Hartford Athletic moved to the top of Group 5 in the USL Cup with a dominant 4-1 win over NY Cosmos, setting themselves up to advance to the knockout rounds of the competition for the second straight year.
With Hartford's first four-goal performance since September of last year in the books, here are three thoughts on their most recent USL Cup group stage game.
1-Does four goals mean the attack is turning the corner?
Cosmos certainly have an atrocious defense under the best of circumstances, and given that they played down a man for over 70 minutes, it might be tempting to entirely dismiss Hartford’s four-goal outburst as a product of circumstance rather than a sign of improvement. However, even given the context, there were some encouraging signs for a Latics attack that has so far been underwhelming.
Augustine Williams’ opener was certainly in part a product of poor defending. Michee Ngalina’s cross slid in front of several defenders, and the keeper spilled an easy pickup. No Cosmos player reacted quickly, allowing first Barry Coffey and then Williams to hammer the ball goalward, with Williams ultimately finding the back of the net.
Simply calamitous from the Cosmos defense, right?
Not entirely. Before the game, Brendan Burke talked about intent, emphasizing that he wanted to see his attacking players shape their runs differently, driving towards the goal, rather than at the endline. The reasoning for this is very straightforward. When an attacking player cuts to the endline and looks to provide service, it allows the defenders to maintain their shape and cut out the incoming cross. When instead they drive at goal – as Ngalina did in the build-up to the opener – it changes the calculus for the defenders, who can’t simply let a dangerous player come at them with the ball at his feet.
It’s also true that Ngalina played the cross first time, rather than settling the ball at his feet. This is equally critical, because it doesn’t give the defenders time to react. His one-two with Samuel Careaga left two Cosmos defenders trailing, and the three green shirts in the box all collapsed towards Augustine Williams at the near post, drawn in by the quick cross. Williams’ flick was well saved but Coffey was lurking at the back post and probably should have slammed it home. Williams was quickest to react to the second rebound, and Hartford got their goal.
It’s a microcosm of things Hartford needs to keep doing well. The shape of Ngalina’s run, the first-time cross, but equally importantly, the extra players in the box. Whether Coffey scores there or not, that extra player is something that has simply been lacking from the Hartford attack so often in 2026. There’s been nobody at the back post, nobody making the late run, nobody crashing into the box to hammer home a second ball.
The second and third goals also illustrated this point. In both cases, a ball into the box wasn’t quite right for Williams, but another Hartford player was crashing in and capitalized on the opportunity. In the first instance, it was Coffey arriving on the edge of the box to fire home when Williams couldn’t quite bring the ball under control. In the second, it was Samadia with the run into the box that meant Diz Pe’s cross was inch-perfect, instead of being agonizingly out of the reach of Williams.
It will be harder in future. Cosmos have the worst defence in the top two tiers of the USL, and they were playing down a man. But those are the kinds of things Hartford simply have to do if they are going to get their attack fully on track as summer approaches.
2-Another week, another red card
Hartford have now had a man sent off in three consecutive games, with Samuel Careaga, Beverly Makangila and Antony Siaha all seeing red for a variety of infractions. Combined with Sadat Anaku’s red earlier in the season against RIFC, it’s fair to ask if there’s a larger disciplinary problem in Hartford this season.
The simple answer is probably not, but let’s dig in and see what we learn. Taking the most recent red card first, Siaha was only in that position because of a defensive breakdown. Hartford has largely avoided those kinds of calamitous situations this year, but there’s no real excuse for allowing an attacking player into that kind of space when you’re up a man.
And while Siaha does like a yellow card this was his first red card in his professional career, 110 appearances and nearly 10,000 minutes across all competitions. The Latics will want to avoid the scenario that left Siaha with limited options to deny Sebastian Guenzatti a clear look at goal, but the keeper is an unlikely candidate to get sent off again for something that happens during the run of play.
For Makangila, it was a fourth red card in all competitions since he joined Hartford, the most by a single player in club history, with no other player receiving more than one red. Now, Makingila does not appear to have a huge disciplinary problem. For example, he’s received a yellow card for every 363 minutes he’s played for Hartford, a number that is not particularly concerning. Of the 12 players who have accumulated at least 10 yellow cards in club history, seven have found their way into the referees book more frequently than the defensive midfielder
Where Makangila could perhaps show some improvement is in his judgement after receiving a caution. All of his red cards have come via way of receiving a second yellow, and the three such reds he has received in the USL Championship are only one away from the most all time (three players are tied on four dismissals for yellow card accumulation: Joe Farrell, Eric Calvillo and Robert Coronado).
Makangila’s dismissal against New Mexico was somewhat typical here: if he had a yellow card to give, it was a reasonable professional foul to break up a counter attack. With his name already in the book, it might have been wiser to let the play develop. At the same time, Hartford were trying to secure a point (and possibly push for three), and you have to be really sure that your teammates have the counterattack covered if you’re going to let the opposing player run on unimpeded. You can argue both sides of it but in any event, a little more caution might be warranted from a player who is a few early showers away from finding himself in the record books for an unwanted reason.
Careaga’s red is of course the least excusable, and Burke made clear after that game that he was disappointed in his number 10. Picking up a red in a scrum like that is difficult to excuse or justify, and the Argentinean midfielder will need to keep his cool in future. It’s only Careaga’s second-ever red card – the first coming back in 2023 when he was with Memphis – and he otherwise keeps his nose pretty clean, having picked up just 12 yellow cards in 101 professional appearances.
All in all, there’s probably not much to be concerned about here, with the red cards all coming for different reasons that don’t point to a single readily-identifiable cause. Nonetheless, Brendan Burke and company will be aiming to avoid any further situations where they play down a man and have the roster thinned though subsequent suspensions.
3-The brink of the knockout rounds
What a difference a month makes. After their penalty shoot-out loss to RIFC in the opening group game, Hartford looked down and out. Two games later, they’re in control of their group and can book their place in the knockout rounds with a win over Westchester on July 11.
Things have certainly broken Hartford’s way, with Portland shocking RIFC 2-1 at Fitzpatrick Stadium before being hammered 5-1 by Brooklyn at Maimonides Park. That pair of results turned the group upside down and cleared the way for the Latics to move to the top of the group if they took care of their own business.
And make no mistake, Hartford has taken care of its own business, scoring six times while conceding just once. The Latics also ran their record in the USL Cup to 7 wins, 3 draws and no regulation losses over the past two seasons. It feels like cheating to say they’re unbeaten as they’ve lost twice on penalties but the league records those games as draws, and so the Latics are technically unbeaten.
It’s a validation of Brendan Burke’s belief that the USL Cup is a competition that Championship clubs should prioritize. Long unbeaten streaks in the league are nice, but only truly matter if they come at the business end of the season. Go seven games unbeaten in the Cup, and you’ve got a trophy. Go ten games unbeaten, and you’re looking at going back to the knockout stages for a second consecutive year.
So now the calculus is simple. Beat Westchester, and Hartford are back in the quarterfinals. And with that round not taking place until mid-August, there’s also plenty of time for Brendan Burke’s squad to fully click into gear for another run at silverware.
