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HARTFORD CITY FC RALLY IN DRAMATIC FASHION TO ADVANCE TO CONFERENCE FINAL

Portland, Conn. – Trailing 2-0 in the 67^th minute of the 2024 NPSL North Atlantic Conference Playoff Semifinal and with Hartford City FC down to ten men, even the most resilient of squads would find that situation challenging to overcome.

But the Colts dug in deep on Wednesday night and found a way to grind out a result, getting goals from Larson Richards and Jake Williams inside the final ten minutes of normal time to send the match to extra time. Nate DiLoreto then came up with a heroic save from in the final round of the penalty kick shootout, allowing Andrew Bilbie to step up and slot home the winner to send Hartford City FC back to the Conference Final, advancing past New Jersey United AC 4-3 on penalties after the contest ended 2-2 after 120 minutes.

It was a blustery and humid evening at Oakwood Soccer Park and both teams had to resort to playing more directly due to the high winds, which limited the clear-cut chances over the first half hour of the match. And with both teams entering the postseason with excellent defensive records during the NPSL Regular Season, as Hartford City allowed eight goals in ten matches and New Jersey conceded nine, set pieces and moments of brilliance would be the difference makers on the night.

The visitors were able to build momentum over the final fifteen minutes of the first half by forcing Nate DiLoreto into making four saves during that stretch. From all that persistent pressure, the breakthrough for New Jersey United came right on the stroke of halftime when midfielder Sokol Ymeraj floated a free kick to the back post to be headed in by Eric Sadlocha.

The lead became 2-0 for New Jersey United in the 63^rd minute as Jeremy Klinger’s shot from inside the box struck the arm of HCFC defender Griffin Tomas to win a penalty kick for his team. And the pacy winger would dispatch the ensuing spot kick by powering it past DiLoreto.

The turning point of the match happened over a series of frenetic events in the 66^th minute when Evan Jones was first played through on goal by Parker Vasic. Jones slid his one-on-one effort past NJ United goalie Max Pfaffman, but was cleared off the line by Joseph Pinho. Then, Evan Southern collected the clearance just outside the area and rifled a shot that was destined for goal but struck a NJ United defender and popped straight up in the air to Hartford City’s Michael Gouvin, only to see Pfaffman hang onto his header.

But the Colts vehemently surrounded the referee claiming that Southern’s shot hit the NJ United defender’s arm and not the body. But the result of their protests would amount to the official showing three yellow cards for dissent, one to Jake Williams and two to Vasic, which put Hartford City a man down for the remaining 23 minutes of normal time.

The numerical disadvantage didn’t deter Hartford City as they kept pushing for the first tally by sending in a plethora of crosses and taking shots from distance. Some of which narrowly missed, others were propelled away by Pfaffman, who led the conference in the regular season with six shutouts. But in the final ten minutes, the Colts found another gear and eventually got the breakthrough tally.

Substitute Colin Goodhines was fouled just outside the box in the 81^st minute and allowed the Colts to send all the big targets forward. One of which was Larson Richards, who Jake Williams spotted him making a run to the back post and curled a free kick to that spot, and the veteran defender volleyed it home to pull Hartford City to within a goal.

Two minutes later, another Colts substitute would earn a free kick just outside the area as Michael Suski drove forward and got tripped up at the edge of the box. It was in a similar position where Jake Williams stepped up and delivered a stunning free kick to seal three points in a regular season win against New York. And on Wednesday night, the Colts’ captain delivered the goods once again as his set piece took a deflection on the way through and went in, tying the match at 2-2.

There would be no further goals in normal time, nor any tallies in the 30 minutes of extra time and the match went to penalties to determine who would advance to Saturday’s NPSL North Atlantic Conference Final to take on the top-seed New York Shockers.

Both teams scored their first two attempts, and in round three, New Jersey would jump ahead as Pfaffman saved Eamon Moylan’s spot kick after Maximus Barboto gave the visitors 3-2 advantage moments before. But, they failed to extend their lead when Khaled Daoud crashed his penalty off the crossbar, and Mark Grant tied it right after to send the penalty kick session to sudden death.

Colts’ keeper Nate DiLoreto would have his moment as he tipped Jamie Madrid’s penalty onto the crossbar and it stayed out, giving Andrew Bilbie the chance to deliver the final strike. To which he did, putting his effort past Pfaffman’s dive and ironically enough through the net, to power Hartford City to their second consecutive appearance in a Conference Championship game, and fourth total in organizational history.

Saturday’s North Atlantic Conference final will be held on Saturday, July 13^th at 7pm at Afrim’s Sports Park (969 Watervliet Shaker Road, Albany, NY, 12205), the home of the New York Shockers. Tickets are available now by visiting NewYorkShockers.com and a live stream of the match will be available as well on the New York Shockers YouTube channel.

The winner of Saturday’s match will represent the North Atlantic Conference in the East Region Tournament, which commences on Wednesday, July 17^th in a Semifinal matchup against the winner of Saturday’s Keystone West Conference Final between West Chester United SC and Electric City Shock SC.

July 13 at 1:22 pm

HARTFORD CITY START THEIR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TITLE DEFENSE ON WEDNESDAY

Hartford, Conn. – Hartford City FC get their postseason campaign started on Wednesday, July 10^th by hosting New Jersey United AC in the North Atlantic Conference Tournament Semifinal. That match will take place at Trinity Health Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 7pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Fans looking to purchase tickets for Wednesday’s match can in person at Trinity Health Stadium (250 Huyshope Ave, Hartford, CT, 06106) when gates open approximately one hour before kickoff, or online by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. Tickets cost $10 for Adults and all children under 12 get in for free.

The match will be live streamed via Hartford City FC’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HartfordCityFC) with JJ Duke handling Play-by-Play duties. Highlights on the match will be available on the teams’ social media channels in the days following.

2024 POSTSEASON FORMAT

After finishing the Regular Season in second place with a 7-2-1 record (22 points), Hartford City FC earned the right to host the lone Conference Tournament Semifinal match as the North Atlantic Conference using a three-team, single-elimination tournament to crown its champion. New Jersey concluded their first regular season in the NPSL with a 6-4-0 record (18 points) and a comfortable 9 points ahead of fourth-placed Syracuse FC. But they will have to hit the road twice if they want to win the conference title, as the winner of Wednesday’s match will play New York Shockers on Saturday, July 13^th at Afrim’s Sports Park. The winner of Saturday’s Conference Final will advance to the East Regional Semifinals and more information about that stage of the postseason is now available on NPSL.com

LAST TIME OUT

The Colts wrapped up their Regular Season slate with a 3-0 victory over Syracuse FC up in Camden, NY on Saturday, July 6^th. HCFC raced out to a 2-0 lead inside of 15 minutes, with both goals coming from Evan Southern. His first tally came less than three minutes into the match when Nate Becher played him through with a lovely through ball before Southern raced around the Syracuse defense in the 12^th minute to double the lead. Both teams had to deal with hot and humid conditions for a mid-afternoon kickoff in central New York and during the second half, there was a lightning delay that stopped the match for over a half hour. But Hartford City picked up their third goal of the afternoon with fifteen minutes to go as Evan Jones headed home Michael Suski’s cross. Nate DiLoreto made his seventh start of the season in goal and registered his fifth clean sheet, and fourth in a row.

With a potential heavy schedule on the horizon, Head Coach Louis Beddouri was able to rotate his squad and get some minutes from some fresh faces. Suski and Michael Gouvin earned their first starts, while Eli Bastiaansen and Cristian Sayers got their first minutes of the season and there was a return from Devan Jessop, who came off the bench for the first time since the season opener.

 POSTSEASON RECORDS

 Hartford City FC are making their sixth appearance in the NPSL playoffs and have an all-time postseason record of 5-5. The Colts were North Atlantic Conference Champions in 2021 & 2023, with both triumphs coming against Kingston Stockade, before dropping out at the East Region Semifinals stage in both years. HCFC also reached a conference championship match, then playing in the Atlantic White Conference, in the clubs’ debut season in 2017. HCFC bowed out in the Conference Semifinals stage twice, once in 2018 to the Brooklyn Italians and the other in 2022 at home to the Shockers.

NOTHING GIVEN AWAY LIGHTLY

A common theme that ties Hartford City and New Jersey United together is that these are two of the top defensive teams in the entire NPSL. Both teams have registered six clean sheets during the regular season, with New Jersey’s Max Pfaffman in net for all six for his club while HCFC’s Nate DiLoreto has posted five and Jamie Fite kept one. Hartford City also hasn’t allowed a goal in 471 minutes of game time, with their last concession coming in the 69^th minute of a 2-0 loss to Syracuse FC back on June 1^st. The Colts enter the postseason tied for eighth in the NPSL in fewest goals allowed with eight and have tied a club record for both Goals Allowed (8) and Goals Allowed Per game (0.80), both marks previously happening in the 2022 season.

THE EVAN’S ARE ON FIRE

On the attacking side of things, Hartford City have scored 20 goals over the ten regular season games in 2024, a slight improvement on the 19 that the teams scored in 2023. And there has been great balance in the side this year with ten different players finding the back of the net. But the two Evan’s on the roster, Evan Jones and Evan Southern, have been the standouts this season. A year removed from being named as part of the East Region Best XI, Evan Southern posted four goals in the regular season, two of which coming in the regular season finale at Syracuse, while Evan Jones has notched a team best six goals in 2024. And he will enter the postseason with goals in three straight matches with single tallies at Kingston on June 22^nd and Syracuse last weekend, as well as his two-goal output at home vs. Valeo FC on June 29^th, after scoring the winners vs. Kingston and at New Jersey earlier this year.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

 Sometimes you don’t know how things will turn out in your first season in the NPSL, as often enough they can used as a season to learn about yourself and the league. But New Jersey United AC have played steady soccer all season long this year and are one of five first-year NPSL clubs to qualify for the 2024 postseason. While NJ United won all six of their matches against the teams that didn’t qualify for the playoffs, they went winless in four combined matches against Hartford City and New York and were outscored 9-1 in those contests. But they will enter the postseason in great form by winning three of their last four matches of the regular season, including last weekend’s 3-0 victory at Valeo FC with Diego Navas scoring twice to increase his season total to six goals, which ties Evan Jones’ for second highest in the conference, while Jamie Madrid chipped in with a late tally. Also keep an eye out for Navas’ striker partner Khaled Daoud, as he’s found the back of the net three times this season.

July 8 at 7:29 pm

COLTS CONCLUDE REGULAR SEASON ACTION ON SATURDAY AT SYRACUSE FC

Hartford, Conn. – After securing a top-two finish in the NPSL North Atlantic Conference standings last weekend, Hartford City FC (6-2-1, 19 points) conclude their 2024 Regular Season schedule on Saturday as they travel up to Central New York to take on Syracuse FC (3-6-0, 9 points).

MATCH INFORMATION

Saturday’s match will take place at the Stadium Field at Camden High School (55 Oswego St, Camden, NY, 13316) and is scheduled to kick off at 2pm.

While there is no confirmed information just yet in regards to Saturday’s match being streamed, Syracuse FC have streamed some of their home matches this season via the Camden High School Hudl page (https://fan.hudl.com/usa/ny/camden/organization/17261/camden-high-school) so fans are encouraged to check out that website and to keep an eye on the Hartford City FC social media channels closer to match day for updates.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

With Hartford City FC and the New York Shockers winning last weekend, they both have secured the top two spots in the three-team North Atlantic Conference tournament. HCFC trails New York by three points heading into this weekend’s action but the Colts have the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Shockers. If Hartford City wants to secure the top seed in the tournament, they will need to beat Syracuse AND have New York lose to Kingston Stockade on Saturday evening. A tie or loss from Hartford City or a tie or win for New York will see Hartford City earn the two-seed and host the three-seed, New Jersey United AC, in the North Atlantic Conference Semifinal Round.

LAST TIME OUT

The winning ways kept rolling for Hartford City last Saturday with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Valeo FC at Trinity Health Stadium. It was the highest scoring output in a match this season for the Colts, and also extended the clubs’ shutout streak to four straight matches. Hartford City struck early and often as Eamon Moylan rose to head home Parker Vasic’s corner kick in the tenth minute and then the lead doubled when Matteo Azambuja scored a highlight reel goal six minutes later by dropping his defender after a sequence of stepovers before rocketing a shot home from close distance. Then Evan Jones scored twice later in the first half, once in the 29^th minute after running onto Alonzo Clarke’s through-ball and sliding past the goalie, and then dispatching a penalty kick in the 37^th minute to round off the scoring for the night. Jones now stands second in the conference with five goals, trailing New York’s Filippo Bellu who stands on nine goals for the season.

MERCH IS HERE!!!

Fans have been asking about it, and now it has arrived! Brand new Hartford City FC merchandise is now available by visiting the Shop tab on HartfordCity.com or directly at https://mooressports.chipply.com/hartfordcityteamstore/store.aspx?eid=318552. In that store, fans can shop brand new HCFC x Hummel Hoodies, sweatshirts and jackets, as well as hats and the new 2024 season jerseys, including a brand-new Gold away Jersey. Make sure to get your orders in today!

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

Since Syracuse FC defeated Hartford City 2-0 back on June 1^st at Oakwood Soccer Park, the two teams have gone on their separate paths. While Hartford City have rattled off four straight wins since that game, Syracuse have lost their last four matches and have been outscored 10-1 in those matches. Last week was the most challenging result of this tough stretch as Kingston Stockade traveled up to Camden High School and beat Syracuse 4-0, and the team hasn’t scored since taking a 1-0 lead on a Cerixey Lindsay 19^th minute goal against New York back on June 8^th before falling 4-1 in that match.

