An early Jack Panayotou goal and an incredible late-game scoring surge, including a Kyle Edwards brace, powered Hartford Athletic to a 4-0 drubbing of Western conference foe Monterey Bay FC.
The opening minutes of the game saw a rather even matchup, with possession swinging from end to end and both teams firing off shots.
About halfway through the first half, though, the Green & Blue broke through for the first time. Adwale Obalola worked hard to pick the ball off in the midfield, quickly playing it to Hadji Barry. The USL Championship Player of the Year made a perfectly weighted pass to Jack Panayotou who was wide open on the right side. The New England Revolution loanee took a few touches to set himself up on his left foot before firing off a beautifully curving ball that nestled itself in the top left corner to give Hartford the early lead.
Hartford continued hunting for a goal, attempting 11 shots to Monterey’s six in the first half. Owen Presthus, Hadji Barry and Jack Panayotou all had extremely dangerous looks on goal.
Coming out of the locker rooms for the second half, Monterey Bay looked to be gaining momentum, but Hartford’s defense held strong and kept the Seasiders at zero.
Just as it looked like the game was going to end 1-0, Kyle Edwards secured the first of an onslaught of insurance goals for the Boys in Green.
After controlling a bouncing ball at the corner of the 18-yard-box, Edwards played Michee Ngalina in behind the Seasiders’ backline. The back clipping forward played the ball low and hard across the six, and Sebastian Anderson sacrificed his body to get on the end of it. His attempted popped out to Edwards at the front post for a tap in finish.
This may have seemed like a great finish for Hartford, but the Boys in Green were not done yet.
Just one minute into the allotted five minutes of stoppage time, Edwards struck again – securing himself the brace. Ngalina once again received the ball out wide and danced around three defenders to get the ball central, just outside the 18. Anderson ran onto it and played a perfect through ball for Ngalina, who had continued his run into the box. Ngalina’s close range shot was saved by goalkeeper Nico Campuzano, but Kyle Edwards was there to put away the rebound.
But the Green & Blue still were not done.
Two minutes later, Hartford was awarded a corner kick. Samuel Careaga and Baboucarr Njie combined for a short corner that beat two defenders and released Hartford’s #10 to dribble along the end line. Careaga put the ball into the mix, and Sebastian Anderson finally got one of his own – after being involved in the two previous goals. He blasted the ball into the back of the net with a decisive one-touch shot that guaranteed the win for the Boys in Green.
Former Monterey Bay goalkeeper Antony Siaha made three crucial saves, and claimed three dangerous crosses, to keep his old team off the scoreboard. The 6’5” Tucson, Arizona native has registered nine clean sheets this year, putting him in a three-way tie for second place in the league.
The Boys in Green are back at home on Saturday, September 20 at 7:00PM against Pittsburg Riverhounds SC. It’s Noche Latina and the final fan-favorite $2 beers/$1 hot dog night. Tickers are available here.
FAST STATS
| HARTFORD | MONTEREY BAY | |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 17 | 14 |
| Shots On Target | 8 | 3 |
| Corners | 5 | 3 |
| Fouls | 15 | 18 |
| Offsides | 1 | 2 |
| Possession | 42.6% | 57.4% |
| Passing Accuracy | 71.2% | 78.3% |
| Saves | 3 | 4 |
SCORING SUMMARY
| HARTFORD | MONTEREY BAY |
|---|---|
| 24′ – Jack Panayotou (Hadji Barry) | |
| 85′ – Kyle Edwards (Sebastian Anderson) | |
| 90+2′ Kyle Edwards | |
| 90+4′ – Sebastian Anderson (Beverly Makangila) |
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
| HARTFORD | MONTEREY BAY |
|---|---|
| 34′ – TJ Presthus (Yellow) | 29 – Miles Lyons (Yellow) |
| 74′ – Beverly Makangila (Yellow) | 48′ – Nicholas Gordon (Yellow) |
| 84′ – Antony Siaha (Yellow) | 65′ – Bench (Yellow) |
| 72′ – Adrian Rebollar (Yellow) |
LINEUPS
| HARTFORD | MONTEREY BAY |
|---|---|
| 77 (GK) Antony Siaha | 1 (GK) Nico Campuzano |
| 23 (DF) Owen Presthus (Baboucarr Njie, 87′) | 12 (DF) Grant Robinson |
| 4 (DF) Jordan Scarlett (C) | 5 (DF) Carlos Guzman |
| 22 (DF) TJ Presthus | 4 (DF) Alex Lara |
| 33 (MF) Joshua Belluz | 2 (DF) Nicholas Gordon (C) |
| 6 (MF) Beverly Makangila | 13 (MF) Mobi Fehr (Pierce Gallaway, 88′) |
| 16 (MF) Jack Panayotou (Junior Moreira, 70′) | 6 (MF) Wesley Fonguck (Adrian Rebollar, 56′) |
| 2 (MF) Sebastian Anderson | 27 (MF)Tarik Scott (Mayele Malango, 56′) |
| 17 (MF) Jonathan Jiménez (Michee Ngalina, 63′) | 41 (MF) John Klein |
| 81 (FW) Adewale Obalola (Samuel Careaga, 63′) | 15 (MF) Miles Lyons (Joel Garcia Jr., 82′) |
| 92 (FW) Hadji Barry (Kyle Edwards, 46′) | 31 (FW) Luke Ivanovic (Anton Søjberg, 56′) |
