After Hartford Athletic went punch for punch with San Antonio FC in the first half, they fell behind the defending league champions in the second half and dropped the match 5-2.
The first 45 minutes of tonight’s match were action-packed and filled with scoring chances, as both teams played with relentless offensive pace and netted two goals apiece. The opening five minutes saw back-to-back shots from San Antonio’s Tani Oluwaseyi, one that was saved by the right hand of Joe Rice and another that was blocked by a sprawling Andre Lewis after a turnover. The defensive start for Hartford mirrored the opening minutes in Vegas last week, when Rice made an early save and Lewis cleared a shot off the goal line. Athletic responded with a brilliant team goal in the 10th minute when Juan Pablo Torres connected a pass to Conor McGlynn, who tapped in the ball to the bottom corner to beat San Antonio keeper Jordan Farr.
The game began to open up after Hartford struck first, as Oluwaseyi continued to wreak havoc in Hartford’s third and tied the game in the 15th minute. He chased down a bouncing ball from Jorge Hernández in the box and chipped his shot over the charging Joe Rice. Hernández and Oluwaseyi were not finished yet, connecting again in the 30th minute and nearly replicating the first goal. Hernández played a through ball from midfield to Oluwaseyi, and the San Antonio striker lifted his second goal up and over Joe Rice and into the open net.
Hartford punched back at the defending champions to tie the game in the 34th minute when Andre Lewis and Antoine Hoppenot executed a perfect give-and-go in the box. After receiving a pass from Lewis, Hoppenot threaded the ball forward between two defenders back to his teammate and Lewis put his shot past Farr. It was Lewis’ second goal of the season and Hoppenot’s second assist, who came in as an early substitute for Elvis Amoh in the 23rd minute.
The half would not end before Joe Rice was forced to make his fourth save and Antoine Hoppenot and Edgardo Rito put shots on target for Hartford. San Antonio took 19 shots, 10 of which were from inside the box. Hartford took eight shots and put five of them on target.
After a tightly played first half, the second half was controlled by San Antonio and headlined by two more Oluwaseyi goals. Justin Dhillon gave the home side the lead in the 74th minute, squaring his header off a corner kick to the top of the net. Five minutes later, Oluwaseyi received a pass from Dhillon at the doorstep and powered his shot past Joe Rice to complete the hat trick and put his team ahead 4-2. A minute into stoppage time, Oluwaseyi scored again to secure his fourth goal and seal the victory for his squad.
Joe Rice made two more saves in the second half, including a stellar diving stop to deny Dhillon of his second goal in the 85th minute. Rice ended the match with six saves. San Antonio took a franchise record 32 shots and put 12 on target.
Hartford Athletic return home next Saturday, August 5th, to face New Mexico United.
FAST STATS
Shots (On-Target): Hartford 8 (6) San Antonio 32 (12)
Corners: Hartford 5 San Antonio 8
Fouls: Hartford 7 San Antonio 12
Offsides: Hartford 2 San Antonio 3
Possession: Hartford 57.7% San Antonio 42.3%
Passing Accuracy: Hartford 73.6% San Antonio 73.3%
Saves: Hartford 6 San Antonio 3
SCORING SUMMARY:
10′ – McGlynn (Torres)
15′ – Oluwaseyi (Hernández)
30′ – Oluwaseyi (Hernández)
34′ – Lewis (Hoppenot)
74′ – Dhillon (Zouhir-Takedam)
79′ – Oluwaseyi (Dhillon)
90:00+ 1′ – Oluwaseyi
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY:
81′ – Taintor (Yellow)
HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP:
13 (GK) Joe Rice, 5 (DF) Triston Hodge, 28 (DF) Conor McGlynn, 22 (DF) Robin Lapert, 16 (MF) Matt Sheldon (Merril, 82′); 77 (MF) Andre Lewis, 10 (MF) Danny Barrera (Edwards, 68′); 8 (MF) Juan Pablo Torres (Kibato, 67′); 72 (MF) Edgardo Rito; 9 (FW) Elvis Amoh (Antoine Hoppent, 23′); 7 (FW) Prince Saydee
SAN ANTONIO FC STARTING LINEUP
1 (GK) Jordan Farr, 15 (DF) Lamar Batista (Garcia, 45′); 3 (DF) Mitchell Taintor, 2 (DF) Carter Manley, 30 (DF) Ismaila Jome, 31 (DF) Connor Maloney, 6 (MF) Victor PC (Abu, 55′); 8 (MF) Jorge Hernández, 18 (MF) Rida Zouhir, 20 (FW) Ignacio Bailone (Dhillon 65′); 16 (FW) Tani Oluwaseyi
