2020 Hartford Athletic season

The 2020 Hartford Athletic season was the club's second season of existence and their second in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer.[1] This article covers the period from October 20, 2019, the day after Hartford's final match of the 2019 regular season, to the conclusion of the 2020 USL-C Playoff Final, scheduled for November 12–16, 2020.[2]

Hartford Athletic

2020 season
Owner	Hartford Sports Group
Head coach	Radhi Jaïdi
Stadium	Dillon Stadium
USL Championship	Group F: 1st Eastern Conf.: 2nd
USLC Playoffs	Conf. Quarterfinals
U.S. Open Cup	Cancelled
Highest home attendance	1,375 (6 times)
Lowest home attendance	1,207 (July 20 vs. Loudoun)
Average home league attendance	1,351
Biggest win	HFD 4–1 LDN (Aug. 2) PHI 0–3 HFD (Sept. 20)
Biggest defeat	PIT 5–0 HFD (Sept. 12)
Home colors Away colors

Season in Review

Background, Off-Season and Pre-Season

Hartford finished its inaugural season in next to last place in the Eastern Conference, seven table positions and fourteen points out of the playoff spots. The club parted ways with head coach Jimmy Nielsen[3] just seven days after the 2019 season's end and signed former Southampton U-23 coach Radhi Jaïdi to fill the vacancy on November 8.[4] The club also parted ways with COO Donovan Powell five days later.[5]

The club began announcing roster moves in October, also, quickly announcing the return of four players from the 2019 roster (Harry Swartz, Alex Dixon, Alex Davey, and Nicky Downs),[6] with the return of Danny Barrera[7] and Mads Jørgensen[8] being announced in early November, and the return of Mike Novotny[9] being announced in early December. New signings began in earnest in late November with the addition of Aiden Mesias,[10] former Fresno FC defender Sam Strong,[11] Brazilian defender Gabriel Torres,[12] 2019 Greenville Triumph center back Kevin Politz,[13] Cal State Northridge products Dre Deas[14] and Alex Lara,[15] Dartmouth midfielder Noah Paravicini,[16] and UT-Rio Grande Valley midfielder Arthur Rogers.[17] In January, the club signed San Antonio FC's all-time leading scorer Éver Guzmán,[18] Brazilian defender Matheus Silva,[19] and announced the return of forward Mac Steeves.[20] In February, the club announced loan deals for goalkeeper Parfait Mandanda[21] and Southampton U-23 midfielder Tyreke Johnson.[22]

Roster

As of August 24, 2020[23]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
2	Defender	Alex Lara	United States
3	Defender	Matheus Silva	Brazil
4	Defender	Kevin Politz	United States
5	Defender	Alex Davey	Scotland
6	Midfielder	Arthur Rogers	England
7	Midfielder	Noah Paravicini	United States
8	Midfielder	Mads Jørgensen	Denmark
9	Forward	Mac Steeves	United States
10	Midfielder	Danny Barrera	United States
11	Forward	Alex Dixon	United States
16	Midfielder	Gabriel Torres	Brazil
17	Forward	Alfonso Vazquez	United States
18	Goalkeeper	Mike Novotny	United States
20	Forward	Markus Naglestad	Norway
21	Midfielder	Nicky Downs	United States
23	Midfielder	Aiden Mesias	England
24	Defender	Sam Strong	United States
28	Midfielder	Conor McGlynn	United States
33	Midfielder	Harry Swartz	United States
35	Goalkeeper	Parfait Mandanda (on loan from Charleroi)	DR Congo
42	Forward	Dre Deas	United States
80	Midfielder	Justin Haak (on loan from New York City FC)	United States
88	Midfielder	Tyreke Johnson (on loan from Southampton)	England
99	Forward	Éver Guzmán	Mexico

Competitions

Match results

February 12, 2020 Preseason 1	Hartford Athletic	3–0	Newtown Pride FC	Farmington, Connecticut
	Mac Steeves  30' Conor McGlynn Tyler Turner	Report		Stadium: Farmington Sports Arena

February 14, 2020 Preseason 2	New York Red Bulls II	2–3	Hartford Athletic	Montclair, New Jersey
		Report	Alfonso Vazquez Mads Jørgensen Mac Steeves	Stadium: MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field

February 19, 2020 Preseason 3	Hartford Athletic	5–1	New England Revolution II	Farmington, Connecticut
1:00 PM EST	Guzmán  12', 15', 38', 45+1' Vasquez  76'	Report	Trialist  66'	Stadium: Farmington Sports Arena

February 22, 2020 Preseason 4	New England Revolution II	1–0	Hartford Athletic	Foxborough, Massachusetts
1:00 PM EST	Presley  20' Spaulding  31'	Report	Silva  72'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 0
Note: Closed door scrimmage