While Syracuse FC won’t qualify for the postseason, this season has been a successful one for the club with the most wins (3) and points (9) they’ve had in an NPSL season since their 2018 campaign, which was when the team played in the East Conference of the Midwest Region. And Owen Cheney is currently tied for fourth in the conference in goals with three, while Riley Williams is right behind him with two.

July 8 at 7:27 pm

COLTS STRIKE EARLY AND OFTEN EN ROUTE TO A FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN

Hartford, Conn. – It was windy and rainy when the referee blew his whistle to get Saturday evening’s match off and running, but that wasn’t only precipitation that was noted at Trinity Health Stadium. It was raining goals as well with Hartford City FC (6-2-1, 19 points) scoring four times in the first half to power past Valeo FC (2-6-1, 7 points), 4-0 in their final home match of the regular season.

With the win, Hartford City secured a top-two finish in the NPSL North Atlantic Conference standings and guaranteed themselves the opportunity to host a postseason match. Elsewhere, the New York Shockers stayed three points clear of the Colts at the top of the table by defeating New Jersey United AC 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. Hartford City still have a chance to wrestle first place and a bye to the Conference Finals from the Shockers with a win at Syracuse FC on the final day of the regular season next Saturday, plus HCFC needs the Shockers to lose at home to Kingston Stockade FC. If Hartford City fail to win their match against Syracuse or New York wins or draws against Kingston then the Colts will host third-placed New Jersey United AC in the Conference Tournament semifinal, with the winner facing the Shockers in the Conference Final.

Hartford City got on the board in the tenth minute on a corner kick as Parker Vasic found Eamon Moylan at the top of the six-yard box and the center back rifled his header past Valeo’s keeper Leo Seidel. Six minutes later, Matteo Azambuja was unleashed down the right flank from Vasic’s through ball and Azambuja hit Valeo FC’s defender Mark Hyunh with a handful of stepovers before driving past him to the endline. It looked like the winger cut off his angle too much with his final touch, but he was able to power his shot right over Seidel into the roof of the net to double to Colts’ lead.

Hartford City have not been only excelling offensively during this current winning streak, but they’ve posted three straight shutouts heading into Saturday’s action. This time it was Jamis Fite taking his turn between the sticks on Saturday evening, as Nate DiLoreto posted the three previous clean sheets, and Fite faced a tough test in the 19^th minute as Valeo’s Owen Burke cracked a 30-yard strike that was twisting and knuckling through the air. But Fite was able to block away the shot and collected the following cross to steady the tide.

If that was a warning sign for the Colts to get back on the front foot, the hosts certainly obliged as in the 29^th minute, Alonzo Clarke threaded a pass forward to allow Evan Jones to run onto it and with the goalie way off of his line, Jones was able to slide it past Seidel to net his team-leading fourth goal of the season.

The hosts’ lead grew once more as Moylan stepped up to intercept a pass at the halfway line in the 36^th minute and found Jones out wide. The Holy Cross product drove into the box and was tripped up by Mark Hyunh and the referee awarded a penalty kick, which Jones placed the effort to the goalie’s left. And it was a great sign to see Jones put away the penalty so comfortably as the Colts have failed to score from the spot in each of the last two matches.

With the margin comfortably in the favor of the hosts, it allowed Head Coach Louis Beddouri to make plenty of changes early in the second half. And while Hartford City didn’t add any more goals on the night, the options off the bench kept the levels and standards high and constantly were a threat on attack.

Matt Cence nearly had his moment in the 64^th minute when Patrick Osiecki slid a ball past the back line and allowed Cence to go one-on-one with Seidel, but after rounding the goalie he nailed the crossbar. Mark Grant showed his veteran savvy in the 73^rd minute when he noticed that Valeo were slow to get back after committing a foul, so he linked up with Nate Becher, another second half sub, in taking a free kick quickly and when Grant got the return pass back, he nearly found the back of the net from 25 yards out. Michael Suski nearly wrapped up a great team move in the 79^th minute as he connected on to Griff Tomas’ low cross but his finish was just on the wrong side of the post, and then was denied by Seidel three minutes later on a one-one-one after skipping past two defenders.

Valeo did have their chances in the second half to get themselves on the board, with Ben Kelly heading one off the post in the 48^th minute and then was denied by a one-on-one stop by a sliding Jamis Fite in the 88^th minute. But once again the Hartford City defense stood tall as they secured the teams’ fourth straight clean sheet, and fifth total this season, and will enter next week’s contest without allowing a goal for the last 381 minutes of game action.

Hartford City FC wrap up the regular season on Saturday, July 6^th when they travel out to play Syracuse FC, as that match will kick off at 2pm at Camden (N.Y.) High School’s stadium. Stay tuned to Hartford City FC’s social media channels and website (hartfordcity.com) for updates ahead of HCFC’s return to the postseason.

July 1 at 11:54 am

HARTFORD CITY FC HOST VALEO FC IN REGULAR SEASON HOME FINALE

Hartford, Conn. – Entering this weekend’s action on a three-match winning streak, Hartford City FC (5-2-1, 16 points) will play their final home match of the 2024 NPSL Regular Season on Saturday, June 29^th at Trinity Health Stadium when they take on Valeo FC (2-5-1, 7 points), with kickoff scheduled for 7pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Fans looking to purchase tickets for Saturday’s match can in person at Trinity Health Stadium (250 Huyshope Ave, Hartford, CT, 06106) when gates open approximately one hour before kickoff, or online by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. Tickets cost $10 for Adults and all children under 12 get in for free.

The match will be live streamed via Hartford City FC’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HartfordCityFC) with JJ Duke handling Play-by-Play duties. Highlights on the match will be available on the teams’ social media channels in the days following.

LAST TIME OUT

Hartford City FC extended their winning streak, and by extension, their shutout streak to three straight matches last Saturday with a 1-0 road victory over Kingston Stockade FC at Marist College. Evan Jones netted the winning goal in the 35^th minute when he capitalized on a mistake by Kingston’s defense when they failed to guide the ball back to their keeper after a booming clearance from Nate DiLoreto. The Colts had multiple chances to add a second goal on the night, with Mark Grant getting denied twice from long distance and Michael Suski and Matt Cence each getting stymied by Kingston’s goalie James Lowell in the final few minutes, with Cence seeing his penalty kick attempt in the 88^th minute smothered.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Earlier in the week, the NPSL league office announced the structure for all conference playoff tournaments and for the second consecutive year, the North Atlantic Conference will use a three-team, single-elimination format to determine the Conference Champion. The Semifinal Round will have the Third-placed team in the Regular Season standings travel to the Second-place team on Wednesday, July 10^th with the winner of that match turning around to face off against the First-place team, who get a bye straight to the Final, on Saturday, July 13^th with the First-Place team hosting the match. The format for the Regional Playoffs as well as National Semifinals and Championship will be unveiled in due course.

By virtue of the results last weekend, the New York Shockers (19 points), Hartford City FC (16 points) and New Jersey United AC (15 points) are the three teams that have qualified for the postseason. The Colts have now qualified for the postseason for the sixth time in their seven seasons competing in the league, winning the conference tournament in 2021 and 2023, while the Shockers have made the postseason for the fourth straight year, winning the conference title in 2022. New Jersey United becomes the first expansion team in the North Atlantic conference to make the postseason since Cedar Stars FC qualified in 2022.

There are scenarios that could see all three teams finish anywhere between first through third place but there are a few things for fans to keep in mind as we head into the final two weeks of the Regular Season:

–       Hartford City FC own the tiebreakers over both New York and New Jersey, as the league’s first tiebreaker is head-to-head results.

–       If Hartford City and New York win their matches this weekend, as the Shockers play New Jersey at 5pm on Saturday, then both teams will guarantee themselves the top-two spots in the league and New Jersey wouldn’t finish any higher than third place.

–       If Hartford City and New Jersey win this weekend, that means a Colts win at Syracuse FC in the Regular Season finale on July 6th will give them the top-seed in the playoffs.

–       A New York win and a Colts loss or draw this weekend will secure the top-seed for the Shockers.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

 With Hartford City FC holding their opponents to eight goals through eight matches so far in the regular season, the Colts are tied for first in the North Atlantic Conference for fewest goals allowed alongside New Jersey. That total also is tied for 17^th fewest goals allowed amongst the entirety of the NPSL. HCFC have also registered four clean sheets this season, all of which with Nate DiLoreto playing in goal, which is the second most shutouts amongst all teams in the conference this season with New Jersey United and their starting goalie Max Pfaffman keeping a clean sheet five times.

In terms of where this year’s Colts stand in club history for their defensive work so far, the club record for goals allowed in a single regular season is 8 set in 2022, along with setting the club record of 0.8 goals allowed per game mark that year as well. The next best mark was 10 goals allowed (1.0 goals allowed/game) in 2023 and 12 goals allowed (1.2 goals allowed/game) in 2021. Prior to the cancellation of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, the previous best mark for the club was 15 goals allowed (1.5 goals allowed/game) in 2018.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

 Since Valeo FC knocked off HCFC 2-1 over Memorial Day Weekend on Michael Echavarria’s second half stoppage time volley, Valeo have won one of their last four matches and have scored just two goals. Their sole victory came on June 15 at home over Syracuse with Jason Hrkach scoring the winner early in the second half and after Alex Miller gave Valeo the lead in the third minute last weekend at New York, Valeo conceded four unanswered to see their push for a playoff spot come to an end. The team will also be without Pieter Bultman who got sent off against the Shockers in second half stoppage time and after this weekend’s match, they will host New Jersey United on July 6th to finish the season.

June 27 at 2:24 pm

HARTFORD CITY POST THIRD STRAIGHT CLEAN SHEET, CONTINUE WINNING WAYS OVER KINGSTON

Poughkeepsie, NY. – On a sweltering Saturday evening in the Hudson Valley, Hartford City FC (5-2-1, 16 points) recorded their third straight victory by way of a shutout as the Colts knocked off last place Kingston Stockade FC (1-6-1, 4 points), 1-0, at Marist College.

It’s the first time in recent memory that Hartford City FC have posted three consecutive shutout victories, as the closest the Colts have come to pulling off the feat over the last couple of years came last season by posting back-to-back shutouts over the New York Shockers. And Nate DiLoreto, who has been in goal for all three clean sheets, has upped his scoreless streak of 291 minutes without conceding a goal. The win also keeps the Colts within three points of the North Atlantic Conference leading New York Shockers, who upped their 2024 season point total to 19 after a 4-1 victory over Valeo FC on Saturday evening.

After a heavy downpour at Tenney Stadium during warmups on Saturday evening, clear skies arrived just in time for opening kickoff and that spurred the HCFC attack on in the early minutes with Alonzo Clarke nearly picking out Evan Jones at the back post with a cross in the eighth minute. Four minutes later, it was Kingston asking a question out of the HCFC defense as Petro Klishch saw his curling effort tipped around the post by DiLoreto.

Jones, who was buzzing all over the field on Saturday night, nearly got on the board in the 16^th minute as he whistled a half-volleyed effort over the bar. Mark Grant would then sting the palms of Kingston goalie James Lowell with a long-distance rocket in the 23^rd minute. But despite all the pressure from Hartford City going forward, it was a mistake in the back from Kingston that gave the visitors the opening tally.

From a Nate DiLoreto booming clearance in the 35^th minute that overshot his intended mark, Kingston defender Albion Bacaj headed the ball back to his goalie, a seemingly innocuous play to allow his team to re-set. But Lowell miscued his catch and spilled the ball to the feet of Jones, who was able to walk the ball into the open net to score his team-leading third goal (and arguably his easiest goal) of the 2024 season.

The next chance of note for either team wouldn’t come until the 58^th minute when Mark Grant got loose at the top of the box, after Kingston failed to clear a long free kick, and unleashed his second long distance effort of the night that saw Lowell parry wide of goal.

A consistent trend of this three-match winning and shutout streak from the Colts is their ability to stifle their opponents in their attempt to stringe together many chances going forward as the game wears on. And Saturday night was no different as DiLoreto made two saves in the first half and wasn’t tested much over the course of the second half.

Over the final five minutes of the match, Hartford City had multiple chances to double their lead but couldn’t cash in. The first chance came in the 85^th minute on a counterattack when Michael Suski, who made his debut for the club on Saturday, fired a shot that forced a great diving stop from Lowell. Two minutes later, another second half substitute Matt Cence was fouled inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot. However, for the second consecutive week, the Colts failed to capitalize on a late penalty kick as Cence saw his spot kick attempt smothered by Lowell.

The hosts did provide a flurry of late offense by generating two corner kicks and one free kick in second half stoppage time, but DiLoreto and his defense held firm and repelled all efforts before the final whistle came, securing Hartford City’s home-and-home sweep against Kingston.

Hartford City FC return to Trinity Health Stadium on Saturday, June 29^th as they face off against Valeo FC. Kickoff for that match, which will be HCFC’s final home match of the 2024 NPSL Regular Season, is scheduled for 7pm.

June 24 at 1:05 pm

COLTS LOOK TO CONTINUE THEIR WINNING WAYS ON SATURDAY AT KINGSTON STOCKADE

Hartford, Conn. – With only three matches to go in the 2024 NPSL Regular Season, Hartford City FC (4-2-1, 13 points) will take their two-match winning streak on the road to square off against their long-time rivals Kingston Stockade FC (1-5-1, 4 points) on Saturday evening at 6pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Saturday’s match will be played at Tenney Stadium on the campus of Marist College (3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12601), and tickets are available on their website (stockadefc.com/tickets), with adult tickets going for $10 and kids at $5.

Fans who cannot make the match in person can follow along via a free live stream at either stockadefc.com/live or by searching Kingston Stockade FC on YouTube.

