PRESENTED BY TRAVELERS
Date: Saturday, July 22nd, 2023
Time: 10:30 PM ET
Location: Cashman Field, Las Vegas, Nevada
Hartford Athletic travel out west to Las Vegas for their second-ever meeting with Lights FC. The Green and Blue have a prime opportunity to snap their six-game losing streak, facing a Vegas team that holds just one win and sits at the bottom of the Western Conference table.
LAST TIME OUT
Hartford Athletic are coming off a 3-2 to FC Tulsa last Saturday, surrendering a goal in the fourth in final minute of stoppage time to take the loss. A back and forth match through 90 minutes, Hartford equalized twice after falling down a goal. Elvis Amoh tied the match in the 24th minute, heading a long throw-in from Matt Sheldon up and over Tulsa keeper Michael Nelson and into the net. Hartford would fall behind again on a goal from Phillip Goodrum in the 35th minute, but tied the match when Rashid Tetteh misplayed an Edgardo Rito cross into Tulsa’s net for an own goal. With the game tied in stoppage time, Collin Fernandez lofted a ball across the box to Goodrum, who booted home his second goal of the game and the game winner for Tulsa.
90–PLUS
Dropping points in the final minutes of games has been a frequent occurrence for Hartford this season, as the late goal from Goodrum last week marks the 13th goal that Hartford have conceded in the last 15 minutes of a match so far. “It’s really just about being tuned in for 90-plus minutes,” said veteran defensemen Matt Sheldon earlier this week when asked about how Hartford can fix the late-game woes. “…Of course, there’s always an element of luck to it… But I think if we just focus with all 11 players on the field, and the players coming off the bench, we’ll stop making those [late-game] errors.”
AMOH ENDS SCORING DROUGHT
Elvis Amoh scored his fourth goal of the season last week, breaking himself out of an eight-game dryspell without scoring a goal. The striker has missed five games this season as he’s battled injuries, including a thigh injury that sidelined him for four straight games from April 15th to May 20th. He’s a proven goalscorer in the Championship when healthy, as he’s scored 13 goals in each of his last two seasons. Amoh leads Hartford in total shots with 30, and can be a key piece in helping Athletic breakout of their losing streak if he finds his stride in this second half of the season. “I’m very happy for him,” said Coach Namazi on Amoh earlier this week. “He seemed frustrated and down in confidence, but even in training this week, he looks like a different player already.”
FAMILIAR FACE
Vegas forward Preston Tabort Etaka played for Hartford Athletic in 2021, scoring four goals and tallying five assists for the Green and Blue across 26 appearances. This year with Lights FC, he has three goals across 15 appearances and 11 starts. Saturday will be the first time Tabort Etaka plays against his former club.
Check the Pulse
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Las Vegas Lights FC sit bottom of the Western Conference Table with 11 points in 18 matches. With just one win, Las Vegas find themselves 14 points out of the current playoff picture. Coming off of a week without a game, Lights FC will be well-rested for inter-conference play. The last match the club played was a high-scoring thriller versus Birmingham Legion FC. Lights FC forward Pato Botello Faz scored a stoppage-time goal to knot the game 3-3. Last season, Hartford won this matchup 3-0 on home turf in the two clubs’ first ever meeting with Ariel Martínez scoring two first-half goals.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hartford Athletic: Kembo Kibato, MF #21
Kembo Kibato is back from injury and has come off the bench for Hartford in each of their previous two matches. With just five total appearances on the year, Kibato has not had the opportunity to display his full set of skills. Last year with FC Tulsa, he made 28 appearances and 18 starts, serving as a box-to-box midfielder with a 90-minute engine. He had almost 90% passing accuracy, showing his ability to connect with his forwards in from the middle of the field into the attacking third.
Las Vegas: Lucas Stauffer, DF #4
Lucas Stauffer leads Lights FC in chances created with 25 and in assists with three so far this season. With their top goalscorer Pato Botello Faz out with an achilles injury, Stauffer may have to step up more as a goalscoring threat than as a distributor. He has scored two goals this season.
INJURY REPORT
Hartford Athletic
Out: None
Las Vegas
Out: Pato Botello Faz (Achilles)
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: For live updates, follow along on twitter using the hashtag #LVvHFD
