Hartford Athletic return to home host the Tampa Bay Rowdies after a 1-1 draw at Detroit City FC on Wednesday night. The Green and Blue look to extend their undefeated streak to three while spoiling the Rowdies eight-game streak.
PRESENTED BY TRAVELERS
Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2022
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Location: Trinity Health Stadium, Hartford, CT
Tickets: HERE
Local TV: WCTX MyTV9
Streaming: ESPN+ or hartfordathletic.com/watch
HARTFORD ATHLETIC (4-9-4) vs TAMPA BAY ROWDIES (9-3-6)
CONTAINING HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
Tampa Bay has had no shortage of goals lately, scoring a combined seven over their last two matches alone. This comes at no surprise, with the Rowdies being one of the most high-powered offenses in the USL Championship. Their 34 goals this season are tied for fourth in the USL Championship and Jake LaCava’s 9 goals are tied for fifth overall. It will be key for Hartford to win the possession battle and limit Tampa Bay’s chances, as the Rowdies are 8-1-0 in games where they score multiple goals this season.
AWESOME ANDRE
Hartford Midfielder Andre Lewis has been on a quality run of form over the last two weeks. He has scored in back to back matches and was named to the Week 17 USL Championship Team of The Week after a stellar performance against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. He scored the goal to put the game away for Hartford against his former team on June 28th, and found the back of the net for Hartford’s only goal in the 1-1 draw at Detroit this past Wednesday. Lewis has been a key player for the Green and Blue all season long, as he’s appeared in every game and has led the team in chances created for much of the year (26). However, he has been on the finishing end of these chances lately and is capitalizing on his opportunities to score.
PLAYING FOR POINTS
Hartford Athletic have managed to earn points in four of their last five matches, two draws and two victories, with their only loss coming to Eastern Conference leading Louisville City FC on June 25th. Both victories during this span have been multi-goal wins, a 3-0 win over Atlanta United 2 and a 2-0 victory over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. They have also had two 1-1 draws, one to Memphis 901 FC and one to Detroit City FC most recently.
WORDS FROM THE STRIKER
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Hartford Athletic, Danny Barrera, MF #10
Danny Barrera has been a lead generator of offensive chances for Hartford Athletic this season. Despite having an empty goal and assist column on his stat sheet, he’s tied for first on the team in chances created with 26. Lately, he’s created five chances in Hartford’s last two games, and after the club’s upset victory over Colorado on June 28th, Technical Director Ray Reid said, “We need to get [Barrera] the ball more. He needs the ball to go and create chances, and he got the ball tonight and he did that. We need to let him facilitate the game.” The team captain has played and started in all but one game this season, and will be critical for Hartford on Saturday night.
Tampa Bay Rowdies, Leo Fernandes, MF #11
Fernandes is a centerpiece for the Tampa Bay roster, playing in 17 of 18 matches this season and starting in 15 of them. He is a key distributor on the offensive side of the ball, leading the team in assists (4) and holding the second most chances created (29). Fernandes is also one of the major threats to score for the Rowdies, showing no hesitation to shoot with 29 shots on the year and seven goals. When the Rowdies have a chance to score, Fernandes is almost always involved.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Tampa Bay enters Saturday’s contest third on the Eastern Conference playoff ladder with a 9-3-6 record and 33 points. They are entering Saturday’s match on a hot streak, having not lost a match since they fell 3-2 to San Diego Loyal SC back on April 30. Most recently, they earned three points in an impressive 2-0 win over Memphis 901 FC on Saturday, July 2nd. This will be the second meeting between Hartford and Tampa, as they tied 1-1 at Al Lang Stadium back on March 26th.
INJURY REPORT
Hartford Athletic:
Out: Modou Jadama (Quad)
Tampa Bay Rowdies:
Out: Robert Castellanos, Jake Areman
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #HFDvTBR
