He didn’t feature at all this season for the Monarchs so he could be in line to make his professional debut as soon as today at Talen Energy Stadium against Hartford Athletic.
Morton joins recent first team goalkeeper acquisition Joe Bendik in the team’s goalkeeper corps. The Union acquired the MLS veteran last month from the Columbus Crew in exchange for a a 2020 second round SuperDraft pick. They also agreed to end the loan of Carlos Miguel Coronel, who returned to RB Salzburg in Austria.
Prior to college, Morton was a three-year starter at B. Reed Henderson High School and played for Penn Fusion Academy. He transferred to Delaware after spending one season at UMBC and spent time with Ocean City Nor’easters, Lehigh Valley United and Reading United during his college years. While with the Blue Hens, he played in 65 matches, made 226 saves and posted a record of 29-28-6.