Hartford Athletic dropped a back-and-forth clash with Charleston Battery on Saturday night, ultimately falling in a heart-wrenching, 3-2 affair. The boys in green battled back from a 1-0 halftime deficit, but the visitors snagged two goals in as many minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Hartford controlled most of the first half, but it was Charleston that broke the deadlock in the 40th minute. Midfielder Zeiko Lewis came up with a fantastic free kick from the edge of the area, hitting the bottom left corner with a curling effort that froze Frederik Due.
However, conceding first did not curb Hartford’s momentum, and the boys in green leveled the scoreline just 12 minutes after the restart. Jose Angulo fielded the ball in the heart of midfield and charged forward, unleashing a low, driving effort from just outside the penalty box. While Charleston goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky managed to get a set of hands on Angulo’s effort, Athletic forward Wojciech Wojcik gave him no hope on the rebound, smashing it into the roof of the net. The boys in green would strike again in the 65th; substitute Mads Jørgensen scored an absolute screamer from 30 yards just moments after entering the match, rocketing his shot into the top right corner.
The boys in green fought valiantly to preserve their 2-1 advantage, but they were ultimately pegged back in the 79th minute. Charleston defender Leland Archer fielded a brilliant back-post corner kick delivery and dropped it off for Ataulla Guerra; the midfielder fired his shot past Due and multiple defenders to equalize. The “Holy City” side then flipped the game on its head just one minute later, when substitute Dante Marini’s knuckler from the left side of the penalty area slid into the right side-netting.
Head Coach Jimmy Nielsen threw men forward as Hartford tried to resuscitate a point, but the boys in green could not carve out a clean look on goal before the final whistle sounded. They will hope for better fortunes next Saturday, when they host Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at 5 PM.
STATS:
Shots: 22-10 HFD
Shots on Target: 7-7 HFD | CHS
Corner Kicks: 4-2 CHS
Fouls Committed: 10-8 CHS
Saves: 5-4 CHS
Offside: 1-1 HFD | CHS
Possession: 64-36 HFD
Passing Accuracy: 90-81 HFD
SCORING SUMMARY
CHS – Zeiko Lewis 40’
HFD – Wojciech Wojcik 57’
HFD – Mads Jørgensen 65’
CHS – Ataulla Guerra 79’
CHS – Dante Marini 80’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
39’ – Alex Davey (Yellow)
69’ – Arthur Bosua (Yellow)
71’ – Sem De Wit (Yellow)
90’ – Danny Barrera (Yellow)
HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP
Frederik Due; Raymond Lee, Alex Davey (Danny Bedoya 46’), Sem De Wit, Kyle Curinga (Ryan Williams 85’); Jose Angulo, Alex Dixon, Philip Rasmussen, Danny Barrera; Wojciech Wojcik, Mac Steeves (Mads Jørgensen 64’)
CHARLESTON BATTERY STARTING LINEUP
Joe Kuzminsky; A.J. Paterson, Leland Archer, Taylor Mueller, O’Brian Woodbine (Dante Marini 71’); Nicholas Rittmeyer, Vincenzo Candela, Angelo Kelly-Rosales; Zeiko Lewis (Kotaro Higashi 83’), Ataulla Guerra, Ian Svantesson (Arthur Bosua 64’)
Hartford Athletic dropped a back-and-forth clash with Charleston Battery on Saturday night, ultimately falling in a heart-wrenching, 3-2 affair. The boys in green battled back from a 1-0 halftime deficit, but the visitors snagged two goals in as many minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Hartford controlled most of the first half, but it was Charleston that broke the deadlock in the 40th minute. Midfielder Zeiko Lewis came up with a fantastic free kick from the edge of the area, hitting the bottom left corner with a curling effort that froze Frederik Due.
However, conceding first did not curb Hartford’s momentum, and the boys in green leveled the scoreline just 12 minutes after the restart. Jose Angulo fielded the ball in the heart of midfield and charged forward, unleashing a low, driving effort from just outside the penalty box. While Charleston goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky managed to get a set of hands on Angulo’s effort, Athletic forward Wojciech Wojcik gave him no hope on the rebound, smashing it into the roof of the net. The boys in green would strike again in the 65th; substitute Mads Jørgensen scored an absolute screamer from 30 yards just moments after entering the match, rocketing his shot into the top right corner.
The boys in green fought valiantly to preserve their 2-1 advantage, but they were ultimately pegged back in the 79th minute. Charleston defender Leland Archer fielded a brilliant back-post corner kick delivery and dropped it off for Ataulla Guerra; the midfielder fired his shot past Due and multiple defenders to equalize. The “Holy City” side then flipped the game on its head just one minute later, when substitute Dante Marini’s knuckler from the left side of the penalty area slid into the right side-netting.
Head Coach Jimmy Nielsen threw men forward as Hartford tried to resuscitate a point, but the boys in green could not carve out a clean look on goal before the final whistle sounded. They will hope for better fortunes next Saturday, when they host Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at 5 PM.
STATS:
Shots: 22-10 HFD
Shots on Target: 7-7 HFD | CHS
Corner Kicks: 4-2 CHS
Fouls Committed: 10-8 CHS
Saves: 5-4 CHS
Offside: 1-1 HFD | CHS
Possession: 64-36 HFD
Passing Accuracy: 90-81 HFD
SCORING SUMMARY
CHS – Zeiko Lewis 40’
HFD – Wojciech Wojcik 57’
HFD – Mads Jørgensen 65’
CHS – Ataulla Guerra 79’
CHS – Dante Marini 80’
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
39’ – Alex Davey (Yellow)
69’ – Arthur Bosua (Yellow)
71’ – Sem De Wit (Yellow)
90’ – Danny Barrera (Yellow)
HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP
Frederik Due; Raymond Lee, Alex Davey (Danny Bedoya 46’), Sem De Wit, Kyle Curinga (Ryan Williams 85’); Jose Angulo, Alex Dixon, Philip Rasmussen, Danny Barrera; Wojciech Wojcik, Mac Steeves (Mads Jørgensen 64’)
CHARLESTON BATTERY STARTING LINEUP
Joe Kuzminsky; A.J. Paterson, Leland Archer, Taylor Mueller, O’Brian Woodbine (Dante Marini 71’); Nicholas Rittmeyer, Vincenzo Candela, Angelo Kelly-Rosales; Zeiko Lewis (Kotaro Higashi 83’), Ataulla Guerra, Ian Svantesson (Arthur Bosua 64’)