LAST TIME OUT

Hartford City took a big step in their quest to catch the North Atlantic Conference leading New York Shockers last Sunday with a 2-0 win at Trinity Health Stadium. In a first half that didn’t have many chances, New York thought that they took the lead in the 7^th minute when Adel Cekic’s free kick bounced past everyone into the back of the net, but the referee ruled the goal out for a foul inside the box before the ball crossed the goal line. The Shockers almost took the lead again on the stroke of halftime when Mohamed Soumah caught his bicycle kick effort cleanly from a corner kick, only to miss the corner by inches.

The Colts came out firing to start the second half by forcing a save out of New York’s goalie Tyler Brennan on Noah Silverman’s tight angle chance within the first two minutes. The hosts continued pressure would net them a goal in the 55^th minute as Griffin Tomas cleared away a Shockers free kick inside his own penalty area in the direction of Silverman. He would go then on a 70-yard solo run, bypassing a pair of Shockers defenders and slotted his shot past Brennan. HCFC nearly doubled their lead straight from kickoff as Brennan cleared a ball straight to the feet of Parker Vasic just outside the penalty area, who then unselfishly laid it off to Evan Southern, only to see Brennan make amends for the giveaway with a one-on-one save.

The one-goal advantage became two as Jake Williams was fouled just outside the penalty area and the Colts’ captain stepped up and delivered a majestic curler around the wall and flew past the goalies right to double Hartford City’s lead. The Colts could have had a third when Williams was fouled inside the box but Brennan denied his spot kick attempt to keep it a 2-0 game.

WHERE THINGS STAND IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE

 With Hartford City’s win last Sunday, it allowed the Colts to climb to within three points of the conference leading Shockers, who remain at 16 points to HCFC’s 13. The day before, Valeo FC knocked off Syracuse FC at home with a 48^th minute winner from Jason Hrkach and New Jersey United traveled to Tenney Stadium and came away with a 1-0 victory over Kingston Stockade. Diego Navas scored the winner in that game with thirty minutes to go, putting him tied for second in the conference with three goals, alongside his teammate Khaled Daoud.

NJ United AC currently sit in third with 12 points, just one point behind Hartford City and three points ahead of Syracuse FC, who they will host on Sunday. With their win last weekend, Valeo FC move up to seven points and could jump as high as fourth with a win over the Shockers on Saturday.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

 It has been a challenging season for Kingston Stockade FC, as they currently sit in last place in the conference with just four points and are eight points behind New Jersey in third and five points behind Syracuse in fourth. Meaning anything shy of a win on Saturday will all but likely eliminate the team from postseason play.

Kingston is wrapping up a five-match homestand this weekend and the only points they’ve gained during that stretch at home came on a 2-0 victory over Valeo FC on June 8^th when Richard Morel, who is a rising senior at Marist College, scored a pair of goals en route to the teams’ first positive result since their Opening Day 1-1 draw at Valeo back on May 4^th. That winning performance was the strongest offensive output the club have had this year since the 3-2 loss at Hartford City back on May 18^th when Jonathan Salguero and Hugo Guerra found the back of the net in the losing effort.

June 24 at 1:02 pm

COLTS SECURE THEIR SECOND CLEAN SHEET IN A ROW IN A FATHER’S DAY VICTORY

Hartford, Conn. – On the strength of second half goals from Noah Silverman and Jake Williams, Hartford City FC (4-2-1, 13 points) maintained their second-place spot in the NPSL North Atlantic Conference table with a 2-0 victory over the conference leading New York Shockers (5-1-1, 16 points) on Sunday evening at Trinity Health Stadium. The result gives the Colts their second straight shutout as they held New Jersey United AC off the board in a 1-0 victory last Sunday.

It’s the second time in as many seasons that Hartford City FC have posted back-to-back clean sheets, as the Colts turned the trick against New York Shockers twice in a six-day period last year. The first was a 0-0 draw up at Afrim’s Sports Park on June 17^th, 2023 with Jamis Fite in net, and the second came in a 7-0 victory on the 22^nd at Trinity Health Stadium. The latter saw Nate DiLoreto in goal, and the University of Rhode Island product was in net for Sunday’s result as well, giving him two clean sheets on the campaign and three total during his time with the Colts.

In a first half that was void of many chances, New York thought that they had taken the lead in the 7^th minute when Adel Cekic’s free kick bounced past everyone into the back of the net, but the referee ruled the goal out for a foul inside the box before the ball crossed the goalline.

Hartford City were relegated to just a handful of half chances in the first half, one from Patrick Osiecki on the volley in the 19^th minute, and Jake Williams had a pair of efforts, first dragging his effort wide from a long corner in the 22^nd minute and then putting his laces through the ball from 30 yards out minutes before halftime, but put the effort over the bar.

Almost out of nowhere, the Shockers nearly grabbed the first goal on the stroke of halftime when Mohamed Soumah caught his bicycle kick effort cleanly from a corner kick, only to miss the corner by inches. But that was the warning shot that the Colts needed heading into halftime because when they returned the field in the second half, they were on the front foot immediately.

80 seconds into the second half, Evan Jones was able to win the ball back inside the penalty area and laid it off to Silverman, forcing a save out of New York’s goalie Tyler Brennan from a narrow angle. The Colts continued to sustain that pressure until the breakthrough that came in the 55^th minute.

From a New York free kick by their attacking corner flag, Griffin Tomas cleared away the set piece and unlocked Silverman. The Quinnipiac product would go on a 70-yard solo run, bypassing a pair of Shockers defenders, before slotting his shot past Brennan. It’s Silverman’s first goal of the season for the club but the second straight match where he’s registered a goal contribution as he assisted last Sunday’s Evan Jones’ game winner at New Jersey United.

HCFC nearly doubled their lead straight from kickoff as Brennan cleared a ball straight to the feet of Parker Vasic just outside the penalty area, who then unselfishly laid it off to Evan Southern, only to see Brennan make amends for the giveaway with a one-on-one save.

New York didn’t have much joy going forward over the final half hour as they were frustrated time after time by the Colts back line of Tomas, Osiecki, Larson Richards and Eamon Moylan. And that one-goal advantage was held securely by the hosts until the final eight minutes when Williams was fouled just outside the penalty area.

In a perfect spot for a left-footed free kick, about 22 yards away from goal, the Colts’ captain stepped up and delivered a majestic curler around the wall and flew past the goalies right to double Hartford City’s lead.

Five minutes later, Brennan once again had a miscue clearing his lines as he delivered a goal kick straight to Williams, who was taken down in the box by Shockers defender Connor DeFilippis and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Brennan though made amends for his error, similarly as he did earlier in the half, as he parried away Williams’ spot kick to keep the score at 2-0. Moments later, the referee signaled for full time and Hartford City were able to climb to within three points of the conference leading Shockers with three matches left to play in the regular season.

Hartford City FC will play their penultimate road match of the regular season next Saturday, June 22^nd against Kingston Stockade FC. That match will kick off at 6pm and will be played at Tenney Stadium on the campus of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

June 17 at 1:00 pm

HARTFORD CITY WELCOME CONFERENCE-LEADING NY SHOCKERS FOR A FATHER’S DAY CLASH

Hartford, Conn. – After snapping their two-match losing streak with a 1-0 victory at New Jersey United AC last Sunday, Hartford City FC (3-2-1, 10 points) return to Trinity Health Stadium on Sunday, June 16^th to face the North Atlantic Conference leading New York Shockers (5-0-1, 16 points). This Father’s Day matchup is scheduled for 7pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Fans looking to purchase tickets for Saturday’s match can in person at Trinity Health Stadium (250 Huyshope Ave, Hartford, CT, 06106) when gates open approximately one hour before kickoff, or online by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. Tickets cost $10 for Adults and all children under 12 get in for free.

The match will be live streamed via Hartford City FC’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HartfordCityFC) with JJ Duke handling Play-by-Play duties. Highlights on the match will be available on the teams’ social media channels in the days following.

LAST TIME OUT

In what was a must-win match for Hartford City last weekend, the Colts came through with a 1-0 victory over New Jersey United AC, who were then tied for second place. The lone tally came in the 24^th minute when Noah Silverman was able to launch a ball over the top to unlock Evan Jones, and the speedy talisman was able to finish his effort past NJ United’s keeper Max Pfaffman. And that was the only goal that HCFC needed as the backline was rock solid in limiting the hosts just to a handful of meaningful chances on goal and Nate DiLoreto secured his second clean sheet of the season in fourth start of the 2024 NPSL season.

LOOK GOOD. FEEL GOOD.

If Hartford City fans have been keeping an eye on the clubs’ social media channels recently, there was a sneak peek of a pattern for HCFC’s new home jersey, that will debut on Sunday evening. Hartford City FC has once again partnered with Hummel, one of the most iconic and historic sports brands in the world, to create a brand-new home kit that the Colts will wear for the rest of the 2024 season. HCFC and Hummel’s partnership has been existence since day one of the clubs’ history and the organization are excited for this continued collaboration in introducing the teams’ first new jersey for the team since the team played in its 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First Round match.

There will be more information about the jersey, including the complete reveal and how HCFC fans can purchase the kit, closer to the match and that can be found on the teams’ social media channels and website (www.hartfordcity.com)

WHERE THINGS STAND IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE

With Hartford City’s win last Sunday, it allowed the Colts to leapfrog both New Jersey United and Syracuse FC into second place, as those two clubs stayed at 9 points with losses to Hartford City and to the Shockers respectively. New York, who currently stand at a division best 16 points and a +9 goal difference, will remain in first no matter what after this weekend and all four teams mentioned have cushion on Kingston Stockade FC and Valeo FC. Those squads stand on four points after Kingston defeated Valeo 2-0 at home last weekend and stand five points outside the top-four spots in the conference.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

After falling to Hartford City in the North Atlantic Conference Semifinals last year, the Shockers have roared through the season so far, with their only points dropped being against the Colts in a 2-2 draw back up on May 11 up at Afrim’s Sports Park. Since then, the Shockers have won four straight and have outscored their opponents 12-4 in those goals, including a 3-1 victory at Syracuse FC last week as after trailing 1-0 at halftime, both Filippo Bellu and Jackson Leon each scored goals from the penalty spot and then after Syracuse saw Nolan Weik and Dylan Killian each get sent off inside the final ten minutes, Kyle MacFarlane scored an insurance goal for the Shockers in the final minutes.

Bellu, who currently leads the conference with eight goals, is one of three players that returned to this year’s Shockers that garnered All-Conference accolades last year, joining Seth Scarano and Antonio Linge on that list. Jackson Leon, who also was a key contributor in 2023, is tied for second in the conference with three goals this year as well.

June 16 at 11:00 am

EVAN JONES’ FIRST HALF STRIKE NETS HARTFORD CITY A CRUCIAL ROAD WIN

Staten Island, N.Y. – As the second half of the 2024 NPSL Regular Season schedule commenced this weekend, Hartford City (3-2-1, 10 points) needed a big result to snap a two-match losing streak. And with the Colts only grabbing one point from two previous road matches so far this season, they would need a complete team effort to not only secure that elusive first road victory, but also to stay within touching distance of the top of the North Atlantic Conference standings.

Backed by a first half goal from Evan Jones and a second clean sheet of the season by goalie Nate DiLoreto, HCFC came away with a 1-0 victory over New Jersey United AC (3-3-0, 9 points) on Sunday evening. The result bumped the Colts into second place in the Conference ahead of both New Jersey United as well as Syracuse FC, who fell to the division-leading New York Shockers 3-1 the day before.

Sunday’s match, which was moved to Hameline Field at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York after a late switch from the original location at St. Joseph High School’s facility in Metuchen, NJ, saw the hosts come close twice in the first quarter hour as both Sean Cadigan and Diego Navas came close to breaking the deadlock but their efforts, one from a reload off of a set piece and the other coming off of a setup from Jeremy Klinger’s driving run, missed the mark.

Hartford City were able to capitalize on the New Jersey missed chances as in the 24^th minute, Noah Silverman was able to pick out Jones with a long ball over the top from inside his own half. The Holy Cross product and multi-time All-Patriot League ran down the long ball after timing his run perfectly against the New Jersey high line and slid his effort past the goalie to give the Colts the lead. It was his second goal of the season and sixth across his last two campaigns.

The Colts, while not being able to generate many chances going forward over the remaining minutes of the first half, did an excellent job of keeping New Jersey’s dangerous striker duo of Khaled Daoud and Diego Navas quiet as DiLoreto only had to deal with a couple crosses for the remainder of the half. HCFC did have one shot on target in first half stoppage time as Alonzo Clarke got on the end of a Jake Williams corner kick, but his header was tipped over the bar and the teams entered the locker rooms shortly after, with Hartford City hanging on to their narrow lead.

A common theme of the second half was the number of near chances both teams created, but none of which forced either goalkeeper to make any saves. Second half substitute Christian Dionne nearly snuck a curling effort past New Jersey’s keeper Max Pfaffman on the hour mark, but it was deflected just wide of the post. Evan Southern got himself into dangerous positions driving to the endline but all his crosses and shots were blocked for corners. On the other end, DiLoreto had to punch away and catch a few crosses but the Colts defense remained diligent in their work, not allowing the hosts to create much on the attack.

Inside the final ten minutes of the match, both teams were able to generate clear cut chances on the attack. DiLoreto finally was called into action in the 82^nd minute as he snatched Sean Cadigan’s 25-yard strike and minutes late, Dionne nearly gave Hartford City an insurance goal but narrowly dragged his top of the box effort wide of the target. But there would be no further action towards either goal during the waning moments and the Colts wrapped up the three points.

Hartford City FC return to Trinity Health Stadium on Sunday, June 16^th in a battle of first versus second in the North Atlantic Conference, as the Colts face the New York Shockers. Kickoff for this Father’s Day matchup is set for 7pm.

