Hartford Athletic to Begin Season in July

[Waquoit]

Take the L, kibble. Loudon had no attack and luck kept the score from being higher.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Waquoit]

Big match against the Red Balls on the 15th.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[Waquoit]

The weather s/b perfect

 

[Waquoit]

In case anyone is looking for a bandwagon to jump on, try Hartford. They're up 3 games (9pts) for a playoff spot with two games in hand.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Hartford Athletic is virtually guaranteed to make the playoffs as they only need to finish first or second in their group and 3 out of the other 4 are reserve teams against which HA is 5-0. The real test for them will be the three games against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, which, like Hartford, is an independent team that has as its primary mission winning rather than developing players for an MLS squad to play or use as saleable assets. The teams are not playing balanced schedules as Pittsburgh lost 1-0 for the second time to what may be the league's best club, Indy, that beat Hartford 4-1 recently in Athletic's only non-group game of the year.

 

[Palatine]

Looks like a nice social distanced crowd.

 

[Waquoit]

The teams are not playing balanced schedules as Pittsburgh lost 1-0 for the second time to what may be the league's best club, Indy, that beat Hartford 4-1 recently in Athletic's only non-group game of the year.

Pitt lost to Red Bulls.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Pitt lost to Red Bulls.

That's true. They also thumped RB II in a rematch last weekend 4-1. It should be an excellent match-up on the 28th and will probably be the biggest game on the HA home schedule. I'm committed that night but I'd recommend to any available soccer fan that they should scoop up tickets while they are still available.

 

[Waquoit]

The biggest game in American soccer being played today is at Dillion Stadium where Athletic is playing Pittsburgh, winner will be top of the group. This is the biggest game in franchise history to date, a chance to for their first signature win which would put them well on their way to a playoff berth.

 

[Adios]

Ain't looking too good.

 

[Waquoit]

Ain't looking too good.

Once the ref decided not to award the blatant red card, I knew it was over.

 

[Palatine]

 

[Waquoit]

It was a bit of a rock fight but the good guys won and look good for the playoffs.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Athletic has another big game this weekend at Pittsburgh. The USL Championship is a strange league - combining reserve teams of 16-25 year olds (essentially minor league teams for MLS) and independent teams of mostly 22-30+ year olds like Hartford. Hartford Athletic is 6-0-1 against reserve clubs and has been soundly beaten in its two games against independents - Indy and Pittsburgh. Frankly they are probably not as good as that 6-0-1 indicates but they are also better than the 0-2 record. In both games they played fairly well before late goals gave an exaggerated final score. If Athletic wants to be perceived as a real competitor at the top of the league they need games like this one.

 

[Waquoit]

HA is beating the teams they are supposed to, and losing to better teams. If they win on Saturday they will be a good bet to win their group. They just picked up a new midfielder to bolster the squad. They just have to make the playoffs and go from there.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Athletic being humiliated at the half in Pittsburgh. It's not just the 3-0 score, it's the complete domination of the ball by the Riverhounds (one of the best clubs in the league). Watching this game one would wonder if HA has anyone in the midfield. A Hartford possession is two passes on the backline followed by an over the top kick downfield to give the ball back to Pittsburgh. Possession was about 75% for the home team before they backed off a little bit in the last few minutes of the half.

 

[Waquoit]

Nice win tonight to virtually clinch a playoff spot. They smoked their only threat.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[Waquoit]

All I ask as a fan is that my team give a crap. Try to get better. And HA picked up 2 new guys in the last week that put points on the board yesterday.

 

[Waquoit]

The baseball equivalent of Athletic's playoff situation is their magic number is 1 with five games remaining. If they win out, they will win the Group.

 

[Waquoit]

Hell just froze over in the USL. Hartford just beat the best team in the league on the road. Pittsburgh had 2 wins over Athletic previously by a combined score of 8-0. Pitt was ranked 200 places higher in the 538 rankings going into the game. If they can win their last two games, they start the playoffs at home.

 

[kibblesnbits]

That's a pretty incredible result. I haven't watched the game yet, but I didn't think they'd have much of a chance after mailing in a mediocre effort during a mid-week draw with a lesser club and enduring two previous drubbings by Pittsburgh. Looking at the stats, which favor Pittsburgh, I thought Hartford might have gotten lucky, but looking deeper they were defending on the road off an early score so they were probably putting 10 or even 11 behind the ball and, most surprisingly, they pulled it off despite being down a man for the last 25+ minutes. Pittsburgh may have controlled the ball, but Hartford's defense minimized threats and only allowed one shot on goal. If they can do that consistently they'll be competitive with the top clubs. I'm looking forward to watching the replay on Sunday.

P.S. If they win out and get a home game (probably against Indy) they should be under the new Phase 3 guidelines so capacity at Dillon should be 50%. Indy plays in a dome so if we get some nice fall New England weather (cool with a breeze) it should favor Athletic.

 

[TheDoggPound]