March 3, 2020 Preseason 5	Hartford Athletic	2–2	Hartford Hawks	Farmington, Connecticut
1:30 PM EST		Report		Stadium: Farmington Sports Arena

USL Championship

Standings — Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	Hartford Athletic	16	11	2	3	31	24	+7	35	2.19	Advance to USL Championship Playoffs
2	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	16	11	1	4	39	10	+29	34	2.13
3	New York Red Bulls II	16	5	0	11	30	37	−7	15	0.94
4	Philadelphia Union II	16	2	3	11	20	45	−25	9	0.56
5	Loudoun United FC	13	1	3	9	10	28	−18	6	0.46

Source: USL

Match results

In the preparations for the resumption of league play following the shutdown prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, Hartford's schedule was announced on July 2.[24]

July 17 1	New York Red Bulls II	0–1	Hartford Athletic	Montclair, NJ
7:00 PM EDT	Corfe  78' Elney  90+4'	Report	Guzmán  12' Silva  53' Barrera  62' Downs  89' Deas  90+3'	Stadium: MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field Referee: Joshua Encarnación

July 20 2	Hartford Athletic	3–1	Loudoun United	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Politz  3' Swartz  45' Johnson  55' Dixon  65'	Report	Amoh  43',  58' (pen.) Doue  90'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 1,207 Referee: Adam Kilpatrick

July 25 3	Hartford Athletic	3–2	Philadelphia Union II	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Silva  29' Torres  39' Jørgensen  43' Guzmán  53' McGlynn  66'	Report	Scintu  4' Picazo  16' Kingue  90+7'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 1,375 Referee: Thomas Snyder

July 29 4	Indy Eleven	4–1	Hartford Athletic	Indianapolis, IN
7:00 PM EDT	Moon  4' Pasher  51' Conner  81' Watson  87'	Report	Swartz  33' Davey  45+5' Dixon  46' Silva  90+3'	Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium Attendance: 4,775 Referee: Lukasz Szpala

August 2 5	Hartford Athletic	4–1	Loudoun United	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Guzmán  7',  18' Lara  45' Barrera  66' Dixon  84' Torres  90+3' Vazquez Villar  90+8'	Report	Amoh  21' (pen.),  56'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 1,375 Referee: Jeremy Scheer

August 9 6	Philadelphia Union II	P–P	Hartford Athletic	Chester, PA
TBA PM EDT				Stadium: Talen Energy Stadium
Note: Match postponed due to positive covid-19 test in the Union II organization.[25]

August 15 7	Hartford Athletic	2–1	New York Red Bulls II	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Dixon  21' Silva  27' Strong  40',  86' Johnson  45+3'	Report	LaCava  59' Elney  74'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 1,375 Referee: Ernie Constantine

August 19 8	Philadelphia Union II	P–P	Hartford Athletic	Chester, PA
7:00 PM EDT				Stadium: Talen Energy Stadium
Note: Match postponed due to positive covid-19 test in the Union II organization.[26]

August 23 9	Hartford Athletic	2–2	Loudoun United	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Swartz  28' Barrera  67' Silva  69' Naglestad  85' Dixon  89'	Report	Wiedt  22' Ndour  23' Amoustapha  44' Amoh  73',  84' Greene  88'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 1,375 Referee: Thomas Snyder

August 28 10	Hartford Athletic	0–3	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Lara  83'	Report	Gómez  7' James  11',  50' Griffin  22'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 1,375 Referee: Jeremy Scheer

September 5 11	Hartford Athletic	2–1	Loudoun United	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Silva  6' Rogers  17',  56' Strong  43' Guzmán  70' Torres  76'	Report	Fawole  4' Ndour  30' Mehl  77'  87'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 1,375 Referee: Christian Centeno

September 12 12	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	5–0	Hartford Athletic	Pittsburgh, PA
7:00 PM EDT	James  13',  47' Mensah  27',  61' Velarde  42' (pen.)	Report	Strong  39' Torres  81' Naglestad  82' Haak  83'	Stadium: Highmark Stadium Referee: Eric Tattersall

September 16 13	Hartford Athletic	3–1	New York Red Bulls II	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Silva  11' Haak  43',  75' Dixon  45+1' Torres  54' Barrera  68'	Report	Rito  40' LaCava  64' Clark  69'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Referee: Thomas Snyder

September 20 14	Philadelphia Union II	0–3	Hartford Athletic	Chester, PA
5:00 PM EDT	Huckaby  34'	Report	Dixon  8',  58' Topey  13' (o.g.) Strong  44' Johnson  90'	Stadium: Subaru Park Referee: Luis Arroyo

September 23 15	Hartford Athletic	1–1	Philadelphia Union II	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Strong  45+2',  88' Cohen  56' Jørgensen  68'	Report	McGlynn  76' Aaronson  90'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 1,375 Referee: Jeremy Scheer

