PRESENTED BY TRAVELERS
Date: Saturday, April 27th, 2024
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Location: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky
Streaming: MyTV9, WTNH.com, or ESPN+
LAST TIME OUT
Hartford Athletic are coming off a 3-1 loss to San Antonio FC at Trinity Health Stadium last Saturday. Hartford conceded their earliest goal of the season, as Lucas Silva found Matchop Chol in the box for a header that went through in the seventh minute. Athletic weathered the early storm from San Antonio, bringing themselves level in the 28th minute. Michee Ngalina sent a teardrop pass over the midline to a streaking Marcus Epps, who raced into the box and beat Pablo Sisniega to the bottom right corner of the net. The rest of the match was played tightly until Joey Akpunonu accidentally headed his clearing attempt into his own net, gifting the visitors a goal late in the second half. San Antonio kept their foot on the gas after the own goal, drawing a penalty in the 84th minute. Luis Solignac converted the PK, burying Hartford for their first home loss of the season.
BUMPY ROAD
After a loss in the Open Cup and dropping points at home to San Antonio last week, Hartford will be tested with their first multi-game road trip of the season. They’ll need to break the mold to take some points back home, as the Green and Blue have never won at Lynn Family Stadium or on the road against Charleston. This road trip will loom large for Hartford to stay on the top half of the Eastern Conference table through the first quarter of the season.Â
MATCHUP HISTORY
Hartford Athletic are 0-5-2 against Louisville City FC all-time, dating back to their first matchup in 2019. While never having beaten the perennial Eastern Conference contenders, Athletic pulled off two draws against Louisville City a season ago. They kept LouCity off the board in a 0-0 result at Trinity Health Stadium on June 3rd, and brought themselves level in the 75th minute on a Luke Merrill goal on October 7th to earn a point in a 1-1 draw.Â
TOURING AND SCORING
Marcus Epps’ goal on Saturday was the eighth USL Championship team he has scored for, tying the league record held by Christiano Francois. Epps has netted 35 goals in his tour around the league, and has an assist to go along with his tally this so far this season.Â
FAMILIAR FACES
Forward Enoch Mushagalusa and defender Jordan Scarlett both played for Louisville City during the 2023 season. Mushagalusa was in his second year with the club and totaled 12 goals in two campaigns.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Louisville is one of the best teams in the league, one of only three teams in the USL Championship with five wins to start the season. The 2023 Eastern Conference finalists currently sit second on the table with a 5-1-0 record. They rank second in the league in goals (17) and third in clean sheets (three) and are undefeated at home (3-0-0) with a score differential of +9 in those games. Their largest margin of victory came against Birmingham Legion, winning with a final score of 5-0.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hartford Athletic: Marcus Epps FW #7
Epps netted his first goal in Green and Blue on Saturday, but he has been a key cog in the Hartford attack all season long. He is fourth best on the team in both shots (7) and shots on target (4). Epps also has six key passes on the season and boasts one of the team’s highest passing accuracies in opponent territory (72.7%). Hartford will need offensive firepower on Saturday night against a deep and talented Louisville attack and Epps’ contribution will be critical.
Louisville City: Wilson Harris FW #14
Harris has been one of the best offensive talents in the USL Championship so far this year, tied for first in the league with seven goals. The 24-year-old led the Bluegrass State side in goals each of the past two seasons and already has the third most goals all-time for the club (31). You can bet the 2020 USL Championship Young Player of the Year will be a focal point of Hartford’s defense on Saturday night.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
For live updates, follow along on twitter using the hashtag #LOUvHFD
