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 Hartford Athletic

Hartford Host Eastern Conference Powerhouse Louisville City Tomorrow Night

June 2, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Hartford Athletic News Release


Date: Saturday, June 3rd, 2023

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Location: Trinity Health Stadium, Hartford, Connecticut

Tickets: HERE

Happy Hour: Gate E at the south end of the stadium will be open from 5:00-6:00 PM, and happy hour will be held in the beer garden: $5 draft and craft beers from the Jim Beam Crossbar. Live music will be played by the Randall Kane Quartet. Happy hour will happen before each match the rest of the season.

Streaming: ESPN Plus or WTNH.com

HARTFORD ATHLETIC (2-7-2) vs. LOUISVILLE CITY FC (6-3-2)

After dropping last week's match 4-1 to Sacramento, Hartford Athletic face another challenge tomorrow night against perennial Championship contender Louisville City FC. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM.

LAST TIME OUT

Hartford Athletic are coming off a 4-1 loss to Sacramento Republic FC at home last Friday. Hartford fell down a goal early after Russell Cicerone scored in the 19th minute, but were able to equalize shortly after. Elvis Amoh drew a penalty in the Sacramento box, and Kyle Edwards converted the ensuing penalty kick. The tied score would not hold, as Sacramento earned a PK of their own in the 38th minute and Sebastian Herrera converted it. The visitors' 2-1 lead would turn into a 4-1 lead in the second half, scoring on a deflected shot in the 51st minute, and putting Hartford away with a goal from Luther Archimède in the 85th minute. Hartford took 15 shots in the game and even hit the post in the second half, but could not fight their way back into the match.

IT STARTS WITH CONFIDENCE

Coming off a loss to Sacramento and heading into a matchup with Louisville, Hartford are facing top clubs in the league in back to back matches. Louisville, an especially successful club in the league's history, has made it to the Eastern Conference Final eight straight times. It's a tough part in Hartford's schedule, but they are in desperate need of three points. "At the moment, [Louisville] are better than we are, but it doesn't mean we can't win the game," said Coach Ramos this week. "It starts with confidence, we have to be confident that we can do it. I think we certainly can get the win [against Louisville], we just have to be focused in each position and do the right things." If Hartford were to pull out a victory on Saturday, it would be the first one against Louisville. They are 0-5 against the eastern conference foe.

AVOID THE COMEBACK TRAIL

Hartford have struggled immensely when conceding first, both this year and in the club's history. They hold an 0-1-4 record this season when conceding first and have failed to win their last 22 matches when giving up the opening goal dating back to 2021. On the flip side, Louisville City hold a 5-1-1 record when scoring first, and are undefeated when doing so on the road.

GETTING TO THE SPOT

Hartford Athletic have drawn and converted a penalty in each of their last three games. Kyle Edwards has converted two of them, and Elvis Amoh the other. While the team has struggled to consistently finish in the attacking third, the men up front have shown the ability to get in behind and cause defenders and goalkeepers to scramble over this stretch of games.

FACING A TOP KEEPER

Louisville goalkeeper Oliver Semmle is currently tied for second in the Championship in clean sheets (5), and recorded his fifth just last week at Indy Eleven. His stellar protection of Louisville's goal has kept his team in almost every single match this year. Semmle is saving shots at a nearly 80% rate and has not conceded more than one goal in a match this season. Louisville has won all but one of the eight games in which he's started in between the posts. This past Saturday, he also completed 42 passes as well, showing his ability to handle the ball in the back.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

Louisville City FC are coming off of a clean sheet victory on the road against Indy Eleven. The two rival clubs fought in a low-scoring affair as the game's only goal came off the foot of Wilson Harris in the 20th minute. Ray Serrano's corner kick sat right in front of the Indy Eleven net and Harris swooped in for the tap-in goal. Despite giving up nine shots (three on target) in the second half, the club held onto its lead and secured the win. The three points keep LouCity (6-3-2) third in the USL Championship's Eastern Conference table despite the club still having a negative goal differential (-1).

Check the Pulse

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Hartford Athletic, Antoine Hoppenot, FW #29

While Antoine Hoppenot has yet to statistically contribute to a goal in league play for Hartford, he has been a consistent generator of offensive chances as of late. In Phoenix on May 13th, he drew the penalty that led to Hartford's only goal, and he played a brilliant ball into the box that led to a goal from Juan Pablo Torres against Loudoun two weeks ago. He's started every game this season and is an essential piece to Hartford's offensive success.

Louisville City FC, Wilson Harris, FW #14

Louisville's leading goal-scorer, Wilson Harris, scored the only goal in the club's last match. That was his third goal on the season in just eight appearances. Harris is a bonafide goal-scorer after he tallied 15 goals for City FC just one year ago. The 23 year old is already in his sixth season in the USL championship, tallying goals in almost 40% of his matches. Harris will look to score in back-to-back games for the second time this season.

INJURY REPORT

Hartford Athletic

Out: Kembo Kibato (Foot)

Louisville

Out: Kyle Morton, Jordan Scarlett

Questionable: Manny Perez

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: For live updates, follow along on twitter using the hashtag #HFDvLOU


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