After a thunderstorm in the area delayed the game for over an hour, Hartford Athletic fell in dramatic fashion to North Carolina FC 1-0 at home.
After a scoreless first half, the action picked up after halftime. In the 68th minute Joe Farrell received a second yellow card, leading to a red, forcing Hartford to play with only 10 men for the remaining 20 minutes of the match.
Even down a man, Athletic put up a fight, earning a corner in the 76th minute. Sebastian Anderson put a beautiful outswinger into the box. TJ Presthus was able to get his head on the end of it, but his attempt didn’t hit the target.
Antony Siaha kept the Green & Blue in the game with a stunning save in the 79th minute. Mikey Maldonada took a corner that was cleared but landed back at his feet. He put the ball right back into danger where it deflected off the head of Michee Ngalina as he tried to block the shot. The ball was headed perfectly to the top right corner when Siaha made a diving save and kept the ball out of the back of the net.
The Boys in Green made another attempt of their own in the 85th minute when Presthus hit a long ball over the top of the North Carolina defense. Emmanuel Samadia got on the end of it with a one-touch shot but it skirted wide.
With only minutes to spare in the match, Finn Sundstrom received the ball near midfield and served it into the box where Pedro Dolabella was waiting to head it into the back of the net, out of reach of Siaha.
Hartford is back at home next Saturday, June 14th at 7:00 PM against Charleston Battery. Tickets available here.
FAST STATS
| HARTFORD | NORTH CAROLINA | |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 7 | 9 |
| Shots On Target | 1 | 3 |
| Corners | 1 | 5 |
| Fouls | 18 | 13 |
| Offsides | 3 | 0 |
| Possession | 48.0% | 52.0% |
| Passing Accuracy | 80.6% | 80.5% |
| Saves | 2 | 1 |
SCORING SUMMARY
| HARTFORD | NORTH CAROLINA |
|---|---|
| 90+4′ – Pedro Dolabella (Finn Sundstrom) |
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
| HARTFORD | NORTH CAROLINA |
|---|---|
| 45+2′ – Mamadou Dieng (Yellow) | 19′ – Patrick Burner (Yellow) |
| 57′ – Deshane Beckford (Yellow) | 33′ – Paco Craig (Yellow) |
| 64′ – Joe Farrell (Yellow) | 83′ – Collin Martin (Yellow) |
| 68′ – Joe Farrell (Yellow, Red) | 90′ – Rafael Mentzingen (Yellow) |
LINEUPS
| HARTFORD | NORTH CAROLINA |
|---|---|
| 77 (GK) Antony Siaha | 1 (GK) Jacob McGuire |
| 22 (DF) TJ Presthus | 66 (DF) Finn Sundstrom |
| 4 (DF) Jordan Scarlett (C) | 27 (DF) Bryce Washington |
| 15 (DF) Joe Farrell | 5 (DF) Paco Craig (C) |
| 19 (MF) Emmanuel Samadia | 14 (MF) Rafael Mentzingen |
| 94 (MF) Marlon Hairston (Adrián Diz Pe, 90+7′) | 17 (MF) Collin Martin (Raheem Somersall, 87′) |
| 6 (MF) Beverly Makangila | 15 (MF) Mikey Maldonado |
| 2 (MF) Sebastian Anderson | 11 (MF) Patrick Burner (Tristan Hodge, 90+6′) |
| 10 (FW) Samuel Careaga | 13 (FW) Louis Perez (Conor Donovan, 90+6′) |
| 81 (FW) Addie Obalola (Deshane Beckford, 46′) | 26 (FW) Adam Luckhurst |
| 9 (FW) Mamadou Dieng (Michee Ngalina, 70′) | 8 (FW) Pedro Dolabella |