June 11 at 6:02 pm

COLTS COMMENCE A CRUCIAL STRETCH OF THE SEASON WITH A GARDEN STATE TRIP

Hartford, Conn. – Hartford City FC (2-2-1, 7 points) begin the second half of their 2024 NPSL Regular Season schedule on Sunday, June 9^th as they travel down to the Garden State to face off against New Jersey United AC (3-2-0, 9 points). Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 5pm

MATCH INFORMATION

Sunday’s match will be held at St. Joseph High School (145 Plainfield Avenue, Metuchen, NJ, 08840) and for those who cannot make it in person, New Jersey United AC will provide a live stream on their YouTube Channel with a direct link being found on their website at njunitedac.com/schedule, or by searching New Jersey United Athletic Club on YouTube.

AT THE HALFWAY MARK…

With five of the ten scheduled match weeks of the 2024 North Atlantic Conference slate in the books, Hartford City FC currently find themselves in fourth place, three points ahead of Valeo FC in fifth and six points ahead of last place Kingston Stockade FC. New Jersey United AC and Syracuse FC are currently tied for second on nine points, with Syracuse just ahead on goal difference, and the New York Shockers are at the top of the table with 13 points and a plus-7 goal difference.

LAST TIME OUT

It was a second loss in as many matches for Hartford City FC as after a last second 2-1 defeat at Valeo FC over Memorial Day Weekend, the Colts dropped a 2-0 decision to Syracuse FC last Saturday at Oakwood Soccer Park. After both teams created one chance each over the first 35 minutes, HCFC were kept off the board on two separate occasions in the final ten minutes as Syracuse goalie Andrew Taylor tipped Alonzo Clarke’s long-distance effort in the 39^th minute and then stymied Evan Southern from point blank range right before halftime.

Syracuse got on the board in the 48^th minute as Cailen Thomas flicked a long throw-in to the back post, which was finished off by Scott Schuyler. Hartford City came close to finding the equalizer twice over the next twenty minutes, with Eamon Moylan failing to convert a close-range header from a set piece in the 58^th minute and Noah Silverman clipping the crossbar nine minutes after that. Syracuse notched their second goal of the night in the 69^th minute from a swift counter-attack that ended with a Riley Williams rocket of a shot to the top corner and despite a few chances late on from the hosts, they could not break through the Syracuse FC defense, who pitched their first clean sheet of the season.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

Despite falling 3-0 to Hartford City on the first day of the season back on May 4^th, there was little doubt that New Jersey United AC had plenty to offer in their expansion season. And they have proven that by winning three of their last four matches. First, the club responded to that loss to the Colts by winning their first-ever home match on May 11^th with a 1-0 victory over Kingston, and followed that up with a 3-0 drubbing of Syracuse in Central New York on May 18^th.

The Garden State outfit suffered a small setback over Memorial Day Weekend with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the league-leading New York Shockers but rallied back last weekend to knock off Valeo FC 1-0, with Jeremy Klinger potting the lone goal of the day in the 29^th minute. Talented striker Khaled Daoud leads the squad with three goals, two of them coming in that 3-0 victory at Syracuse, and his front running partner Diego Navas has bagged goals in the wins over Syracuse and Kingston Stockade.

June 6 at 11:14 am

COLTS STUMBLE AT HOME AGAINST SYRACUSE FC

Portland, Conn. – After starting the 2024 National Premier League Soccer (NPSL) Regular Season with a three-match unbeaten run, Hartford City FC (2-2-1, 7 points) dropped their second straight contest as they fell to Syracuse FC (3-2-0, 9 points) 2-0 on Saturday evening at Oakwood Soccer Park.

Both sides created one clear cut chance each over the first half hour of the contest. Hartford City’s best moment going forward came in the 15^th minute when Patrick Osiecki clipped a ball from his right back position in the direction of Evan Southern at the left edge of the box. Southern, who created several chances for himself over the course of the second half, laid the ball off to Nate Becher who in turn found the onrushing Andrew Bilbie at the top of the box. But his side-footed effort was smothered by Syracuse goalie Andrew Taylor. The lone chance from the visitors in the first half came from a 25-yard free kick from Riley Williams, who scored the game-winner via a set piece from a similar spot last weekend at Kingston Stockade, but it was struck at HCFC’s Nate DiLoreto.

The hosts did apply the pressure late in the first half as they forced Taylor into two key saves in the final seven minutes of the half, first tipping Alonzo Clarke’s long-distance strike around the post in the 39^th minute and then made a great reflex save on Southern’s point blank chance in the 44^th minute. Those saves were crucial for Syracuse FC because not only did it keep the game tied heading into halftime, but it spurred the visitors to come out of the blocks quickly in the second half.

That momentum grew even more for Syracuse as they scored the opening goal just three minutes into the second half as from a long throw into the box, Cailen Thomas flicked it towards the back post and Scott Schuyler won the race to the spot before tapping it into the open net.

Hartford City nearly scored the equalizer in the 58^th minute when Jake Williams picked out Clarke inside the box on a free kick and the towering midfielder headed it across goal to find Eamon Moylan, only to see his near post header pop over the bar. The hosts came close again in the 67^th minute when second half substitute Noah Silverman made a deceptive run towards the edge of the box and was picked out by Williams, and he clipped his effort over the goalie, but it hit the wrong side of the crossbar and stayed out.

Syracuse punished Hartford City for the missed chances less than two minutes later when Riley Williams unleashed a near 30-yard laser into the top corner to double the visitors’ advantage.

The hosts created a few more chances in the final twenty minutes to get back into the match, two each from Southern and second half substitute Tomas Duben, but nothing really tested Taylor who was able to see out the match and pick up his first clean sheet of the season.

Hartford City FC kick off the second half of their North Atlantic Conference regular season schedule next Sunday, June 9^th, as they travel to the Garden State to take on New Jersey United AC. That match will be played at St. Joseph High School (145 Plainfield Ave, Metuchen, NJ, 08840) and is scheduled to kick off at 5pm.

June 6 at 11:08 am

HARTFORD CITY FC WELCOME SYRACUSE FC TO OAKWOOD SOCCER PARK THIS WEEKEND

Hartford, Conn. – After a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at Valeo FC over Memorial Day Weekend, Hartford City FC (2-1-1, 7 points) get back to action this Saturday, June 1^st as they host Syracuse FC (2-2-0, 6 points). The match will be played at Oakwood Soccer Park in Portland, CT and will kick off at 7pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Fans looking to purchase tickets for Saturday’s match can in person at Oakwood Soccer Park (521 Glastonbury Turnpike, Portland, CT, 06480) when gates open approximately one hour before kickoff, or online by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. Tickets cost $10 for Adults and all children under 12 get in for free.

The match will be live streamed via Hartford City FC’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HartfordCityFC), going live at 6:45pm with broadcaster JJ Duke handling Play-by-Play duties. Highlights on the match will be available on the teams’ social media channels in the days following.

LAST TIME OUT

Hartford City fell behind early at Valeo FC just six minutes into last Saturday’s match after Ben Kelly scored for the hosts. But Jake Williams leveled things up inside of ten minutes, picking up his first goal of the season and third total goal contribution. HCFC strung together a sequence of chances in the first few minutes of the second half when Evan Jones smashed a volley on frame, only to see Valeo FC goalie Leonard Seidel save it and just moments later, Williams nearly snuck a free kick home as well.

But Valeo would win the match in dramatic fashion after hardly testing HCFC throughout the second half as Michael Echavarria blasted a half-volley from the penalty spot from a corner kick in the third minute of second half stoppage time. The Colts had multiple chances to level the score in the final minutes when Evan Southern was denied by Seidel and both Colin Goodhines and Griffin Tomas had efforts cleared off the line by the Valeo defense. It was the first loss of the season for the Colts and the third straight regular season match that the club has dropped to Valeo, as HCFC lost twice to Massachusetts based club in the span of five days last year, 1-0 on the road on June 7 and 2-1 at home on June 11.

WELCOME BACK TO OAKWOOD

Due to Trinity Health Stadium being unavailable on Saturday, Hartford City will call Oakwood Soccer Park their home this weekend but it is not the first time that the Colts have played at this facility. Hartford City FC played all of their 2021 regular season home matches at Oakwood in the first NPSL season after the COVID pandemic and had some very good success in their short stint at the facility, going 3-1-1 during that time. And for Hartford City manager Louis Beddouri, the last time he played on this field as a member of the Colts was when he scored a screamer of a volley from an acute angle against Valeo in a 3-1 victory back on July 3, 2021, which saw the goal go viral on social media.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

This has been the most successful start to a season that Syracuse FC have had in many NPSL seasons, earning the most wins in a season since picking up three in 2018, and the most amount of points the club has accrued in any season playing in the North Atlantic Conference since moving over from the Midwest Region ahead of the 2022 season. After going a combined 0-10-10 in their first two seasons in this conference, the Central New York based club picked up wins against Valeo, a 2-1 victory at home on May 12, and last weekend at Kingston Stockade when Riley Williams scored an 88^th minute winner from a 25-yard free kick to secure a 2-1 win.

Keep an eye out for the team’s leading scorer Owen Cheney as the Colgate product has bagged three goals this season, twice in the victory over Valeo and tallied the first half equalizer last weekend at Kingston. The club also returns 2022 NPSL All-Conference honoree Isaac Borden in the midfield along with several long serving players for the club.

May 31 at 10:07 am

A FIRST HALF FLURRY OF GOALS LIFTS HARTFORD CITY TO THREE POINTS

Hartford, Conn. – Two goals in the first fifteen minutes and three in the first half hour were enough to power Hartford City FC (2-0-1, 7 points) to a 3-2 win over their long-time rivals Kingston Stockade FC (0-2-1, 1 point) on Saturday night at Trinity Health Stadium. The result keeps the Colts at the top of the NPSL North Atlantic Conference Standings after three rounds of action, along with the New York Shockers who defeated Valeo FC late Saturday evening.

In what was a frenetic first 45 minutes of the match, the Colts set the tone in the 6^th minute with a display of one of the best team-oriented goals the club has seen in recent years. From playing out of the back, right-back Patrick Osiecki threaded a pass down the left flank and connected with Alonzo Clarke. Clarke, who was one of four players making their season debut for Hartford City on Saturday night, was able to bypass multiple defenders before linking up with forward Evan Jones. The Holy Cross product pulled off a nifty back-heeled pass inside the box to return it to Clarke, who then found Parker Vasic off to his left. Vasic, not to be outdone by Jones’ backheel, executed a similar pass to unlock Evan Southern and allow the 2023 NPSL All-Region honoree to finish off the sequence by sweeping a shot past Kingston’s goalie Lorenzo Nunez for the opening tally.

Six minutes later, the hosts nearly doubled their advantage when Southern’s in-swinging corner kick was headed on goal by Clarke only to see it cleared off the line by a Kingston defender at the near post. That chance was the one to wake up the visitors as moments after clearing that chance away, a long free kick from Jared Juleau found Hugo Guerra outside the box. But as Guerra’s touch took it away from a Hartford City’s Griffin Tomas, the two tangled just inside box which on another day would have seen the official point to the spot but in this instance, the referee allowed play to continue.

And the no-call would be a misery compiler for Kingston as while their bench was up in arms about the decision, Andrew Bilbie, another player making his HCFC debut, drove through the defense and ripped a shot from close distance. Nunez was able to block the shot away, but Vasic powered home the rebound from the edge of the area to double the hosts’ advantage.

Kingston Stockade were able to pull a goal back shortly before the half hour mark as Jonathan Salguero was able to get free down the left side of the field and floated a ball to the back post that caught Hartford City’s goalie Jamis Fite off guard and snuck in the top-corner. But if the visitors expected that tally to give them any momentum, it was taken away almost immediately. Forty seconds after the re-start, Hartford City made it 3-1 as Tomas curled in a cross from the right flank to the six-yard box and Jones hammered a header past Nunez for his first goal of the season.

Neither team would find the back of the net over the final 15 minutes of the first half, though Fite did come up with a couple of key stops including snagging Joey Dolan’s 25-yard free kick minutes before halftime. But Kingston Stockade got a lifeline just four minutes as Juleau was clipped from behind by Clarke inside the penalty area and the referee awarded the visitors a penalty. Guerra, who scored a penalty kick while playing for Hartford City FC in the clubs’ 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First Round Match against Lansdowne Yonkers FC, calmly deposited the spot kick past Fite to make it 3-2.

Unlike the first half, the second half was void of many clear-cut chances as Hartford City only generated two shots on target, though the Colts nearly extended their lead back to two in the 72^nd minute when second half substitute Mark Grant was able to drive end line before cutting a ball back to Southern, only to see his close-range chance parried away by Nunez.

But the Colts defense stymied the visitors over the remaining minutes and didn’t need to call on Fite to make any more stops on the evening. Eventually the final whistle blew and Hartford City earned their second straight victory at home this season, extending their unbeaten mark at home in all competitions to five straight games.

Hartford City head back on the road next Saturday as they travel to the Valeo Sports Center in Newton, Mass. to take on Valeo FC. Kickoff for that match is scheduled for 6pm and HCFC fans are encouraged to stay tuned to the clubs’ social media channels for more information about this contest in the coming days.

May 20 at 11:32 am

OLD RIVALS SQUARE OFF IN A CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH ON SATURDAY NIGHT

Hartford, Conn. – It’s what fans look for first when the schedule comes out every season. Find your biggest rival and see when they come to your home.

