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USL Hartford Athletic

Preview: Bounce Back Week

September 5, 2020 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Hartford Athletic News Release


The Boys in Green are back at Dillon Stadium on Saturday night and looking to bounce back off last weekend's loss. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC are now 6 points clear of Hartford in first place after defeating Loudoun United on Tuesday night, so Hartford has some work to do to make up the points.

HARTFORD ATHLETIC (5-2-1) vs LOUDOUN UNITED FC (1-6-2)

Date: Saturday, September 5th

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Location: Dillon Stadium, Hartford, CT

Tickets: https://bit.ly/2EM5mNN

Local TV: WCTX MyTV9

Streaming: hartfordathletic.com/watch or ESPN+

International Viewers: YouTube

Program: hartfordathletic.com/program

LAST TIME OUT:

Athletic suffered its first loss at Dillon Stadium and in Group F falling 3-0 to Pittsburgh. Not long after in the 10th minute, Hartford went down 1-0. The ball rolled to the back post and Ryan James was there to smash it in past Parfait Mandanda. In the 22nd minute Pittsburgh doubled their lead, Connecticut born Danny Griffin put in a rebound that was too hot to handle. Shortly after halftime, Pittsburgh tacked on another, James scored his second of the match vollying in at the back post.

DANNY THE DISTRIBUTOR:

When Danny Barrera signed with Hartford in June of 2019, he was known for his ability to pass the ball. He's shown it in spades since arriving, and has thrived in Head Coach Radhi Jaïdi's system. Barrera has recorded 6 assists this season, third best in the entire USL Championship. He has 10 career assists in Blue and Green, by far the most of anyone to wear a Hartford uniform. Danny 6 assists have gone to 4 different players this season.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME:

Loudoun United's home turf is Segra Field in Leesburg, VA, but you could argue that Dillon Stadium is their second home this season. This will be Loudoun's fourth match at Dillon in 2020, only two less matches than they play at Segra. It's not quite home cooking though as Loudoun currently owns a record of 0-3-1 in matches played at Dillon. Hartford has never played at Segra Field in their brief history. The two teams met last season at Audi Field in Washington D.C., where Hartford won 2-1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Hartford Athletic, Cheno Guzmán, F, #99:

Two matches ago, Hartford went scoreless for over 80 minutes, last match Hartford was scoreless the full 90. When you need a goal scoring boost, who do you go to but your leading goal scorer. Cheno seems to be back at full health and is expected to be in the starting lineup come Saturday night. The connection between he and Danny Barrera have been critical to Hartford's success in the final third. That's the momentum boost that Hartford will need to get back on track tomorrow night.

Loudoun United, Elvis Amoh, F, #7:

Who else could it possibly be? Amoh has scored in all three matches Hartford and Loudoun have played this season. In the first two matches, he scored on penalty kicks, but two weeks ago, he finally broke through in the run of play with a beautiful goal that put Loudoun up 2-0. If there is a particular place to focus defensively for Hartford, it should be right on Amoh.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT:

Loudoun United makes their fourth trip to Hartford since July 20th on Saturday. The Boys in Red seemed to be gaining some positive momentum after they shocked Hartford with a 2-2 draw the last time these teams met, but have since taken two losses, most recently a 3-0 defeat against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Tuesday night. With only seven matches remaining in the regular season, Loudoun will need to make a big move quickly to make the playoffs.

FOLLOW ONLINE:

Can't watch? Stay in touch with our live commentary @hfdathletic or by following #HFDvLDN

Check out the Hartford Athletic Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 5, 2020


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