HCFC news & events
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 4th 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 17th 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 34th 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 2nd 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 69th 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 13th 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 3rd 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 25th 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 58th 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 89th 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 120th minute, it was the Colts lifting the trophy at the end of the night as Conference Champions.
May 15 at 4:19 pm