For the first time since the 2023 North Atlantic Conference Championship Game, Hartford City FC (1-0-1, 4 points) will take the field against Kingston Stockade FC (0-1-1, 1 point) on Saturday night at Trinity Health Stadium. Kickoff for this one is set for 7pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Fans looking to purchase tickets for Saturday’s match can in person at Trinity Health Stadium (250 Huyshope Ave, Hartford, CT, 06106) when gates open approximately one hour before kickoff, or online by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. Tickets cost $10 for Adults and all children under 12 get in for free.

The match will be live streamed via Hartford City FC’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HartfordCityFC) with veteran broadcaster JJ Duke handling Play-by-Play duties. Highlights on the match will be available on the teams’ social media channels in the days following.

LAST TIME OUT

After winning their season opener 3-0 on May 4^th against New Jersey United AC, Hartford City took to the road last weekend to face off against another long-time rival in the New York Shockers and left the capital region with a point after a 2-2 draw at Afrim’s Sports Park.

The Colts took the early advantage in the 17^th minute when Tano Desseno stepped in front of a clearance and blocked it in the direction of Tomás Duben. The striker was able to run it down, square Linge up on the edge of the box before curling a left-footed effort into the top-corner. The one-goal lead became a two-goal advantage for HCFC six minutes later when Desseno linked up with Evan Southern on a through ball from inside his own half. Southern then raced around the Shockers goalie and a defender before putting the ball away.

The hosts got on the board in 34^th minute as after New York’s Filippo Bellu found the onrushing Mohamed Soumah from a failed clearance in the HCFC penalty area, Soumah slid it past Colt’s keeper Jamis Fite. The first half goal scorer turned into facilitator with 25 minutes remaining in the 2^nd half as he picked out the late-arriving Jackson Leon in the box after a lovely spell of possession and the veteran put his effort past Fite to level proceedings.

Both teams had chances to grab the winner in the final few minutes of the match but it would ultimately end in a 2-2 draw, just the third draw in ten all-time meetings between the clubs.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

 While the start to the 2023 Regular Season was a brilliant one for Kingston Stockade FC, as they won four-straight to begin the year (outscoring their opponents 11-3 during that stretch) and were unbeaten in their first eight matches of the year before their first loss, the start of the 2024 NPSL season has not been a kind one. A 1-1 draw to open the season at Valeo FC, with a Paul Makaj 69^th minute penalty kick cancelling out a first half tally for Valeo, was followed with a 1-0 road loss to New Jersey United last weekend. Despite outshooting the expansion club heavily throughout the match, a 13^th minute goal from Diego Navas was too much to overcome. This will be the final road match for Kingston for more than a month as they will play five consecutive home matches at Marist College’s Tenney Stadium before they hit the road again at the end of June.

Notable returners to the squad from last year include North Atlantic Conference XI honorees Dylan McDermott in goal and Alberto Molina in defense, as well as regular contributors Jared Juleau, Andrea Nguionza, Mateusz Koziol and the Rabadi brothers, Matt and Zach.

LAST SEASON’S MEETINGS BETWEEN THE CLUBS

 The two clubs met three times last year with three completely different outcomes on the scoresheet. The opener was on June 3^rd up in Poughkeepsie, NY and Kingston snapped a near two-year unbeaten run in North Atlantic Conference regular season action for HCFC with a 3-0 win, with eventual All-Conference Best XI striker Daniel D’Ippolito netting a hat trick. The second meeting came a few weeks later in Hartford on June 25^th and after a scoreless first half, the match was delayed for nearly an hour due to lightning in the area. When the teams came back to the pitch, HCFC struck first in the 58^th minute on an Evan Southern tally and Nate DiLoreto provided a crucial save on Jared Juleau’s penalty kick ten minutes later. But Kingston leveled it in the 89^th minute when Albion Bacaj drilled an un-saveable effort from 30 yards out to share the points.

The finale came in the 2023 North Atlantic Conference Playoff Final as the two sides battled for a scoreless 90 minutes, with Hartford City’s Jamis Fite being called into several key saves to keep the match level. But just before the end of the first period of additional extra time, Hartford City earned a penalty kick and Matt McGonigle slotted it home to give the Colts the advantage. That lead doubled shortly into the second extra time period when Mark Grant linked up with Henry Hamilton inside the box and while Kingston pulled one back from Hugo Guerra in the 120^th minute, it was the Colts lifting the trophy at the end of the night as Conference Champions.

May 15 at 4:19 pm

COLTS COME AWAY WITH A ROAD POINT AGAINST NEW YORK

Colonie, N.Y. – In their first road match of the 2024 NPSL season, Hartford City FC (1-0-1, 4 points) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead inside of 25 minutes on Saturday night. But it wasn’t enough to see off the New York Shockers (1-0-1, 4 points) as the hosts climbed out of the early hole to scratch out a 2-2 draw at the Afrim’s Sports Park.

After the hosts sustained much of the early possession in the first few minutes, Hartford City’s Jake Williams unleashed a ferocious volley from 30 yards out against the run of play that nearly snuck past NY Shockers goalie Ryan Henning. A couple of quick corners from the Colts ensued, with Patrick Osiecki nearly connecting on a back post header.

But eventually the visitors would find the opener in the 17^th minute when Tano Desseno stepped in front of a clearance from Shockers defender Antonio Linge and blocked it in the direction of Tomás Duben. The striker was able to run it down, square Linge up on the edge of the box before curling a left-footed effort over Henning into the top-corner to give Hartford City the lead.

A one-goal lead became a two-goal advantage for the Colts just six minutes later when Desseno unlocked Evan Southern with an inch-perfect through ball from inside his own half. Southern, who garnered All-Conference and All-Region accolades last year, raced around Henning and a last-ditch challenge from Conor DeFilippis and deposited the ball into the open net to double the Colts’ advantage.

The hosts pulled a goal back during a fortuitous sequence the 34^th minute as after New York’s Filippo Bellu was dispossessed of the ball inside HCFC’s penalty area, a clearance from Larson Richards inadvertently hit a player just inside the endline and bounced back to Bellu. The striker held his nerve after collecting the ball back, found the onrushing Mohamed Soumah who slotted it past HCFC goalie Jamis Fite.

HCFC nearly regained their two-goal lead less than two minutes after conceding as from a set piece routine that caught the Shockers defense off guard, Southern got himself to the end line and ripped a shot that stung the palms of Henning but did enough to keep the shot and the scramble that came from rebound out of the net.

Not to be outdone by his counterpart, Jamis Fite came up with a brilliant reaction save shortly before halftime as a Shockers’ in-swinging corner was helped on goal by Seth Scarano, but Fite flung himself at the ball and was able to tip it onto the post before Richards’ cleared it off the line, preserving Hartford City’s 2-1 advantage into halftime.

After the first 20 minutes of the second half went by without either team generating many clear-cut chances, the Shockers tied it at 2 on a lovely passing sequence. Second half substitute Wisdom Ishaya collected a loose ball in the attacking third, linked up with another substitute Yusif Okine, who then found Soumah on the edge of the box in a dangerous position. But the first half goal scorer turned into facilitator as he picked out the late-arriving Jackson Leon, and the veteran slotted his effort past Fite to level proceedings.

Throughout the next twenty minute, the Colts couldn’t gain access into the Shockers’ penalty area as they had to resort to long range efforts that didn’t trouble Henning. But, in the 88^th minute, Jake Williams lined a left footed cross into the corridor of uncertainty that Henning could only parry to the feet of Mark Grant. The second half substitute pounced on the loose ball quickly, but Henning denied his point-blank chance, before Christian Dionne lasered the rebound towards goal but was blocked off the line by Kyle Macfarlane.

New York had one late chance in stoppage time to complete the comeback as from a free kick outside the box, Linge headed one over the bar from close range and the final whistle blew shortly after to see the teams share the points.

Hartford City return home on Saturday, May 18^th as they host Kingston Stockade FC at Trinity Health Stadium in a rematch of the 2023 North Atlantic Conference Playoff Final. Kickoff that evening is scheduled for 7pm and fans can stay in touch with HCFC’s social media channels for ticket information and live stream information for that match.

May 12 at 2:07 pm

FIRST ROAD TRIP OF 2024 AWAITS HARTFORD CITY FC THIS WEEKEND

Hartford, Conn. – For the first time in the 2024 NPSL Regular Season, Hartford City FC (1-0-0, 3 points) will hit the road as they will travel up to the Capital Region to take on the New York Shockers (1-0-0, 3 points) on Saturday, May 11^th. Kickoff at the Afrim’s Sports Park is scheduled for 7pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Hartford City FC fans who are looking to travel up for Saturday’s match can buy tickets in advance on the New York Shockers website by visiting newyorkshockers.com/mensschedule. Directions to Afrim’s Sports Park (969 Watervliet Shaker Road, Albany, NY, 12205) can also be found on the Shockers website as well.

The match will likely be streamed as well as the Shockers produced a stream for their season opening match last week against Syracuse FC on their YouTube page, which can be found by searching New York Shockers on YouTube. But please pay attention to both HCFC and New York’s social accounts for confirmed information closer to the match.

OPENING DAY SUCCESS

A pair of goals and an assist from Christian Dionne, along with a 12^th minute tally from Nate Becher, was enough to lift Hartford City FC to 3-0 victory at home over New Jersey United AC last weekend to kick off the 2024 season.

It was also the fourth consecutive season that Hartford City FC have won their season opening match and it only took 12 minutes for the Colts to grab the lead. Noah Silverman jumped on a loose pass from New Jersey, found Christian Dionne on the right and then the winger unselfishly cut a pass back to the penalty spot where Becher was waiting to stroke it into the back of the net. New Jersey United picked up the pace over the next hour or so of match time as Colts’ starting goalie Nate DiLoreto was forced into a handful of quality stops, including parrying Jeremy Klinger’s snap shot in the 40^th minute and stopping Diego Navas twice mid-way through the second half.

But with the visitors pressing for the equalizer, HCFC found a second gear in the latter stages of the match. Captain Jake Williams clipped a cross that was too tall for substitute Tomás Duben in the 72^nd minute but found the feet of Dionne, who cut the ball onto his left foot and ripped a shot that nestled just inside the far post. Dionne would add his second of the night in the 85^th minute when he ran down a ball played over the top from Williams and smashed it past the New Jersey United keeper.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

It was a good start to the 2024 season for the New York Shockers as they picked up all three points at home in their season opener last Saturday night against Syracuse FC. After falling behind 1-0 when Syracuse’s Dillian Killion scored the opener in the 28^th minute, the Shockers rallied in the second half when second-half substitute Mohamed Soumah leveled the match in the 56^th minute and then veteran striker Filippo Bellu netted the go-ahead goal minutes later.

Like Hartford City, the Shockers returned several familiar faces to the starting lineup last weekend, including the likes of 2023 NPSL North Atlantic Conference Best XI defenders Antonio Linge and Seth Scarano, along with Bellu who also garnered All-Conference accolades last season. Not to forget that the team also boasts the steady presence of players like Adel Cekic, Jackson Leon, Connor DeFilippis and Ryan Henning in goal. There’s no doubt that New York will be a very formidable outfit this season and will try and return to the pinnacle of the conference like they did in 2022 when they won the North Atlantic Playoff tournament.

ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY

 Saturday’s match will be the tenth all-time meeting between the squads in both regular season and postseason play. Hartford City FC have won five of those meetings and drawn two, with New York winning twice, one of which came in the 2022 North Atlantic Conference Semifinals. The Colts won all three home meetings last season, a 2-1 win over Memorial Day weekend, a 7-0 win on June 22^nd and secured a 2-1 victory in the Conference Tournament semifinal last July. And the last time the teams squared off at Afrim’s Sports Park was back on June 17^th, 2023 when the proceedings ended with a 0-0 draw.

May 9 at 3:37 pm

CHRISTIAN DIONNE’S BRACE PROPELS HARTFORD CITY FC TO AN OPENING DAY VICTORY

Hartford, Conn. – A pair of goals and an assist from Christian Dionne, along with a 12^th minute tally from Nate Becher, was enough to lift Hartford City FC (1-0-0, 3 points) to 3-0 victory over New Jersey United AC (0-1-0, 0 points) in their 2024 NPSL season opener on Saturday night at Trinity Health Stadium.

Acting Head Coach Carl Stenslund named a starting XI that included eight regulars from the 2023 Hartford City roster, as well as handing a club debut to defenders Joshua Calderon and Colin Goodhines along with welcoming back Noah Silverman, who partnered Evan Jones up front. And despite the club having limited build up to the season opener, the Colts played from the front foot against the NPSL expansion side by deploying a high press when out of possession and having an almost metronome-type rhythm to their passing, leading to early chances from Jones and Patrick Osiecki.

The breakthrough came through for the Colts in the 12^th minute when New Jersey United’s Jeremy Klinger gave away possession with a switch of play inside his own half that found the feet of Silverman in acres of space. The Quinnipiac University product then hit a peach of an outside the foot cross to unlock Dionne inside the box, and then the winger unselfishly cut a pass back to the penalty spot where Becher was waiting to stroke it into the back of the net.

After conceding the opener, the youthful New Jersey outfit were able to grow into the match and caused a few threats going forward. The biggest chance of the half for the visitors came in the 40^th minute as Khaled Daoud and Melvin Guanga played a give-and-go outside the box and eventually the ball fell to Klinger, whose snap-shot from point blank range was parried wide by HCFC goalie Nate DiLoreto and he managed to stop the rebound effort from Daoud before the flag came up to cancel out the latter chance of the sequence.

HCFC held onto their one-goal advantage into halftime but New Jersey United kept pressing for the equalizer and nearly got it in the 55^th minute when second half substitute Romario Mesa crashed an effort off the crossbar from the penalty spot after Diego Fernandez found the substitute with a brilliant laid-off pass from Evan Walters’ cross.

