Athletic Eyes Top-Four Finish in High-Stakes Season Finale at Louisville
USL Hartford Athletic

Athletic Eyes Top-Four Finish in High-Stakes Season Finale at Louisville

Published on October 24, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Hartford Athletic News Release


Coming into the last game of the season, Hartford Athletic will be fighting hard for the chance to host a first round playoff game for just the second time in club history. A win would secure the home field advantage for the Green & Blue, while other results would leave it up to fate. The Boys in Green will be facing a Louisville City FC squad that has had a fantastic year, losing only one game all season. But Hartford is in a run of excellent form as well, losing only four out of the last 23 regular season contests.

HARTFORD ATHLETIC vs. LOUISVILLE CITY FC

WHEN: Saturday, October 25th, 7:30 PM

WHERE: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, KY

HOW TO WATCH: MyTV9, WTNH.com, Golazo Network or Hartford Athletic's Fall Fan Fest

Hartford Hijacks Team of the Week

The Green & Blue had a spectacular showing on the USL Championship Team of the Week (Week 32), with five members earning recognition after defeating Oakland Roots 3-1 on the road and then coming home to beat Sacramento Republic FC 3-2 and clinch a playoff spot. Adrián Diz Pe got the nod after working to keep Oakland to just one goal, logging 17 clearances, 10 duels won, six accurate long balls, five recoveries, three tackles won and three fouls earned. Jack Panayotou secured his spot in the TOTW lineup with two crucial assists to power Hartford's comeback win over Oakland. Sebastian Anderson also had a fabulous week, scoring the first of Athletic's three goals in the side's home win over Sacramento, helping to secure three points and clinch a spot in the playoffs. He also connected 865 of his passes, won six duels, created two big chances and won two fouls during that match. Head Coach Brendan Burke was named Coach of the Week after leading his squad to a six-point week and securing the club's second postseason appearance ever. Lastly, Joshua Belluz earned his spot on the TOTW bench with a momentum-changing goal against Oakland to level the score at one and start Hartford's comeback.

Report Card Season: How the Green & Blue Stacks Up

As the regular season comes to a close, players and teams will be looking to see how they compare to their rivals, searching for areas of success as well as improvement. The Boys in Green will find that they rank quite well among all players and teams in the league. As a unit, Hartford sits third place for goals scored with 48. Also on the attacking side of the ball, the Boys in Green are ranked second overall for conversion rate (20%). Athletic stacks up well defensively as well, registering 10 clean sheets (enough for sixth in the league) and only 35 goals conceded (with just seven teams conceding fewer goals). Individually, the Green & Blue are well represented among stat leaders. Emmanuel Samadia currently ranks third among all players for crosses, with 168. When compared to only Eastern Conference foes, he moves up to second place. Kyle Edwards, along with setting a league record for goals off the bench, has earned a seventh place spot for goals overall, with 12. Among Eastern Conference players only, he ascends to fifth place. Sebastian Anderson has been outstanding for Hartford this year, creating 45 chances over the course of the season (putting him in ninth place overall and sixth against Eastern Conference rivals). Lastly, Antony Siaha has shown his skill between the posts, claiming sixth place for saves (68) and fifth place for clean sheets (9). When narrowed down to Eastern Conference goalkeepers, Siaha moves to third place for both stat categories.

Trinity or Travel: It All Rides on Saturday

Heading into the last game of the regular season, Hartford has everything to play for with a top four finish and the resulting home field advantage on the line. Only two points separate the four teams currently positioned from third to sixth places in the Eastern Conference standings, making the results of this weekend's games critical in determining each side's final place on the table. All four have the possibility of earning a top four finish. A win against first place Louisville City FC would seal the deal for the Boys in Green, and Athletic would play at Trinity Health Stadium for the first round of the playoffs. A tie against LouCity would give Hartford a good chance of clinching the home field edge. However, if both North Carolina FC and Pittsburgh come out on top, the Boys in Green would fall to fifth place and would not get to play in front of their home crowd for the first round. The last possibility is that the Green & Blue falls to the Kentucky side this weekend, making things a little more tricky, but not impossible. Then, Athletic would need Pittsburgh to lose against Phoenix Rising or for Loudoun and NCFC to draw. Playoff tickets are on sale now. Don't miss the early bird pricing, so get yours before Athletic has officially secured a first-round home game.

About the Opponent

Louisville City FC have already clinched the Player's' Shield for this season, sitting in first place - well clear of second place Charleston Battery - with 70 points on a 21-1-7 record. This marks the club's second consecutive Players' Shield. Additionally, LouCity has already secured their spot in the postseason, along with the home field advantage in the first round. The Boys in Green have faced off against Louisville City FC 10 times since joining the league in 2019, going 1-6-3 over that period. Despite this record, Hartford has begun closing the gap with a draw and a win in the last two contests against the Kentucky side. Earlier this season, Athletic tied Louisville 1-1 powered by a late-game goal from Kyle Edwards. Last year's home game saw the Green & Blue defend Fortress Hartford with a 2-1 win on a Mamadou Dieng brace.

Players to Watch

Hartford - Michee Ngalina, FW, 11

Athletic's backflipping, goal-scoring phenom had quite the game against Tampa Bay Rowdies last weekend, scoring both of Hartford's goals while also winning 7/10 duels and four fouls. Of the Green & Blue's 0.94 expected goal mark, Ngalina had an individual xG of 0.86. His first goal of the match came just seconds before the referee blew the whistle to send the teams into the locker room for halftime. Adrián Diz Pe received the ball in the right corner, working hard to keep possession and get it to Jack Panayotou. The New England Revolution loanee took a few touches before picking out Ngalina on the other side of the box, wide open. The Democratic Republic of the Congo native buried the ball in the back of the net with one touch, netting for his second game in a row. Looking at a 3-1 scoreline going into stoppage time, Hartford was desperate for a goal. In the 92nd minute, Hadji Barry received the ball at the top of the D and beat a defender before playing a perfect through ball to Ngalina. Once again, the 5'11" forward found himself one-one-one with the goalkeeper. He took a touch to get around the keeper and calmly slid the ball home. With this brace, Ngalina moved into second on the team (among current players) with five regular season goals. For his outstanding performance, Ngalina earned a spot on the Week 33 USL Championship Team of the Week.

Louisville - Josh Jones, DF, 24

Joining LouCity for his rookie professional season after playing four years at University of Louisville, Josh Jones has made an immediate impact on his new team. The 22-year-old has logged 1360 minutes, over 19 games and 15 starts. At centerback, Jones has been a crucial part of Louisville City's league-leading 13 shutouts, ranking in the top three on the team for clearances (126), blocks (13) and interceptions (23). The Hatfield, Pennsylvania native has also won 118 of 173 duels, 72 of 104 aerial duels and 12 of 16 tackles. Offensively, Jones has contributed two assists and one goal, a late-game insurance point versus Las Vegas Lights. For his performance two weeks ago against Indy Eleven, the 6'5" defender earned a spot on the Week 31 USL Championship Team of the Week. In that match, Jones totaled 20 clearances, three blocks and three recoveries, while winning seven of eight duels and connecting two long balls.

Inside the Huddle

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 24, 2025


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