September 26 16	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	0–1	Hartford Athletic	Pittsburgh, PA
7:00 PM EDT	Dos Santos  72'	Report	Guzmán 30',  36' Silva  47' Politz  50' Barrera  64' Mandanda  71' Novotny  89' Haak  90+5'	Stadium: Highmark Stadium Referee: Joshua Encarnación

September 30 17	Philadelphia Union II	2–3	Hartford Athletic	Chester, PA
7:30 PM EDT	Budler  7' Cohen  22' (o.g.) Sorenson  42' Stafford  60'	Report	Jørgensen  8' (pen.) Lara  15' Dixon  25' Strong  55' Barrera  90'	Stadium: Subaru Park Referee: Christian Centeno

October 4 18	New York Red Bulls II	0–2	Hartford Athletic	Montclair, NJ
7:00 PM EDT	Bounthong  48' Sowe  55' Dieye  83'	Report	Lara  39' Johnson  65' McGlynn  75' Strong  90+1'	Stadium: MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field Referee: Sean Lyons

USL Cup Playoffs

October 10 First Round	Hartford Athletic	0–1	Saint Louis FC	Hartford, CT
7:00 PM EDT	Silva  16' Strong  45+1' Barrera  61' Politz  90+3'	Report	Greig  73' Fall  89' Rivas  90+3'	Stadium: Dillon Stadium Attendance: 2,194 Referee: Kevin Broadley

U.S. Open Cup

As a USL Championship club, Hartford as enter the competition in the Second Round, to be played April 7–9.[27] The 2020 U.S. Open Cup was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[28]

April 9 2nd Round	Hartford Athletic	P–P	Western Mass Pioneers or GPS Portland Phoenix	Hartford, CT
7:00 pm EDT				Stadium: Dillon Stadium
Note: Match cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[28]

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		USLC
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
11	FW		Alex Dixon ||16 || 6 ||15 || 6
99	FW		Éver Guzmán || 13 || 5 || 12|| 5
4	DF		Kevin Politz ||15 || 1||14 ||1
33	MF		Harry Swartz ||7 || 1||7 ||1
23	MF		Aiden Mesias || 14 || 0||13 ||0
42	FW		Dre Deas || 7 || 0|| 7||0
28	MF		Conor McGlynn ||10 ||1 ||9 ||1
25	DF		Idan Cohen || 8 || 0|| 7||0
24	DF		Sam Strong ||14 || 2|| 13||2
21	DF		Nicky Downs ||11 || 0|| 11||0
20	FW		Markus Naglestad || 9 ||1 || 8||1
17	FW		Alfonso Vazquez || 4||1 || 4||1
16	MF		Gabriel Torres ||15 || 2|| 14||2
10	MF		Danny Barrera || 17 ||2 || 16||2
9	FW		Mac Steeves ||0 || 0|| 0||0
8	MF		Mads Jørgensen ||12 ||2 || 12||2
6	MF		Arthur Rogers ||15 ||1 ||14 ||1
3	DF		Matheus Silva || 15 || 1|| 14||1
2	DF		Alex Lara ||12 ||1 || 12||1
7	MF		Noah Paravicini ||0 ||0 || 0||0
80	MF		Justin Haak || 8 ||1 ||7 ||1
Players who left Hartford during the season:
85	MF		Tyreke Johnson	14	2	14	2
5	DF		Alex Davey	3	0	3	0

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Name	USLC		Total
3	Defender	Matheus Silva	8	0	9	0
10	Midfielder	Danny Barrera	4	0	5	0
21	Midfielder	Nicky Downs	1	0	1	0
42	Forward	Dre Deas	1	0	0	1
11	Forward	Alex Dixon	3	0	3	0
28	Midfielder	Conor McGlynn	1	0	1	0
33	Midfielder	Harry Swartz	2	0	2	0
5	Defender	Alex Davey	1	0	1	0
16	Midfielder	Gabriel Torres	3	0	3	0
35	Goalkeeper	Parfait Mandanda	0	1	0	1
24	Defender	Sam Strong	7	0	8	0
12	Defender	Alex Lara	3	0	3	0
80	Midfielder	Justin Haak	3	0	3	0
4	Defender	Kevin Politz	1	0	2	0
88	Midfielder	Tyreke Johnson	2	0	2	0
18	Goalkeeper	Mike Novotny	1	0	1	0
8	Midfielder	Mads Jorgensen	1	0	1	0
6	Midfielder	Arthur Rogers	1	0	1	0
99	Forward	Ever Guzman	1	0	1	0
20	Forward	Markus Naglestad	1	0	1	0
25	Defender	Idan Cohen	1	0	1	0

Clean sheets

No.	Name	USLC	USLC Playoffs	Total	Games Played
		22	Parfait Mandanda	4	0	4	16
16	Mike Novotny	1	0	1	2