DiLoreto was forced into making two pivotal saves in a five-minute spell as he first denied Diego Navas’ one-on-one chance with his feet in the 66^th minute, and then was able to smother Navas’ tight angle chance from a counter-attack in the 70^th minute.

After all those warning signs from the visitors, Hartford City found their legs again and were able to double their lead in the 72^nd minute. The move started when Calderon dispossessed Navas by standing up the New Jersey United attacker 30 yards away from goal and once the ball got to the feet of Captain Jake Williams in space outside the box, he sent in a cross that was too tall for substitute Tomás Duben but found the feet of Dionne. A quick cut to put the ball onto his left foot was enough to create separation for Dionne who then unleashed an effort past New Jersey United’s goalie Robert Andrade into the bottom corner.

Then with New Jersey committing players forward over the final minutes, Hartford City added a third when Williams pounced on a loose ball just inside his own half in the 85^th minute and lofted a ball over the top for Dionne to run onto. And that’s exactly what he did, as he powered past all defenders and hammered a shot past Andrade to put the game beyond reach.

Impressively enough, Dionne has now scored four goals in the last two regular season matches for Hartford City as he had a brace in a 4-1 win away at Syracuse FC last July to wrap up the 2023 NPSL Regular Season. And with unofficially registering five saves on the night, DiLoreto earned his second solo clean sheet for Hartford City, as he posted one in the 7-0 victory over the New York Shockers last June.

The Colts will be back in action on Saturday, May 11^th as they will travel to Afrim’s Sports Park in Colonie, NY to take on the New York Shockers. Kickoff that evening is scheduled for 7pm and stay in touch with HCFC’s social media channels for updates, ticket information and live stream information for that match.

May 7 at 9:15 pm

Hartford City FC to Kick Off 2024 NPSL Season Play on Saturday

Hartford, Conn. – After winning the North Atlantic Conference title a year ago, Hartford City FC get their 2024 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) season underway on Saturday, May 4^th by welcoming in NPSL expansion side New Jersey United AC to Trinity Health Stadium for a 7pm kickoff.

MATCH INFORMATION

Fans looking to purchase tickets for Saturday’s match can in person at Trinity Health Stadium (250 Huyshope Ave, Hartford, CT, 06106) when gates open approximately one hour before kickoff, or online by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. Tickets cost $10 for Adults and all children under 12 get in for free.

The match will be live streamed via Hartford City FC’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HartfordCityFC) with veteran broadcaster JJ Duke handling Play-by-Play duties. Highlights on the match will be available on the teams’ social media channels in the days following.

A 2023 TO REMEMBER

For the second time in three seasons, The Colts secured the NPSL North Atlantic Conference title, but they had to do it the hard way after the team finished the regular season with a 5-3-2 record. It was an up-and-down regular season as Hartford City FC rattled off three straight wins to begin the season, but then picked up just one point from four matches from June 3-17. But the Colts found a second wind over the final stretch of the regular season by earning seven points from their final three matches, outscoring their opponents 12-2 during that stretch, to enter the postseason with momentum.

HCFC knocked off the New York Shockers 2-1 in the Conference semifinals after going down inside the first 12 minutes but rallied back with goals from Matt McGonigle and Patrick Osiecki to advance in the postseason. Three days later up in Poughkeepsie, NY, the Colts battled top-seed Kingston Stockade FC in the title match for scoreless 90 minutes, with goalie Jamis Fite coming up with a number of crucial saves to keep the match tied. But HCFC struck twice in extra time over a span of three minutes when McGonigle scored from the penalty spot, as he did in the semis, and Henry Hamilton scored just minutes later to give the Colts needed insurance, as Kingston pulled one back in the 120^th minute. Hartford City would see the match out, lift the trophy and advance back to the East Regional Playoff Semifinal.

HCFC would travel to the Regions’ top seed FC Motown the following week and played one of the wilder matches of the season as the hosts took a 2-0 lead inside of 20 minutes, only to see Hartford City claw their way back into the game when Jake Williams followed in his own rebound 10 minutes before halftime, and then tying it when Evan Southern scored his fourth goal of the season with a lobbed effort just minutes into the second half. But unfortunately for HCFC, it wasn’t enough as FC Motown scored the go-ahead goal in the 66^th minute and added a fourth in the 88^th minute for a 4-2 victory. While the result on the night wasn’t a favorable one, it proved that Hartford City FC were worthy champions of their conference and left everything out on the field against arguably one of the strongest teams traditionally in the region.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2024

There will be plenty of familiar faces returning for Hartford City FC from last year’s title winning squad across the field. The goalie core all returns including Jamis Fite, who was North Atlantic and East Region Best XI in 2022, and Nate DiLoreto as the pair combined to post three clean sheets in the regular season. Larson Richards returns in defense for his fifth season with the club as well as Griffin Tomas and Nate Becher, with the duo combining to appear in 14 matches for the Colts during the regular season.

Fan favorite Mark Grant embarks on his seventh season with the squad and is only two years removed from being named to the All-NPSL Best XI. Last year’s All-Conference honoree Jake Williams comes back after notching a pair of goals and assists from the midfield and 2023 regulars Parker Vasic and Patrick Osiecki, who scored the winner in the Conference Playoff semifinal, are back in the mix as well.

The goals flew in from the Evan’s last year and HCFC will hope for more of the same in 2024, as All-Region & All-Conference honoree Evan Southern registered four goals and three assists a year ago and returns alongside Evan Jones, who added four goals in limited duty.

After completing his fourth season as the clubs’ Head Coach in 2023, Nick Balistierri elected to shift his role ahead of this season to focus solely as the Director of Football for HCFC. Which opened the opportunity for former Colt Louis Beddouri to come back and take the Head Coaching reigns for the 2024 season. Beddouri, who recently earned his UEFA B License and has worked with various clubs in France, returns to the team that saw him excel as a player, earning All-Region and All-Conference Accolades, along with scoring 12 goals for the club. Beddouri will be behind the bench for the teams’ match on May 11^th against the New York Shockers, while assistant Carl Stensland will guide the team through this Saturday’s contest.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENT

It’s a debut match for New Jersey United AC, who were announced as an expansion club by the NPSL league office back in February. The club is owned by Faton Bauta, a former NCAA Division I College Football quarterback, and will play their home matches at Saint Joseph High School in Metuchen, NJ. New Jersey United’s coaching staff includes Fernando Barboto, a veteran NCAA Men’s Soccer Coach who has led NJIT, Iona and St. Francis Brooklyn in the past and is assisted by MLS veteran RJ Allen and Samuel Roca. And with the long-standing tradition of great soccer players who hail from the Garden State, there is no doubt that the club will be bringing a talented squad of local players that will made the club a great entrant into the league.

Credit: JJ Duke

May 3 at 11:33 am

HARTFORD CITY ADVANCE IN POSTSEASON PLAY WITH A COMEBACK WIN OVER NEW YORK

Mansfield, Conn. – For the second time in three seasons, Hartford City FC has advanced to the NPSL North Atlantic Conference Playoff Final after defeating the New York Shockers, 2-1, in the Semifinals on Wednesday night at Eastern Connecticut State University.

The second-seeded Colts will now hit the road on Saturday to face the top-seed in the North Atlantic Conference Playoffs, Kingston Stockade FC, with not only the Conference Playoff title on the line, but also a spot in the East Region Playoffs.

After being outscored 9-1 across the three regular-season meetings between the sides, it was the third-seeded Shockers who created the first scoring chance of the night. From a short corner kick routine in the second minute, Seth Scarano flicked a ball into the path of teammate Benjamin Kogan but was denied from close range by Hartford City goalie Jamis Fite.

The Shockers took the lead in the 11th minute as Pedro Espindola dispossessed Hartford City’s Griffin Tomas at midfield, then drove down the right flank before crossing a ball into the box that was missed by Fite and directed off Filippo Bellù into the back of the net.

New York, who was the defending North Atlantic Tournament Champions and knocked off Hartford City in last year’s semifinals, proceeded to sit in defensively and absorb pressure from the Colts, only going forward on a rare counterattack.

This allowed Hartford City to expand their point of attack, often utilizing Evan Southern on the left wing to stretch the Shockers’ defense, with Tomas sitting in behind him, to either drive at defenders or whip in crosses. Despite earning several corners and set pieces in the first half, the Colts only had a few shots on target in the first half. Two of them came from midfielder Patrick Osiecki, both of which were saved by Shockers’ goalie Ryan Henning.

The hosts earned a lifeline ten minutes before halftime when the referee called a handball on New York’s Connor DeFilippis, after Southern was played in behind by Tomas and his cross struck the arm of the Shockers defender. Matt McGonigle stepped up to the spot and coolly dispatched the penalty kick past Henning to level the score.

That 1-1 score line would hold up through halftime but it didn’t take the Colts long into the second half to make more impact on the scoresheet.

From a throw-in in the 52nd minute, Henry Hamilton laid a ball off into the path of Osiecki, who proceeded to make a 25-yard run past five Shockers’ defenders before firing a shot past Henning to give Hartford City a 2-1 lead. It was the first goal of the season for the Naugatuck, Conn. native and would eventually prove to be the winning tally.

Almost immediately from the restart, the Shockers created their most threatening chance to equalize as Byron Stewart-Drysdale launched a ball over to the top to Anthony Rouse, who took it down and raced past the last Hartford City defender. But Fite came up with a crucial one-on-one stop well off his line to protect the hosts’ lead.

Understanding at the time that a one-goal advantage may not be enough on the night, Hartford City pressed for an insurance goal. They nearly got it in the 61st minute when Diego Zaffanella picked out Southern with a cross to the back post and Southern got a clean shot off from 12 yards out, only to see Henning parry the effort wide.

Over the remaining half hour, the Shockers kept piling on the pressure in their quest to keep their season alive but never forced a save out of Fite. The visitors’ final chance of the night came in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time when Adel Cekic floated in a free kick towards substitute Daniel Josepher, who got a great leap but couldn’t keep the headed effort on target, and the final whistle blew moments after.

— Writer Credit: JJ Duke

— Photo Credit: Phil Zolla

July 15 at 3:14 pm

HARTFORD CITY FALL SHORT IN A MIDWEEK TILT AT VALEO FC

Worcester, Mass. – In a tightly contested affair on Wednesday night, Hartford City FC (3-2-0, 9 points) came out on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision against Valeo FC (1-3-1, 4 points) at General Foley Stadium.

While the Colts maintained their second-place spot in the 2023 NPSL North Atlantic Conference standings despite the loss, Wednesday’s defeat was the second straight match that the club had dropped points after falling to Kingston Stockade FC 3-0 last Saturday.

It was a cagey first quarter of an hour, with the best chance from the two teams during this stretch came from Valeo’s Gabriel Padilla, as his strike from outside the box whistled by the near post in the 16^th minute. Hartford City thought they had opened the scoring in the 19^th minute when Griffin Tomas’ free kick from the right flank was headed home by Nick Hupe before he collided into Valeo’s goalie Marvyn Dorchin, but the referee whistled for a foul on the HCFC defender and negated the goal.

Those were the only two clear-cut scoring chances for either team during the first half but coming out of the halftime break, the hosts only needed a few minutes to break the deadlock. Valeo defender Abdul Barrie drilled a long ball from inside his own defensive third towards Padilla, who was able to beat a HCFC defender to the spot and then rounded Colts’ goalie Jamis Fite and slotted it away for the 1-0 lead.

Hartford City nearly leveled proceedings in the 59^th minute when Fite found Evan Southern down the left, who then played Christian Dionne in with a lovely through ball but his quick snap-shot was saved by the feet of Dorchin. The Colts’ journey to try and even the score took a turn for the worst three minutes after when Jake Williams saw his second yellow card after a late tackle, reducing HCFC to ten men.

Southern, after assisting on a pair of goals in the first meeting between the squads back on May 24^th, hit a well-struck free kick from 25 yards out in the 67^th minute, only to see Dorchin slide over to his near post to make the save. Moments later, Valeo nearly doubled their lead from a long-distance strike that just sailed over the crossbar.

HCFC were reduced to nine men in the 68^th minute when Hupe was sent off for a straight red card when Valeo had a two on one break and the Colts defender fouled a man right outside the penalty box. Despite playing the last 20-plus minutes of the match down two players, Hartford City kept pressing for the equalizer and nearly got it in the 80^th minute when Southern drove around the back line and was in on goal, only once again to be denied by Dorchin from point blank range. But that was the closest Hartford City would come to scoring for the remainder of the match.

The two teams will meet for the third and final time this season on Sunday, June 11^th at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford. Kickoff for that match is at 2pm, with tickets now available by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. Sunday’s match will also be streamed on ElevenSports.com.

June 9 at 6:42 pm

COLTS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK IN A DOUBLE-MATCH WEEK AGAINST VALEO FC

Hartford, Conn. – After dropping points for the first time in the 2023 NPSL season last weekend, Hartford City FC (3-1-0, 9 points) will play their double-match week this week, a true home-and-home week, against Valeo FC (0-3-1, 1 point). The Colts will travel to Valeo on Wednesday June 7^th at 7pm before hosting their Bay State rivals on Sunday, June 11^th at 2pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Wednesday’s match at Valeo FC will be played at General Foley Stadium (305 Chandler Street, Worcester, MA, 01602). Please keep an eye to the Hartford City social media accounts for more information about the match.

Tickets for Sunday’s match at Trinity Health Stadium are available now by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. General Admission tickets are $10 and Children aged 12 and under can get in for free.

If you can’t make Sunday’s home match, a free live stream will be provided at ElevenSports.com by searching Hartford City FC, or you can find the link on our social media platforms.

