Hartford Athletic broke their scoring drought with two goals on Saturday night, downing Detroit City to claim all three points. Samuel Careaga and Arturo Diz Pe were the goalscorers as the Latics found their first goals since March. It was also a 100th league win for Brendan Burke, spread across his time with Philadelphia Union II, Colorado Springs Switchbacks and now Hartford Athletic.

Another rainy night led to a somewhat drab opening stretch to the game, as the clubs combined for zero shots through the first twenty-five minutes. If Brendan Burke was hoping that the first fifteen minutes would illuminate his team’s progress, it mostly just showed that it was raining and Detroit are a difficult opponent to break down. And the rain certainly impacted the game, with both teams suffering from more than a few miskicks as the ball skidded on the slick turf.

Things began to liven up as the half progressed, with a flurry of activity following the 25th  minute. First, Kobe Hernandez-Foster had a shot from close range easily saved by Antony Siaha, and then at the other end of the pitch, Samuel Careaga unleashed from range, with Carlos Herrara doing well to parry the ball away from danger.

Hartford then had their most dangerous opportunity of the first half, when they forced a turnover in a very dangerous area. Michee Ngalina beat his man down the left-hand side and pulled the ball back across the box. Sebastian Anderson fluffed the first chance, but the ball ran on for Barry Coffey, and Herrara had to be extremely alert to close down the Hartford midfielder and deny the chance.

The second half started a bit more brightly than the first with both keepers having to be alert inside the first five minutes of the second stanza. Things continued in a brighter fashion, and Hartford finally found a goal in the 59th minute. A long throw from Anderson was headed on by Arturo Diz Pe with the ball falling to Samuel Careaga just outside the box. The midfielder unleashed a venomous shot which took a wicked deflection leaving Herrera stranded as the ball nestled in the top corner. It was the first goal for the Latics since March 28.

Hartford had two good chances to double their lead thereafter, with second-half substitutes Junior Moreira and Augustine Williams both having shots blocked from very close range.

And it looked like Hartford had perhaps been made to pay for those missed chances when Diz Pe put the ball into his own net in the 84th minute. A Detroit corner was flicked on at the near post, and Diz Pe could only head it past Siaha to give the visitors an equalizer. It was the second own goal Diz Pe has scored since he came to Hartford, tying Joe Farrell and Nikolai Lyngo for the most in club history.

But the defender redeemed himself with just one minute left in regulation, when he sent a looping header past Herrara. Matt Real sent in a deep corner, and Diz Pe beat everyone at the back post to get his head on the ball and restore Hartford’s lead.

Diz Pe became the first player in club history to score a goal, an own goal and record an assist in the same game. Kaveh Rad is the only player to have previously scored for and against Hartford in the same game, accomplishing that feat in the opening game of the 2023 season, a 5-3 loss to Monterey Bay. And Joe Farrell recorded an assist to go along with an own goal in a 3-2 win over Miami back in 2024. But no player had previously managed all three.

When the final whistle blew, it felt like a sigh of relief for Hartford. 13 points has Hartford well ahead of last season’s pace, but a month without goals had left everybody questioning whether things were on the right track. Two goals tonight are a hopeful sign, and Hartford will now head to a critical USL Cup fixture with Brooklyn FC with some renewed confidence.