Transfers

In

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee/Notes	Date	Source
Defender	Sam Strong	Fresno FC	Free	December 1, 2019
Defender	Gabriel Torres	Chattanooga FC	Free	December 9, 2020
Defender	Kevin Politz	Greenville Triumph SC	Free	December 9, 2019
Forward	Dre Deas	CSUN Matadors	Free	December 12, 2019
Defender	Alex Lara	CSUN Matadors	Free	December 12, 2019
Midfileder	Noah Paravicini	Napa Valley 1839 FC	Free	December 18, 2019
Forward	Arthur Rogers	Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros	Free	December 23, 2020
Forward	Ever Guzman	San Antonio FC	Free	January 8, 2020
Midfielder	Matheus Silva	Miami FC	Free	January 13, 2020
Midfielder	Conor McGlynn	FA Euro New York	Open tryouts	March 12, 2020
Forward	Alfonso Vazquez	Windham High School	Open tryouts	March 12, 2020
Forward	Markus Naglestad	Egersunds IK	Free	August 13, 2020
Defender	Idan Cohen	Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.	Free	September 3, 2020

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/Notes	Date	Source
Defender	Alex Davey	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Free	September 2

Loan in

Pos.	Player	Parent club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
Goalkeeper	Parfait Mandanda	R. Charleroi S.C.	Season long	February 20	End of season
Midfielder	Tyreke Johnson	Southampton F.C.	Season long	February 24	October 8
Midfielder	Justin Haak	New York City FC	Remainder of the season	September 9	End of season

Loan out

Pos.	Player	Loanee club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source

Kits

Home

Away

Charity Alternate

Type	Shirt	Shorts	Socks	First appearance / Record
Home	Green	Green	Green	Match 3 vs. Louisville / 6–2–1
Away	White	White	White	Match 1 vs. New York / 4–0–2
Charity Alternate	Red	Red	Red	Match 15 vs. Philadelphia / 1-0-0

References

1. "Hartford Athletic – Our Story". HartfordAthletic.com. Hartford Athletic. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
2. "USL Championship Unveils 2020 Schedule". 9 January 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
3. "Hartford Athletic, Jimmy Nielsen agree to part ways". New England Soccer Journal. October 27, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
4. "Hartford Athletic names Radhi Jaidi as head coach". New England Soccer Journal. November 8, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
5. "Hartford Athletic and COO Part Ways; Andy Smith Named Interim Team President". www.hartfordathletic.com. November 13, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
6. "Hartford Athletic Welcomes Back Four Players for 2020 Season". www.hartfordathletic.com. October 30, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
7. "Danny Barrera Returning to Hartford Athletic for 2020 Season". www.hartfordathletic.com. November 5, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
8. "Mads Jørgensen Returning to Hartford Athletic for 2020 Season". www.hartfordathletic.com. November 14, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
9. "Mike Novotny Returning in 2020". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 4, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
10. "Hartford Athletic Signs English Midfielder Aiden Mesias". www.hartfordathletic.com. November 25, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
11. "Defender Sam Strong Joins Hartford Athletic". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 2, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
12. "Hartford Athletic Signs Defender Gabriel Torres". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
13. "Hartford Athletic Signs Defender Kevin Politz". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 10, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
14. "Forward Dre Deas Joins 2020 Roster". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 12, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
15. "Hartford Athletic Signs Defender Alex Lara". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 13, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
16. "Hartford Athletic Signs Midfielder Noah Paravacini". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 18, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
17. "Midfielder Arthur Rogers Signs for 2020 Season". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 23, 2019.
18. "Athletic Sign San Antonio FC All-Time Leading Scorer, Ever Guzmán". www.hartfordathletic.com. December 23, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
19. "Hartford Athletic Signs Defender Matheus Silva". www.hartfordathletic.com. January 14, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
20. "Return of the Mac: Steeves Returning for 2020". www.hartfordathletic.com. January 15, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
21. "Hartford Athletic Acquires Goalkeeper Parfait Mandanda on Loan". www.hartfordathletic.com. February 20, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
22. "Southampton's Tyreke Johnson Joins Hartford Athletic on Loan". www.hartfordathletic.com. February 24, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
23. "Hartford Athletic roster". HartfordAthletic.com. Hartford Athletic. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
24. "Hartford Athletic Announces 2020 USL Schedule". hartfordathletic.com. July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
25. "Philadelphia Union II Match Against Hartford Athletic Rescheduled". Philadelphia Union. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
26. "Match Against Philadelphia Union II Postponed". HartfordAthletic.com. August 19, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
27. "Restructured Competition Format For 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Provides Opportunity For More "David vs. Goliath" Matchups In 107th Edition Of U.S. Soccer's National Championship". U.S. Soccer Federation. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
28. "U.S. Soccer Temporarily Suspends 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Due to COVID-19 Outbreak". ussoccer.com. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.