LAST TIME OUT

For the first time this season and in over two calendar years, Hartford City FC lost an NPSL Regular Season match as they fell to Kingston Stockade 3-0 this past Saturday evening up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. It was the first time that the Colts hadn’t earned a result in a regular season match since May 22, 2021, a 1-0 loss to the New York Shockers. Saturday’s loss not only ended that 20-match unbeaten run but it also saw the Colts drop to second place in the North Atlantic Conference standings.

Kingston came out swinging early as they scored twice inside the first 25 minutes. Both goals came from Daniel D’Ippolito, with his first goal coming in the 11^th minute after being played in on a Jacob Shulman through ball and slotted it past HCFC goalie Jamis Fite. The second goal came in the 25^th minute from Hugo Guerra’s assist, and after the first half ended 2-0 to Stockade FC, the Fordham midfielder would go on to secure his hat-trick, his second of the season, in the 56^th minute.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENTS: VALEO FC

Valeo FC started their 2023 NPSL campaign with a three-match homestand and dropped all three of those games. One of those losses came at the hands of Hartford City, as the Colts got a pair second-half goals en route to a 2-0 victory. The goals came from each Matt McGonigle and Jake Williams and both were assisted by Evan Southern.

Valeo did pick up their first point of the season on Sunday with a 2-2 draw at Syracuse FC in a back-and-forth affair. After Syracuse scored the opening goal in the 36^th minute, Marcus Viera leveled the score in the 65^th minute from the penalty spot. Syracuse converted a penalty kick of their own in the 86^th minute, which they thought would be enough to earn them the win, but Valeo’s Taj Jensen scored in the 90^th minute to give the Massachusetts club a 2-2 draw. Valeo will be looking to sharpen up their defense as they’ve conceded a Conference-high 11 goals from four matches, and are one of just six teams in the entire East Region to have already allowed double-digit goals in the first half of the regular season.

June 6 at 11:28 pm

COLTS TO WRAP UP MAY SLATE WITH A DOUBLE-MATCH WEEK

Hartford, Conn. – After a week off from the 2023 NPSL season-opening 2-1 win over Syracuse FC on May 14, Hartford City FC (1-0-0, 3 points) will play twice in the coming week. First up, the Colts will travel to Worcester, Mass. on Wednesday, May 24^th to take on Valeo FC (0-2-0, 0 points) at 7pm. Then, HCFC will welcome the New York Shockers (1-1-1, 4 points) to the Trinity Health Stadium on Saturday, May 27^th, with kickoff of that match also set for 7pm.

MATCH INFORMATION

Wednesday’s match at Valeo FC will be played at General Foley Stadium (305 Chandler Street, Worcester, MA, 01602). Please keep an eye to the Hartford City social media accounts for more information about the match.

Tickets for Saturday’s match at Trinity Health Stadium are available now by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com. General Admission tickets are $10 and Children aged 12 and under can get in for free. 2023 Hartford City FC Season tickets are also available now, also being sold by searching Hartford City FC on Soccerstub.com

If you can’t make Saturday’s home match, a free live stream will be provided at ElevenSports.com by searching Hartford City FC, or you can find the link on our social media platforms.

LAST TIME OUT

Hartford City opened the 2023 NPSL season on Mother’s Day with a 2-1 victory over Syracuse FC. After a scoreless first half despite HCFC dominating possession, the Colts broke through early in the second half with a pair of goals inside of three minutes. Cooper Knecht scored the opener in the 50^th minute after a corner wasn’t cleared out by Syracuse and Knecht headed home Patrick Osiecki’s cross. Just a few minutes later, the hosts doubled the lead when Matt McGonigle connected onto Griffin Tomas’ cross with a diving header from six yards out. Syracuse got a goal back just after the hour mark when Cody Green got in behind and slotted one past HCFC ‘keeper Jamis Fite, but that would be all the scoring on the afternoon.

The result extended Hartford City’s unbeaten NPSL Regular Season match streak to 16 straight, as the last time the Colts lost a Regular Season contest was back on June 5^th, 2021. Also HCFC have won all three matches against Syracuse FC by the same 2-1 score line.

ABOUT OUR OPPONENTS: VALEO FC

It hasn’t been the start to the 2023 NPSL season that Valeo FC would have hoped for as the club have lost both of their matches so far this season. Their first match was at home on May 13^th against New York Shockers and after Valeo’s Gabriel Padilla tied the score at 1-1 in the 51^st minute, the Shockers went on to score twice to take all three points. Last Saturday, Valeo lost a wild 3-2 match at home against Kingston Stockade where Stockade FC would have leads of 1-0 in the first half and 2-1 in the second half, but Valeo struck quickly each time after going behind. The first being Matthew Bell scoring after a long throw into the box in the 33^rd minute and the second Valeo goal coming in the 71^st minute on an own-goal. But Kingston’s Daniel D’Ippolito, who scored the previous two goals for his squad, wrapped up his hat trick in the final quarter-hour to keep Valeo out of the win column.

Valeo FC are coming off their second consecutive season of making the postseason, as they finished second in the North Atlantic Conference with a 5-2-3 record but like Hartford City, they hosted a Conference Tournament semifinal match but bowed out of the competition at that stage with a loss to Cedar Stars FC. Returning from the squad last year is Matthew Bell, who registered eight goals last season

ABOUT OUR OPPONENTS: NEW YORK SHOCKERS

After reaching the North Atlantic Conference Tournament Final last season, the New York Shockers season got off to a slow start with 1-0 loss to Kingston Stockade on May 6^th, giving up an early goal to Stockade’s Michael Corbi and couldn’t find their way back. The Shockers bounced back after that opening day defeat with a 3-1 victory over Valeo FC on May 13. Filippo Beliu scored twice inside the first 15 minutes in the second half, the latter of the two being the game-winner on the hour mark, before Jackson Leon’s goal inside the final five minutes secured all three points. Last weekend in rainy conditions, the team played to a 0-0 draw with Syracuse FC despite the ever-present danger men of Adetayo Adefioye, who earned All-Conference Best XI honors last year, and Pedro Espindola each having a handful of chances to break the deadlock throughout the match, but both teams shared the points.

May 25 at 2:15 pm

HARTFORD CITY’S SEASON COMES TO AN END AT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

July 14 at 12:50 pm

COLTS CAP OFF AN UNBEATEN REGULAR SEASON WITH 3-1 WIN

July 10 at 11:00 am

Hartford City Football Club Announces Henkel Sponsorship

The Hartford City Football Club have teamed up with Henkel USA to announce their sponsorship. The club announced an agreement with the iconic consumer goods company, whose North American Headquarters presence is located in the both the Rocky Hill and Stamford Connecticut area.

The Henkel Word Mark will be featured prominently on the front of the club’s jerseys and the brand Loctite will be featured on the sleeve beginning with the upcoming 2022 regular season, which kicked off at Trinity Health Stadium on March 22, 2022, against Oyster Bay United. (more…)

May 10 at 4:29 pm

A PAIR OF SECOND HALF STRIKES LIFTS HARTFORD CITY TO OPENING DAY VICTORY

Kingston, N.Y. – Second half goals from Alec Hughes and Tim Ennin were enough to lift Hartford City FC to an Opening Day 2-1 road victory over their North Atlantic Conference rivals Kingston Stockade FC on Saturday night.

In front of a raucous home crowd at Dietz Stadium, Kingston were able to give them something to cheer about early on as Scott Zobre pounced on a loose clearance in the Hartford defensive third and slotted home a right-footed finish, giving them a 1-0 lead in the 11^th minute.

The turning point in the match came in the 31^st minute as after another Hartford turnover in their own half, Kingston’s Vinny Colantuono was sent through on goal, only to be denied by a brilliant 1-on-1 save by HCFC’s keeper Jamis Fite. (more…)

May 10 at 12:44 pm

HARTFORD CITY KICK OFF 2022 NPSL SEASON WITH A ROAD TRIP TO KINGSTON

Hartford, CT – After a historic 2021 season where Hartford City FC won the NPSL North Atlantic Conference Championship, the Colts will begin their 2022 league campaign on Saturday, May 7 as they hit the road to face an all-too familiar foe, Kingston Stockade FC. Kickoff at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, NY is set for 6pm.

A LOOK BACK AT AN UNFORGETTABLE 2021

Hartford City took a major step forward in club history last season by winning both the North Atlantic Conference Regular Season title with a 6-2-2 record, and the Conference Playoff tournament after successive home victories against Valeo FC in the Semifinals and Kingston in the Final. (more…)

May 9 at 6:45 pm

Sporting Hartford Partnership

March 18th, 2021. Hartford City Football Club has extended an offer of professional affiliation with Sporting Hartford Football Club. We believe that both organizations share similar visions and core values as it relates to the sport of soccer in the Greater Hartford community. Each club has much to gain in both sporting and business with the alignment of our two clubs.

The affiliation is effective immediately and will focus on:
• Identification and sharing of local talent
• Match and training opportunities for both clubs
• Promotion of brands

Together we believe the partnership strengthens our clubs, the soccer community within Hartford, and a greater experience to all on and off the field.

May 5 at 4:53 pm

Hartford City Football Club Names Nick Balistierri as Head Coach

Hartford, CT – Today the club announces the hiring of new head coach Nick Balistierri for the upcoming 2019 National Premier Soccer League season.

From 2016-2018 Balistierri has served as the First Assistant to Hartford City, helping the club achieve consecutive conference playoff appearances. Over those two seasons, Balistierri has been instrumental in building the club profile and shaping the sporting direction.

Prior to the club, Balistierri was on staff at the Oakwood Soccer Club, coaching on the boys US Soccer Development Academy. A native of Glastonbury, he’s very attune to the local soccer environment. His soccer roots run deep in the state having played and coached at every level Connecticut Junior Soccer Association has had to offer. After finishing youth soccer, Balistierri played at Bryant University, then returned home to begin his coaching career.

“Through an extensive coaching search, Nick demonstrated himself as the right fit for our club and its potential in the upcoming season,” said Aaron Sarwar, owner of Hartford City FC. “Most importantly, we’re excited to have continuity building our roster as we start this next chapter for HCFC.”

“I am humbled to lead Hartford City FC into 2019,” Balistierri said. “I would like to thank Aaron Sarwar for giving me this opportunity to continue growing the club’s vision and building a legacy for the club, city and the community.

I have been fortunate to have been part of the staff these past two seasons in front the most passionate supporter groups, Agents of Hale, and I am absolutely thrilled to further represent what local soccer talent has to offer our community every week. This club is building something special that can’t be created overnight, it has to be earned.”

Balistierri takes the reigns of the club after the departure of Christian Benjamin, who served as HCFC’s head coach from 2016-2018.

Hartford City will be hosting a public meet and greet with Nick, his staff and players at Bar5 in downtown Hartford on Saturday April 13th. The event will kickoff at 3:00 PM.

April 23 at 3:14 am

Hartford City Football Club Announces New Home Stadium for 2019

Hartford, CT – The past two season have seen the Hartford City Football Club play at Central Connecticut State University located in New Britain. While the school has serviced the club well since the team first started playing, growth and desire from the fan base made exploring new venues a priority. A decision to move in the off-season was made to re-locate the home stadium to University of Hartford.

The official announcement took place on campus “We’re very excited to be announcing this at the University where we will be playing, it’s a big milestone for our club,” said Director of Football Nick Balistierri. “We’ve been looking to play closer to the capital city in a top-notch stadium and to be here makes it even more special.”

As a Hartford and Connecticut team, there’s an importance for Hartford City to play closer to the community it represents, paying homage to the rich history and traditions of the state, while simultaneously being an agent of change, and ultimately, a symbol of Greater Hartford.

Welcome to Hartford Colts! Now in its sixth decade, the University of Hartford sits proudly on a 350-acre main campus that includes parts of Hartford, West Hartford, and Bloomfield, Conn. It provides a beautifully landscaped vista with grassy expanses and wooded areas with a branch of the Park River winding through it.

Yousuf Al-Marzook Field, dedicated in 1977, is home to the men’s and women’s soccer teams. The complex, located behind the Reich Family Pavilion, includes an all-turf field lined for both soccer and lacrosse. It sports permanent grandstands with a total capacity of 2,500 and fully automated scoreboard.

You can find out more about the University of Hartford Academics and athletics Hartford Hawks Athletics

Single-match tickets will are available now and fans can purchase 2019 season tickets. Hartford City’s clash with conference rival Boston City takes place on Saturday, April 27th as the home opener to the 2019 season. The match will be live-streamed on the team’s Facebook page.

March 29 at 5:04 pm

Protagonist Soccer Outlook on the Colts and the rest of the Atlantic North Conference

Check out Protagonists Soccer’s 2019 outlook on the North Atlantic Conference. How good will the Colts be? Read to find out!

Protagonistsoccer.com North-Atlantic Conference Preview

March 13 at 2:23 pm

NPSL Announces the 2019 Schedule

The 2019 NPSL regular season it out! Last week the NPSL released its North Atlantic Conference schedule for 2019, and Hartford City FC will open the regular season Saturday, April 27th home against Boston City FC. The boys in navy and gold will march through the regular season schedule which runs through July 6th, with the conference and regional playoffs starting mid July.

In the NPSL, the Colts will play the Brooklyn Italians, NY Cosmos, Rhode Island Reds FC, New York Athletic Club, Greater Lowell Rough Diamonds, Kingston Stockade FC and Boston City FC. Follow the Colts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on player signings, preseason matches and more! @hartfordcity_fc and @hartfordcityfc

March 12 at 2:13 am

FC Cincinnati Drafts Dally

Chicago, IL – FC Cincinnati got the second day of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft underway by selecting Rashawn Dally with the first pick of the third round (No. 39), a midfielder from Quinnipiac and Hartford City FC.

