Green & Blue Grind Out Gritty Road Win In Colorado Springs
USL Hartford Athletic

Green & Blue Grind Out Gritty Road Win In Colorado Springs

Published on September 27, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Hartford Athletic News Release


Colorado Springs, CO, USA; Hartford Athletic goalkeeper John Berner (13) in the first half against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Weidner Field. Credit: Isaiah J. Downing/Switchbacks FC

On the road and playing at over 6,000 feet of elevation, Hartford Athletic battled defending USL Championship champions to a 2-0 win, powered by Adewale Obalola and Jack Panayotou goals.

Hartford goalkeeper John Berner kept the Green & Blue in the game with seven total saves with several crucial stops throughout the first half.

One of his best came in the 24th minute.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks' Marco Micaletto took a perfect outswinging corner that found the head of Tyler Clegg. The 6'4" defender made great contact, redirecting the ball towards goal. His attempt was headed for the bottom right corner but Berner reacted quickly to keep the ball out of the goal. The rebound fell to Cole Mrowka who fired off another shot but it sailed just wide. Plus, Berner was already up and ready to handle his shot, in case it had threatened the Green & Blue goal.

Just before halftime, Adwale Obalola netted Hartford Athletic's first goal of the match. Michee Ngalina received the ball on the left wing and took on his defender right away, beating him on the dribble and cutting inside. He played the ball to Ngalina who tried to fire off a shot, but his attempt was unsuccessful. Amid the chaos, Obalola was there to follow up on the bouncing ball and put it in the back of the net in the 41st minute.

The two teams went into halftime with Hartford up 1-0.

Just six minutes after retaking the pitch for the second half, the Boys in Green secured another goal.

After controlling a bouncing ball Jack Panayotou played it out to Obalola on the right wing. Hartford's first goalscorer quickly played it back to Sebastian Anderson, who took a few touches and then dropped it back for Panayotou. The New England Revolution loanee got the ball under control and then fired off a banger that flew past goalkeeper Christian Herrera without giving him a chance to react.

With this assist, Anderson equals Emmanuel Samadia for most on the team this season, with five.

Hartord continued to defend as a team for the remainder of the game, making several game-changing defensive stops to keep Colorado Springs off the scoreboard.

In the 85th minute, a ball rebounded to Duke Lacroix, who brought it under control and charged towards goal. He managed to break through the backline on the right side of the 18-yard-box and was in on goal but Berner charged out to shut off his shooting angle. His shot deflected wide and Hartford maintained the clean sheet.

The Boys in Green fought through the final minutes to earn a crucial three points on the road. This marks the side's 10th clean sheet in regular season play.

Hartford Athletic plays next in the USL Jägermeister Cup final on October 4th at 10PM versus Sacramento Republic FC. The game can be viewed on MyTV9, WTNH.com, or ESPN+.

Additionally, the Green & Blue are back at home for Match for a Cause in support of the American Cancer Society on October 11th at 7 PM. More information can be found here and ticckets are available here.

FAST STATS

HARTFORD COLORADO SPRINGS

Shots 10 24

Shots On Target 3 7

Corners 3 11

Fouls 15 8

Offsides 2 1

Possession 34.3% 65.7%

Passing Accuracy 72.1% 84.7%

Saves 7 1

SCORING SUMMARY

HARTFORD COLORARDO SPRINGS

41 ‚¬Â² - Adewale Obalola

51 ‚¬Â² - Jack Panayotou (Sebastian Anderson)

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

HARTFORD COLORADO SPRINGS

15 ‚¬Â² - Matt Mahoney (Yellow)

83 ‚¬Â² - Levonte Johnson (Yellow)

LINEUPS

HARTFORD COLORADO SPRINGS

13 (GK) John Berner 1 (GK) Christian Herrera

30 (DF) Adrían Diz Pe 4 (DF) Tyler Clegg

4 (DF) Jordan Scarlett (C) 14 (DF) Duke Lacroix

22 (DF) TJ Presthus 33 (DF) Isaiah Foster (Matt Real, 59 ‚¬Â²)

19 (MF) Emmanuel Samadia 5 (DF) Matt Mahoney (C)

16 (MF) Jack Panayotou (Hadji Barry, 61 ‚¬Â²) 22 (MF) Marco Micaletto (Garven Metusala, 82 ‚¬Â²)

6 (MF) Beverly Makangila (Marlon Hairston, 76 ‚¬Â²) 37 (MF) Brennan Creek (Steven Echevarria, 76 ‚¬Â²)

2 (MF) Sebastian Anderson 8 (MF) Cole Mrowka

11 (MF) Michee Ngalina (Junior Moreira, 90+7) 20 (FW) Yosuke Hanya

81 (FW) Adewale Obalola (Kyle Edwards, 61 ‚¬Â²) 7 (FW) Jonas Fjeldberg (Levonte Johnson, 60 ‚¬Â²)

17 (FW) Jonathan Jiménez (Samuel Careaga, 60 ‚¬Â²) 93 (FW) Kyle Vassell (Juan Tejada, 46 ‚¬Â²)

Check out the Hartford Athletic Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 27, 2025


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