Hartford Athletic Advances to USL Jägermeister Cup Semifinals in 2-0 Win over San Antonio
USL Hartford Athletic

Hartford Athletic Advances to USL Jägermeister Cup Semifinals in 2-0 Win over San Antonio

Published on August 21, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Hartford Athletic News Release


Hartford Athletic advance to the semifinals in the USL Jägermeister Cup, defeating San Antonio FC 2-0 on the road in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night.

The victory marks Hartford's seventh straight unbeaten match across all competitions and their first-ever win over San Antonio FC, finally breaking an 0-8 coaching record for Brendan Burke against the Texas side.

From the opening whistle, Hartford signaled their attacking intent with a bold three-at-the-back formation, pressing high and looking to strike early. They nearly found the net in the 3rd minute, as a series of passes between Emmanuel Samadia, Marlon Hairston, and Michee Ngalina finally found Hartford's all-time leading goal scorer, Mamadou Dieng. Dieng found the back of the net, only for the flag to go up and for it to be called offside.

Hartford kept up the pressure, firing three shots in the opening 10 minutes. Ngalina and Kyle Edwards combined well down the left in the 7th minute, only to be denied by San Antonio's defense. Despite San Antonio's attempts to exploit the flanks and build wide, it was Hartford who remained the more dangerous team in transition during the first half, totaling 7 shots.

The breakthrough came in the 36th minute. After sustained pressure and back-to-back corners, Ngalina whipped in a deep cross to the back post, where Momo slipped past his marker and buried it past Richard Sánchez for his 11th goal of the season across all competitions, giving Hartford a 1-0 lead.

Just moments later, Hartford nearly doubled the lead through Kyle Edwards, who rose to meet a Samadia cross but saw his header flash wide. San Antonio countered quickly, with Jorge Hernandez testing Hartford keeper Antony Siaha, but the wall between the posts held.

The second half saw San Antonio come out with renewed urgency. Hernandez again found space behind Hartford's defense early, but Siaha maintained his clean sheet. Moments later, San Antonio rattled the crossbar on a follow-up effort but could not find the back of the net.

In the 59th minute, after a shot from Careaga was deflected wide, Hartford earned a corner. Marlon Hairston found space in the chaos of the box to slip it past the defense into the goal, giving Hartford a commanding 2-0 lead.

Despite several late pushes from San Antonio, Hartford's defense, led by Jordan Scarlett, Adrian Diz Pe, and TJ Presthus, held firm. The match grew physical, and tension remained high throughout the 11 minutes of stoppage time, but the scoreline remained unchanged.

With the win, Hartford Athletic advances to the semifinals of the USL Jägermeister Cup. Their next opponent in the tournament has yet to be decided, with the semifinal draw set to take place live tomorrow at 9:30 AM on the Golazo Network.

In the meantime, Hartford returns to USL Championship league play with a key matchup against regional rival Rhode Island FC at Trinity Health Stadium on Saturday, August 23 at 7:00 PM. Riding their unbeaten streak and surging attacking form, Hartford will look to carry this momentum into both competitions. Tickets to Hartford's next home match are available here.

FAST STATS

HARTFORD SAN ANTONIO FC

Shots 12 15

Shots On Target 6 2

Corners 3 5

Fouls 13 11

Offsides 1 2

Possession 38.7% 61.3%

Passing Accuracy 68.1% 78.8%

Saves 4 4

SCORING SUMMARY

HARTFORD SAN ANTONIO FC

36 ‚¬Â² - Mamadou Dieng (Michee Ngalina)

58 ‚¬Â² - Marlon Hairston

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

HARTFORD SAN ANTONIO FC

26 ‚¬Â² - Marlon Hairston (Yellow) 45+1" - Lucio Berrón (Yellow)

76 ‚¬Â² - Antony Siaha (Yellow) 78 ‚¬Â² - Juan Agudelo (Yellow)

77 ‚¬Â² - Emmanuel Samadia (Yellow) 90 ‚¬Â² - Rece Buckmaster (Yellow)

LINEUPS

HARTFORD SAN ANTONIO FC

77 (GK) Antony Siaha 1 (GK) Richard Sanchez

19 (DF) Jordan Scarlett (C) 77 (DF) Harvey Neville (Jimmy Medranda, 84 ‚¬Â²)

22 (DF) TJ Presthus 3 (DF) Mitchell Taintor (C)

30 (DF) Adrián Diz Pe 21 (DF) Alex Crognale (Alexis Souahy, 53 ‚¬Â²)

19 (MF) Emmanuel Samadia 23 (DF) Rece Buckmaster

2 (MF) Sebastian Anderson 18 (MF) Almir Soto (Jake LaCava, 70 ‚¬Â²)

94 (MF) Marlon Hairston (Junior Moreira, 69 ‚¬Â²) 14 (MF) Lucio Berrón

10 (MF) Samuel Careaga (Baboucarr Njie, 79 ‚¬Â²) 8 (MF) Nicky Hernandez (Diogo Pacheco, 70 ‚¬Â²)

71 (FW) Kyle Edwards (Jonathan Jiménez, 87 ‚¬Â²) 10 (MF) Jorge Hernández

9 (FW) Mamadou Dieng 6 (MF) Mohamed Omar (Landry Walker, 70 ‚¬Â²)

11 (FW) Michee Ngalina 17 (FW) Juan Agudelo

Check out the Hartford Athletic Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 21, 2025


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