Dally represents the first MLS draft pick Hartford City has had. He is the second player who’s played for the team who has been drafted. Last year Andre Morrison was selected 69th overall in the 2018 SuperDraft and apperaed for the Colts in the 2018 NPSL Season.

“We wish Rashawn all the success in the future!” said Director of Football Nick Balistierri. “We’ve structured the sporting aspect of our club to give players like Dally a place to develop their talents to realize their dreams. Though he was only with us one season, he’ll always be a Colt to us and our fan base.”

For more information on FC Cincinnati’s draft pick please out this article https://www.fccincinnati.com/post/2019/01/14/one-selected-final-rounds-2019-mls-superdraft

January 28 at 12:07 am

MLS invites 60 players to 2019 Player Combine – Hartford City FC Dally Represents the NPSL

Hartford, CT – Each year sixty players across the country are invited to showcase their abilities at the MLS combine. This year Colts fans have some added interest in following as Rashawn Dally has been called into the combine. For a more in-depth analysis check out the NPSL and MLS articles below!

Dally Represents Hartford City FC At MLS Player Combine

MLS invites initial group of 60 players to 2019 Combine

Follow Hartford City on Facebook or Instagram for all the latest!

Photo Credit: Alex Serbetzian

January 7 at 10:45 pm

Head Coach Christian Benjamin Resigns

Hartford, CT (December 31, 2018) – Hartford City Football Club has announced today that Head Coach Christian Benjamin will be stepping down from the club.

“I’m proud of what we have accomplished these past two seasons,” said owner Aaron Sarwar. “We are fully supportive of Christian and his decision to pursue a new opportunity.” As the inaugural coach, Benjamin led his teams to two consecutive playoff appearances and a combined record of 11-6-5. With a strong foundation in place, the club has to now look forward. A manager will be appointed this winter as a thorough recruitment process is conducted for a new coach.

As the year comes to an end, the club wants to thank Christian and his family for his time at Hartford City. We wish him well and success in his future.

January 4 at 10:03 pm

Weekend Warriors, Colts finish off the Road Stand

Hartford, CT. – June provided a particular challenge for Hartford Colts, with four straight away fixtures and back-to-back matches on the 16th and 17th. On Saturday the team traveled to New York Athletic Club and Sunday to Greater Lowell NPSL.

On Saturday, the Colts opened up the match with a first half goal by Luke Alvaro (Somers, CT) with a tidy finish, from a Mark Grant (Coventry, CT) through ball. NYAC proved to be especially dangerous on set pieces, throughout the match, ultimately equalizing in the second half.

Finishing chances came one after the other for Hartford, throughout the game, but the Colts couldn’t produce. It wasn’t until a 50 yard through ball across the field by Paulinton Johnson (Hartford, CT) found a striding Mark Grant who slipped one by the NYAC goal keeper to put the Colts ahead 2-1. Heartbreak ensued as the Colts gave up the equalizer no less than two minutes later in the 88th minute from a rebound which Hami Kara (Wethersfield, CT) produced a full extension save initially on.

The next day, Hartford traveled up to Lowell for the second fixture on the weekend a bit weary from Saturday. Opening goal Deja Vu occurred, as the chemistry between Luke Alvaro and Mark Grant continued producing another goal. Alvaro would find the net again in the 2nd half, followed by game sealing finish by Andrew Geres (Portland, CT).

“Sometimes you just have to push through scheduling challenges,” said Head Coach Christian Benjamin “This weekend we took four out of six possible points on the road and I think any team would be happy with those results.” Indeed the Colts were happy as both NYAC and Greater Lowell respectively sat in 3rd and 4th in the table right behind the Colts. Securing those four points could mean the difference between securing a playoff bid and missing out.

The Colts return to action Saturday the 23rd at home versus the Rhode Island Reds.

June 22 at 4:39 pm

Boston Brace hands Hartford first loss

Malden, MA. – Last year’s playoff rematch between your Hartford City Colts and Boston City Lions was featured as the NPSL National Game of the Week. Full NPSL media coverage, can be read here.

Hartford was handed it first loss of the season, while Boston found its first win. Going into the fixture Boston had it’s season on the ropes with only 1 point and Hartford look poised to stay level with the NY Cosmos.

Energy and intensity was high from kickoff, Boston came flying out. Hartford looked overwhelmed in the first few minutes as Boston sent forward seven to eight players in each attacking sequence. After the midfield and forwards adjusted defensively, the Colts became poised. A strike by Sebastian Stezeswki (New Britain, CT) ricocheted off the cross bar in the 10th minute, was just one of the numerous scoring chances that alluded the Colts all evening.

An early set piece at the beginning of the second half, afforded a Boston service in the box, which Hartford was unable to handle. A clearance went astray to Boston’s Jimenez, for him to finish one past goalkeeper Carson D’Ambrosio (Andover, CT). Finding themselves in unfamiliar territory, the Colts were down for the first time all season. They continued to push for the equalizer, creating chances that either were saved, sought out by the Lion’s defense or just went wide.

The second Boston goal of the half, came at the hands of Addai in the 80th minute, which cemented the victory for the Lions. Hartford for the first time all season couldn’t find the back of the net. Not even second half substitution and last year’s playoff hero, Paulinton Johnson (Hartford, CT) could bring the Colts back level.

Hartford City returns to NPSL action next weekend with two road fixtures against New York Athletic Club on Saturday and Greater Lowell on Sunday. As always, you can follow the game via twitter or logon onto our Facebook page for the livestream of the match.

June 22 at 4:19 pm

Moxie in Maine, Hartford has it

Portland, ME. – Each week provides a new challenge within the NPSL, this week your Colts traveled to their farthest away fixture of 2018. Maine’s perennial soccer powerhouse, Seacoast United Mariners was the match up, a side that can never be overlooked.

Hartford’s lineup featured some fresh faces in the starting group, Lamar Chancey (Meriden, CT), Rashawn Dally (Bloomfield, CT) and Quentin Lux (Plainville, CT) made their first career starts for the boys in Navy and Gold.

From the beginning of the match, Hartford City looked to be in control, holding majority of possession while creating multiple chances. Seacoast deployed a very compact defensive structure, with a line of pressure starting at midfield and looking to counter Hartford whenever they could. Breaking down the Mariners didn’t come easy throughout the half, as space in the final third was typically filled with ten players. Patience eventually paid off as Ryan Taylor (South Windsor, CT), was able to gain some separation from his defender and finish an opportunity from the left side.

In the second half, the Mariners maintained their defensive structure, attempting to prevent a second goal. Patience paid off yet again for Hartford as second half substitute, Riley Strassner (Avon, CT) was able to pull off a beautiful shot that found its way into the side netting, giving Hartford a 2-0 lead inside the final fifteen minutes of play. Hartford would maintain their two goal lead to seal the match.

The result takes Hartford City FC to 4-0-0 on the season and sees them maintain their second place position in the table. The Colts remain just 3 points behind the league leading New York Cosmos, with a game in hand. Next week the Colts will again be on the road, facing Boston City FC in a rematch of last year’s instant classic, first round playoff game. Fans interested in traveling can make the trip to Brother Gilbert Stadium in Malden, MA or watch the live stream broadcast.

June 6 at 3:17 am

Hartford focused towards upcoming Fixtures

Hartford, CT. – Looking back at the month of May, any club would be happy with the results the Colts have produced. Two home and one away match has yielded the full 9 points against three very strong sides. The identity of the team is beginning to form and a style of play is emerging. We can expect to see a few things from this squad.

1. The bench is deep.

2. A high tempo offense.

3. Breakdowns in the back will not come easily.

Coach Benjamin has utilized almost every substitution available in each match. The production of 8 goals has come from 5 players. Clearly this team is deep in multiple positions, creating a challenge that most coaching staffs do not have the luxury of. It will be interesting to see how the squad changes from match to match based on player production.

If you’ve been watching the Colts play this year, its evident that the attacking possessions can be developed in multiple ways. From wing backs to the front line, the Colts bring numbers forward. The front three are athletic and dangerous running at opposition. While the goal production hasn’t directly come from the front three, they’re creating the chances for the rest of team to finish and are poised to break out.

Conversely the defense is again a source of strength for Hartford. Two of the three goals given up have come from penalties, something you don’t like to see. The positive news is that the back line is not getting broken down in the run of play. Finding spaces in between the center backs or the flanks is a challenge for opponents. Hartford is physical and imposing, expect the trend to continue.

Momentum is building heading into June, however the Colts will be tested with a three game NPSL road trip, facing Seacoast United, Boston City and New York Athletic Club. Anything could happen in this league, so if Hartford can produce the same level of play from May, the club should be in a comfortable position within the table.

To follow the Colts on the road, please check our Twitter, Facebook and website schedule page for live updates and streaming from the matches. “Let’s Go You Colts!”

May 29 at 7:35 pm

Hartford Advances Past Stockade

New Britain, CT. – Last year’s rematch of the Atlantic White Conference Championship between your Hartford City Colts and the Kingston Stockade did not disappoint this weekend.

Mark Grant opened the game up with a run through the final third, combining with Luke Alvaro and slotting home a shot in the 7th minute. Both teams continued the half attempting to break each other down with no avail. Midway through the half Kingston saw their best opportunity, a corner which dropped inside the six yard box, headed towards goal only to be saved by Hami Kara. The ensuing rebound shots were cleared away by the Hartford City defense.

Eventually, Kingston was able to capitalize in the first half when a shot was deflected to forward Mateusz Koziol within the box, who was able to finish the chance. With a halftime score of 1-1, nobody could anticipate the flurry of drama which would ensue in the next half.

In the 64th minute Connor Archambault was taken down in the box and Hartford was awarded a penalty. Andre Morrison stepped to the spot and converted the chance to increase Hartford’s lead 2-1. As the half continued, Hartford began to open up the game. Super substitute Sebastian Stezewski, building upon his last weeks performance, tallied another goal in the 74th minute after making a beautiful run that started from the center of midfield. With a 3-1 scoreline in favor of the Colts, a series of challenges and altercations saw multiple players on both teams receive yellow cards. In the 89th minute, a challenge by Hartford City resulted in a penalty for the Stockade, which was converted by Juan Parada. It was little too late, as the Colts saw out the remaining stoppage time to collect the win and improve to 3-0-0.

The Colts take to the road for the next two NPSL matches before returning to Connecticut for June 10th, when they take on the Providence City FC Rogues.

Photo Credit: Instagram @sirserb

May 27 at 5:33 pm

Rogues Coming to Hartford

Hartford, CT. – The capital city of Rhode Island is sending their finest, Providence City FC, to Hartford on Sunday June 10th. Known as the “Rogues”, Providence City FC currently plays in the Bay State League and Football Alliance 1. They have quickly established themselves as a competitive side for any opponent and present a unique challenge to the Colts.

“We’ve heard buzz around New England soccer about this group” commented Hartford’s Director of Football Nick Balistierri. “Our fans want to see more of our team during the season, especially against quality sides.” Balistierri recognizes that “Both clubs connect philosophically, with focusing their efforts through community building and bringing the football culture to the capital cities of their respective states.”

This match will be the first time the Rogues and Colts meet. For the Colts, its the only Sunday Home Fixture and only match at Clem Lemire Field. “We hope this partnership extends into the future and off the pitch, we support Providence City FC.”

For more details on the Rogues, check out their website. Match kickoff is 6PM, be there early to share in some pregame activities with our favorite friends the Agents of Hale.

May 24 at 7:49 pm

Colts take the Win in Brooklyn

Brooklyn, NY. – The Hartford Colts took to the road this past weekend to play against a formidable Brooklyn Italians side. Both clubs secured playoff berths in the prior season with ambitions this year to replicate the same success.

For the first fifteen minutes of the match, the Colts looked a bit heavy-legged, but eventually settled in. The squad featuring a group similar to the prior week, with a lone change of James Thompkins (CCSU) in the back four. As the half progressed, the Colts began getting the better run of play as both teams created counter after counter attack chances. Eventually the deadlock was broken by a Xahne Reid (U. Hartford) header off a service.

During the second half, Hartford City was able to impose themselves even more on the home side. With substitutions of Rashawn Dally (Quinnipiac), Riley Strassner (Georgetown) and Sebastian Stezewski (SNHU), the three were able to raise the level of play. Two goals finished by Stezewski (Pictured Above) in the last 15 minutes were orchestrated by delightful midfield passing sequences.

After the third goal, it was a foregone conclusion that Hartford City would be leaving Brooklyn with three points and momentum towards their next match. The Colts will play next week, Saturday May 26th 7PM at Home against the Kingston Stockade.

Photo Credit: Instagram @sirserb

May 23 at 4:15 pm

Armstrong Rockwell Returns as Hartford City FC Title Sponsor

Hartford, CT. – Hartford City FC is pleased to announce our Title Sponsor for the 2018 season, Armstrong Rockwell Watches & Fine Jewelry. We share our passion for the world’s greatest sport with a business that has equal passion for the world’s most luxurious and exclusive timepieces and fine jewelry.

The club recently presented Armstrong Rockwell with the 2018 primary kit. Owner Al Armstrong (picture) expressed “Our experience last year with Hartford City FC was amazing for my business and family. We had to be a part of it again.” Armstrong explained that “The level of engagement the club demonstrated towards youth community soccer, local business and community pride are the same values he shares and cares deeply for.” When asked about expectations for the upcoming season, on a personal level, Al is looking forward to “Meeting new friends and cheering alongside fans of HCFC.” He hopes the fans who have grown to learn about the gem of a local professional soccer team, will grow to learn more about his brand and products.

Armstrong Rockwell is located on 150 Trumbull Street, Hartford, CT, servicing its customers globally for over 40 years in downtown Hartford. For more information check out their website and mention the Hartford Colts when you stop in.

Photo Credit: Instagram @sirserb