Hartford Athletic fell to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 4-2 on penalty kicks after battling the Pennsylvania side to a 0-0 draw over 120+ minutes of play. The Green & Blue defended valiantly through two overtime periods but were unlucky when it came to a penalty kick shootout.
The Boys in Green started off strong, testing goalkeeper Eric Dick twice in the first two minutes. In fact, Samuel Careaga found the back of the net less than 90 seconds into the match, but the attempt was ruled offside.
A few minutes later, Michee Ngalina was brought down by Luke Biasi as he streaked toward goal. The referee awarded Biasi a yellow card and Hartford was granted a free kick. Sebastian Anderson played the ball short to Careaga who passed it on to Emmanuel Samadia. Hartford’s “cross boss” put the ball into the box, but no one was able to get on the end of it.
Around the half hour mark, Antony Siaha made a crucial save to keep Athletic within striking distance. Pittsburgh was awarded a free kick and Robbie Mertz took the set piece, serving a beautiful outswinger into the box. Beto Ydrach got his head on the end of it and the ball was headed for the bottom right post, but Siaha stretched out his 6’5” frame to block the shot and keep the home team scoreless.
The first half was a battle for the midfield, with neither team creating many dangerous chances, and the two sides went into the locker room with an xG of 0.29 for Pittsburgh and 0.17 for Hartford.
The second stanza continued much in the same fashion, with Hartford defending as a team to keep the Riverhounds off the scoreboard.
In added time, TJ Presthus made a clutch diving block to deny Pittsburgh and ensure the game went into overtime.
Even as the home team pounded the Hartford goal, the Boys in Green held strong, rejecting every opportunity the Riverhounds tried to muster. After 30 minutes of battle, the game went to penalty kicks, where the Green & Blue fell 4-2 in a devastating end to the side’s playoff run.
This marks the end of the Hartford Athletic season for 2025. Season tickets for 2026 are on sale now.
FAST STATS
| HARTFORD | PITTSBURGH | |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 6 | 11 |
| Shots On Target | 3 | 1 |
| Corners | 8 | 1 |
| Fouls | 21 | 11 |
| Offsides | 4 | 2 |
| Possession | 37.1% | 62.9% |
| Passing Accuracy | 57.4% | 77.3% |
| Saves | 3 | 3 |
SCORING SUMMARY
| HARTFORD | PITTSBURGH |
|---|---|
PENALTY KICKS
| HARTFORD | PITTSBURGH |
|---|---|
| Hadji Barry – ❌ | Bertin Jacquessonn – ✅ |
| Joe Farrell – ✅ | Robbie Mertz – ✅ |
| Jack Panayotou – ✅ | Augustine Williams – ✅ |
| Samuel Careaga – ❌ | Sean Suber – ✅ |
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
| HARTFORD | PITTSBURGH |
|---|---|
| 43′ – Beverly Makangila (Yellow) | 8′ – Luke Biasi (Yellow) |
| 58′ – Antony Siaha (Yellow) | 58′ – Robbie Mertz (Yellow) |
| 90′ – Marlon Hairston (Yellow) | |
| 90′ – Bench (Yellow) | |
| 90+8′ – Junior Moreira (Yellow) | |
| 109′ – Joshua Belluz (Yellow) |
LINEUPS
| HARTFORD | PITTSBURGH |
|---|---|
| 77 (GK) Antony Siaha | 1 (GK) Eric Dick |
| 22 (DF) TJ Presthus | 23 (DF) Guillaume Vacter (Illial Osumanu, 88′) |
| 15 (DF) Joe Farrell (C) | 5 (DF) Sean Suber |
| 30 (DF) Adrián Diz Pe (Owen Presthus, 80′) | 16 (DF) Roberto Ydrach |
| 2 (DF) Sebastian Anderson | 8 (MF) Brunallergene Junior Etou |
| 94 (MF) Marlon Hairston (Jack Panayotou, 117′) | 15 (MF) Bradley Sample (Bertin Jacquesson, 91′) |
| 10 (MF) Samuel Careaga | 2 (MF) Daniel Griffin (C) |
| 6 (MF) Beverly Makangila (Junior Moreira, 46′) | 13 (MF) Luke Biasi (Perrin Barnes, 62′) |
| 19 (MF) Emmanuel Samadia | 14 (FW) Robbie Mertz |
| 11 (FW) Michee Ngalina (Joshua Belluz, 90+3′) | 12 (FW) Charles Ahl (Jackson Wälti, 78′) |
| 71 (FW) Kyle Edwards (Jonathan Jiménez, 60′) (Hadji Barry, 116′) | 9 (FW) Augustine Williams |
