Although the goal scoring of the Bethlehem soccer team is high in the American Soccer League, the statistics of goals scored and those scored against disclose that the defensive strength of the team is outstanding. Reinforced in this department by Dave Edwards, brilliant goalie, the figures reveal that the goal scoring average against the national champions are less than a goal per game with 16 against in the twenty contests played.

Bethlehem will probably have an opportunity of increasing its goal scoring percentage here on Saturday afternoon when Brooklyn comes here for a league game. In a previous contest the Bethlehem forwards were able to penetrate the Brooklyn defense and tally twice. The same is true about Brooklyn, the New Yorkers also scoring two goals in that game which ended in a draw.

IN the twenty games played, Bethlehem piled up a total of 53 goals. IN this respect New Bedford tops the list with 67 and the New York Giants second with 61. However, both teams have played more games than Bethlehem. It is the goals scored against the champions which disclosed the strong defense of the team. The total count in this respect is sixteen, a mark that none of the contending clubs is near. Next in line is Boston with 31 goals against.

While Bethlehem lost to Boston last Saturday the defeat did not seriously impair the standing of the team as league leaders. The club is still three games to the good, having lost three less than the nearest competitor and significant is that the draw games are four, the same number as Fall River, now second in the league standing.

The standing of the league follows:

	P	W	D	L	Pts.	Pct.	For	Against
Bethlehem	20	13	4	3	30	.750	53	16
Fall River	22	12	4	6	28	.636	51	37
New Bedford	23	13	3	7	29	.630	67	40
Boston	21	10	5	6	25	.595	40	31
Indiana Flooring	22	10	4	8	24	.545	41	42
Brooklyn	20	8	4	8	20	.500	40	44
New York Giants	21	8	4	9	20	.476	61	50
Providence	21	7	6	8	20	.476	36	51
Springfield	24	6	7	11	19	.396	41	65
Philadelphia	22	6	4	12	16	.364	45	59
Coats	20	3	7	10	13	.325	22	88
Newark	22	6	2	14	14	.318	28	52

Davy Brown of the New York Giants continues to top the list of individual scorers with a total of 32. Next in line is A. Stevens, of New Bedford. Bethlehem has two players in Archie Stark and Tom Gillespie who are listed with the twelve highest goal scores in the league. These players and the number of goals scored are: D. Brown, New York Giants, 32; A> Stevens, New Bedford, 27; R. Blair, Boston, 18; A. Stark, Bethlehem, 16; J. Nelson, Brooklyn, 16; M. McLeavy, New Bedford, 16; E. McLaine, Providence, 14; W. Paterson, Fall River, 14; T. White, Newark, 13; S. Kennedy, Fall River, 11; T. Gillespie, Bethlehem, 11; J. White, Fall River, 11.