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USL Hartford Athletic

Hartford Hit the Road to Take on the First Place Riverhounds

August 11, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Hartford Athletic News Release


Date: Saturday, August 12th, 2023

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Location: Highmark Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA

Watch: ESPN+, MyTV9 or wtnh.com.

Hartford Athletic hit the road to take on top of the table Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. The Boys in Green are coming off a thrilling 2-1 win over New Mexico United at Trinity Health Stadium on Saturday night and are looking to build some momentum in the season's most crucial stretch.

LAST TIME OUT

Hartford are coming off a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over New Mexico United in front of a sold-out crowd at home last Saturday. After falling down 1-0 in the 12th minute of the match, Beverly Makangila subbed on in the 63rd minute and made his mark with a beautiful strike from distance to tie the game. Just three minutes later, Antoine Hoppenot scored the game winner on a breakaway. He chased down a perfectly weighted ball from Conor McGlynn, and beat New Mexico keeper Alexander Tambakis to the bottom of the net.

HOPPENOT JOINS THE 40-40 CLUB

After scoring the go-ahead goal in the 73rd minute, Antoine Hoppenot became the fourth player in USL Championship history to record 40 goals and 40 assists in league play. Hoppenot, who was the league's Assists Champion last season, has dished out 46 helpers throughout his career in the league. He joins Solomon Asante, Aodhan Quinn and Enzo Martinez as the only players to reach this milestone.

BEAUTY FROM BEVERLY

Beverly Makangila's glorious game-tying strike from outside the box last Saturday was his first goal of the season in just his sixth game played. After starting in Hartford's home opener on March 25th, Beverly failed to appear in the next 12 matches. He's worked his way back into form, however, appearing in Hartford's win against Las Vegas and scoring one of the team's most important goals of the season last week. "He's getting better and better," said Coach Namazi after the game. "He missed the preseason. He came in late and was never up to speed, but he's starting to become the player who we saw in Colorado, and that's why we picked him up. I'm very happy for him."

STREAKS BROKEN

History would suggest that after conceding the opening goal on Saturday night, three points were not in the cards for Hartford against New Mexico. The club had either drawn or lost 27 consecutive matches when conceding first. But thanks to two second half goals, Hartford broke a streak which dated back to October 14th, 2021. That night, Athletic broke a streak of 20 winless matches after conceding first after scoring three times in the second half against Loudoun United.

CHECK THE PULSE

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

Pittsburgh Riverhounds enter this match at the top of the Eastern Conference table with 44 points, five points clear of second place after a 1-0 victory on Saturday night. Albert Dikwa scored the game's only goal in the third minute and the stout Hounds defense secured three points for the home side. Pittsburgh has won nine of thirteen matches at home this season and have a +13 goal differential in those matches. They also boast a league-leading eleven clean sheets, seven of which have come at Highmark Stadium.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Hartford Athletic: Modesto Méndez, Defender, #2

Méndez signed with Hartford Athletic last Tuesday. Four days later, he made his first appearance for the club, starting at center back in the 2-1 victory. Méndez made a strong impact from the start playing all 90 minutes and recording a match-high 7 clearances and 6 duels won against the New Mexico attack.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds: Albert Dikwa, Forward #9

Dikwa scored his club-leading 11th goal last week, a one-timer from Tola Showunmi. In his fourth season with Riverhounds SC, he has 27 goals in 75 matches. The Cameroonian forward has scored as many goals as last season in half the matches. Dikwa scoring usually means good news for the Hounds. Of all the matches he has scored in across four seasons, Pittsburgh has only lost once.

INJURY REPORT

Hartford Athletic

Out: Kyle Edwards (Hamstring)

Unavailable: Andre Lewis (Red Card)

Pittsburgh

Questionable: Mike DeShields (Concussion), Junior Etou (Foot), Ill Osumanu (Ankle)

Check out the Hartford Athletic Statistics

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