What the Lehigh-Lafayette game is to football fans, equally as important to soccer patrons will be the Bethlehem-Fall River game to be waged here on Saturday afternoon when Bethlehem will put forth its greatest effort to check the undefeated stride of the league leading invader.
Fall River faced and survived the test in competition against every other club in the Atlantic Coast Soccer League and with the exception of two games against Bethlehem, one a draw and the other resulting in a close victory, won with apparent ease.
It is on Bethlehem that other soccer interests in the circuit are pinning their hopes in the east. Delegations of fans are expected here from New York, Philadelphia and other distant points included among whom no doubt will be many who will accompany the Fall River team.
The Marksmen will take the field with the edge on Bethlehem in the series played thus far. Twice have these soccer gladiators met with Fall River capturing the bacon in the first league setto and came from behind to draw in the second meeting.
The first league game was waged here and was a bitter and thrilling grapple in which the final whistle found Fall River ahead by the score of 2 to 1. The next game was played at Tiverton, R. I., the home grounds of Fall River, where after leading by the score of 3 to 1 up to the closing minutes of play Fall River spurted a rally and deadlocked at three goals all to earn a draw.
In neither game did Bethlehem have the kind of team that it will have to pit its prowess against Fall River here on Saturday. On both occasions t he homesters were handicapped by injuries but barring unforeseen happenings in the training this week, against which every precaution will be taken, it will b e a Bethlehem team at its strongest to challenge the undefeated gait of the visitor.
Little Johnny Jaap, the fire brand of the forward line, who recently recovered from a leg injury, has been rested up purposely over the last weekend to assure his appearance on the Bethlehem forward line. Along with Jaap t he goal getters most likely to be relied upon to chalk up a victory will include Archie Stark, Tommy Gillespie, Alec Dick and Alec Massie. This is the combination that has proven most effective and when in goal scoring mood is a quintet hard to stop.