Hartford Athletic heads south for their penultimate match of the regular season against Tampa Bay Rowdies. After securing a spot in the playoffs with last weekend’s win, the Head Coach Brendan Burke and his squad turn their attention to securing a homefield advantage in the first round. The top four in each conference get to host the first match, so every point counts as the 2025 season comes to a close.
HARTFORD ATHLETIC vs. TAMPA BAY ROWDIES
WHEN: Saturday, October 18th, 7:30 PM
WHERE: AI Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, FL
HOW TO WATCH: MyTV9, WTNH.com, ESPN+
The Green & Blue Are In
With last weekend’s home win, the Green & Blue secured their spot in the post season for just the second time in club history. Hartford’s first playoff appearance came during the abbreviated 2020 season when the side topped their five-team group with 35 points on a 11-3-2 record. Athletic faced St. Louis FC at home in the quarterfinal but fell 1-0 on a stoppage time goal. Louisville City FC, Charleston Battery, Loudoun United FC, North Carolina FC and Pittsburg Riverhounds SC have all also clinched a spot, leaving only two more up for grabs. Most teams only have two games remaining in the season, and all will be fighting for every point possible in order to secure a homefield advantage in the first round. A win against Tampa Bay Rowdies would provide a crucial three points and put the Green & Blue one step closer to that goal.
Sebastian Steps Up
Even before scoring a beautiful goal in Saturday night’s home outing, Sebastian Anderson had been voted Hartford Athletic’s Player of the Month by the fans. Over the month of September, the young right wingback started every match and logged 528 minutes. Additionally, Anderson added three assists and one goal over those six games. October has been a successful month for the Sacramento, California native as well, registering a crucial assist in Hartford’s 1-0 win over Sacramento Republic in the USL Jägermeister Cup Final and netting the first of the match when the two sides faced off again at Trinity Health Stadium last weekend. Anderson is tied with Emmanuel Samadia for first on the team in assists during regular season play, with five apiece. Defensively, Anderson is in the top five on the team for clearances (67), interceptions (23), duels (281) and duels won (120), while leading the squad in tackles (59) and tackles won (40).
Stat Sheet Success
Ever since Hartford started gaining some serious momentum at the end of June, the side’s goal differential has shot through the roof. Athletic now sits in the top three in the Eastern Conference for goal differential with a +14, meaning the Boys in Green have scored 14 more goals than they have conceded. Additionally, Hartford’s goals scored and clean sheet numbers put them in the top five among all teams in the league, with 46 and 10 respectively. The goal differential stat becomes important as the season draws to a close and teams start looking to the standings for playoff seeding. After head-to-head results, head-to-head goal differential is the second tiebreaker when determining a side’s place on the table. Goal differential overall is also another tiebreaker that could become important. Knowing this, the Green & Blue will be looking to score a lot and concede little against Tampa Bay this weekend.
About the Opponent
The Florida side currently sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with 30 points on an 8-14-6 record. After a resounding loss to Rhode Island last weekend, Tampa Bay needs to win out (and hope a few other teams drop points) if they want to have a chance at making the playoffs. Hartford and Tampa Bay have met a total of 13 times in the clubs’ history, with Athletic logging an overall record of 2-9-2. When playing at AI Lang Stadium, the Boys in Green have gone 1-3-2. When the two sides faced off earlier this year, at Trinity Health Stadium, it was an unfortunate 1-0 loss despite a dominant Hartford performance. After 90 minutes, the Green & Blue had logged an xG of 2.09 compared to just a 0.34 for the Rowdies.
Players to Watch
Hartford – Jonathan Jiménez, FW, 17
While a draw last weekend against Sacramento Republic would also have clinched the playoffs for Hartford, a win put the side in a better position for a homefield advantage. And that win was all thanks to Jonathan Jiménez. Heading into stoppage time 2-2, it looked as though the game was going to end in a draw. But Jiménez had other ideas. In the 94th minute, Sebastian Anderson played a cross into the box from the right wing. Adewale Obalola received the ball, but his first touch went a little far. Hadji Barry picked up the loose change with his back to goal, turned and passed it to Jiménez with the outside of his foot. Jiménez took a touch behind his back to set himself up for a beautiful left-footed finish that buried itself in the side netting. This marked his second goal of the regular season. The Norwalk, Connecticut native has also added two assists, eight key passes and nine crosses this year.
Tampa Bay – Woobens Pacius, FW, 28
Woobens Pacius has had an extremely productive season on Tampa Bay’s forward line this year, leading his team and sitting in sixth place in the league for goals, with 12. Across all competitions, the 6’1” forward has netted on 15 different occasions. For his two-goal performance against Monterey Bay in Week 31, Pacius earned a spot on the USL Team of the Week. His native Haiti has also taken note of his impressive productivity, earning him a call up to the nation’s national team for the October FIFA window when Haiti faced off against Nicaragua and Honduras in World Cup qualifying matches. This marked the 24-year-old’s first international call-up. Over 2,148 minutes with Tampa Bay, Pacius has logged 45 shots (#1 on the team and #8 in the league) and 20 shots on target.
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