PRESENTED BY TRAVELERS
After a win at FC Tulsa last week, Hartford Athletic look for six points in two weeks and a season sweep of the New York Red Bulls II on Wednesday night.
Date: Wednesday, August 31st, 2022
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Location: MSU Soccer Park, Montclair, New Jersey
Local TV: WCTX MyTV9
Streaming: ESPN+ or hartfordathletic.com/watch
HARTFORD ATHLETIC (6-15-5) vs NEW YORK RED BULLS II (3-19-4)
LAST TIME OUT
Hartford Athletic are coming off a 2-1 road victory over FC Tulsa last Wednesday. They took three valuable points away from the home side, who sat eight points out of the 7th seed and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Hartford got on the board early with a goal from Ariel Martínez after a brilliant connection between Luka Prpa and Joel Johnson. The Green and Blue lead would hold until the 80th minute, when Modou Jadama was called for a handball in Hartford’s box, giving Tulsa a penalty kick. Darío Suárez converted the penalty, tying the game. Right when it looked as if the air had been blown out of the balloon for Hartford, the visiting side responded relentlessly two minutes later. Ash Apollon crossed a ball into Tulsa’s box that was met by a well-struck header from Danny Barrera. Austin Wormell made a miraculous quick reaction save initially, but the rebound fell to second half substitute Juan Carlos Obregón Jr., who booted in the deciding goal for Hartford. The 2-1 lead would hold the rest of the way, and Hartford earned an uplifting three points on the road.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Hartford Athletic and the New York Red Bulls II have beaten up on each other in Eastern Conference play over the past three seasons. NYRBII gave Hartford Athletic a rude welcome into the USL Championship in 2019, beating them by four goals in their first two matchups. Since then, the matchup history has favored the Green and Blue, as they beat the nearby New York club four times in 2020 and added a 7-0 blowout victory in 2021. In their matchup at Trinity Health Stadium earlier this year, Hartford won 3-2 in dramatic fashion after a stoppage time game winning goal from Corey Hertzog. Hartford owns a 7-3-1 all-time record against NYRBII.
TULU TIME
Tulu has become a mainstay in the Hartford backline in the second half of this season, starting six consecutive games and making an impact defensively. He made a heroic block against Miami two weeks ago on a shot from Kyle Murphy that would have likely given the visiting side an early 1-0 lead. He followed that up with a stellar performance at Tulsa last week. He made a textbook open field tackle to stop a Tulsa attack early in the first half, and he made one of the best defensive plays of the season for Hartford in stoppage time. On the final corner of the game for Tulsa, Bradley Bourgeois headed a ball to his feet, took a shot that floated towards goal and past Yannik Oettl, but Tulu calmly kicked the shot away from the goal line with his right foot. A heroic stop from the defenseman who has been quite the bright spot for Hartford as of late.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hartford Athletic, Joel Johnson DF #30
Joel Johnson has been one of Hartford’s most consistent performers throughout the 2022 season. The 29 year old has started all but one game this year and has eclipsed the 2000-minute mark on the season. Along with his team-leading four goals, he picked up his first assist last week against Tulsa when he found Ariel Martínez for the game’s first goal. When he hasn’t scored or assisted, Johnson has been valuable creating opportunities whenever he is on the ball, creating 20 chances on the year.
New York Red Bulls II, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, FW #30
Adebayo-Smith has been a bright spot for New York this season. His five goals led the team and he’s coming off a goal scoring performance against Birmingham Legion FC last week, who are fourth in the league in clean sheets with 11. Last week was also Adebayo-Smith’s 50th career USL Championship appearance. The striker scored in New York’s first matchup with Hartford back in May as well.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
The New York Red Bulls II are coming off a 3-1 loss to Birmingham Legion FC last Sunday. With the loss, they were eliminated from playoff contention and moved into last place in both the Eastern Conference and the USL Championship. They’re 1-3-1 in their last five games, with their latest win coming over Atlanta United 2 on August 9th.
INJURY REPORT
Hartford Athletic:
Out: Jeciel Cedeño (Illness)
New York Red Bulls II:
Out: Juan Castillo (Hamstring), Illia Tyrkus (Hamstring)
Questionable: Curtis Ofori (Hamstring), Arian Recinos (Knee)
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: For live updates, follow along on twitter using the hashtag #NYRvHFD
