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USL Hartford Athletic

Preview: Eyes on the Prize

October 2, 2020 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Hartford Athletic News Release


HARTFORD ATHLETIC (10-3-2) at NEW YORK RED BULLS II (5-10-0)

Date: Sunday, October 4th

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Location: MSU Soccer Park, Montclair, NJ

Local TV: WCTX MyTV9

Streaming: hartfordathletic.com/watch or ESPN+

International Viewers: YouTube

LAST TIME OUT:

Hartford took down Philadelphia Union II 3-2 on Wednesday night. In the 7th minute, Alex Dixon was taken down by the keeper after his first touch in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Mads Jørgensen stepped up and calmly dispatched his penalty past the Union ll keeper to put Hartford one-nil up! In the 14th minute, Jørgensen swung in a corner and the flicked on header found the boot of Alex Lara who tapped in his first Athletic goal to make it two-nil! Union II came storming back to tie the game at 2, but in the 90th minute, Danny Barrera scored one of the most bizarre goals of the USL season. When the clock struck 90', the Union ll keeper picked up the ball in his box. Barrera stood on the edge of the box, stuck out his leg, and deflected the keeper's throw in the air and into the empty net to make it three to two Athletic!

THE IMMACULATE DEFLECTION:

Danny Barrera's incredible goal on Wednesday night caught the eye of just about the entire world. You could find Barrera at number 2 on Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays as well as BBC Sports, Barstool Sports, the popular Instagram account 433 and many others. "I do weird stuff like that at practice all the time," Barrera said on the Nutmeg State podcast on Thursday. "Even at home, I don't know how many diapers I've ninja kicked or tried to ninja kick into the trash and finally I got one in." Barrera is a father of 3 and is expecting a fourth child.

DEFENSE TO OFFENSE:

In 2019, Hartford Athletic was known for scoring goals from outside the box. The script has flipped in 2020. 24 of the 29 Hartford goals this season have come inside the box. Much of that comes from Head Coach Radhi Jaidi's strategy which often targets larger center backs in the box on set pieces. Defenders Sam Strong, Matheus Silva, Kevin Politz, and Alex Lara have all scored off of set pieces this season. Lara scored his first professional goal on Wednesday running free to the far post on a corner kick, beautifully delivered by Mads Jørgensen.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Hartford Athletic, :

New York Red Bulls II, :

ABOUT THE OPPONENT:

2020 will be the first year since 2015 that New York Red Bulls II will miss the postseason. RBII have a record of 5-10-0 but have played Hartford close in all three matches this season. Like Athletic, New York will come in on short rest having played a neutral site match in Virginia against North Carolina FC on Wednesday night. The big question is which Red Bulls II attack we'll see on Sunday. The one that scored 8 goals in two matches against Atlanta United 2 and Philadelphia Union II, or the one that was shut out against NCFC a few days ago?

FOLLOW ONLINE:

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

Check out the Hartford Athletic Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 2, 2020


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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