Hartford host Louisville City at Trinity Health Stadium on Friday night, the first of two games in nine days against the USL Championship blue bloods, as the two teams will also meet in the USL Cup final on October 4.

Hartford had something close to a week off for the first time in nearly a month, as it had played seven games between August 29th and last Saturday’s trip to Las Vegas. It was a tough run, but Hartford came through it without a loss, picking up 14 points from six league fixtures and winning the USL Cup semifinal over Colorado Springs into the bargain. In fact, Hartford are now unbeaten in 10, the longest such stretch in club history and have racked up more points over that run than any team in the Championship outside of red-hot El Paso Locomotive.

Hartford’s latest result, a road point in Las Vegas, wasn’t exactly pretty, but it kept the streak going, and moved them that much closer to the possibility of a first home playoff game since 2020. The Latics currently sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, and control their own destiny in the race for fourth, although their upcoming scheduling features more tough matches against Louisville City, Pittsburgh, Charleston and Rhode Island. 

Getting through that stretch of games, and getting one last good result in Las Vegas was a certain amount of validation for Burke and his technical staff, especially after the struggles of the first half of the season. And as Burke emphasized when speaking to the media on Thursday, it’s also a credit to the players, who’ve survived and thrived under pressure in part because of what they’ve built off the pitch.

“We rotated very heavily,  as heavily as I've seen a team do at this level and we did it successfully. So I'm just generally proud of our culture and the environment that they [the players] create every day for each other. And the fact that you see guys hanging out on the field long after practice, they're supportive of each other in every way. And we try to be that way as a staff too. And I think that helps you get results.”

It’s hard to argue with that claim at this juncture. Hartford’s results of late have been excellent, even as it has been forced to play a variety of different lineups and manage minutes for a number of players. And while the mood around a team can change at a moment’s notice with the wrong results at the wrong time, there’s no denying that right now, Hartford are feeling good.

As for Saturday’s opponent, Hartford’s home record against Louisville under Burke is much better than their road record. In three games at Lynn Family Stadium, the Latics have been outscored 8-0 as City have won all three. In two games at Trinity Health Stadium, Hartford have a win and a draw. It’s a significant difference, although Burke doesn’t put it all down to homefield advantage, pointing to health and form as key contributors as well.

“What’s interesting to me, and we'll see how it goes, but we've gone to them every year for the last three years at a either a really high, high for them or at a time where we were so banged up that we were just trying to survive the day," he said. "I think when we've seen them at home, we've been in better shape from a roster selection standpoint.”

And right now, Hartford are in one of those periods where it's in good shape from a roster selection standpoint. Only Samuel Careaga and Arturo Ordonez are likely to be completely unavailable for Friday night, with every other player able to contribute. It gives Burke the freedom to decide exactly how to attack this game, a critical development given the overall advantages that City enjoy.

Those advantages are part of what have made City the poster children for the league, as they have more success – four finals, two league titles, two Player’s Shields – than any other team. They’re also what make City the model that Burke aspires to emulate, something he emphasized again on Thursday.

“I look at their infrastructure, their resources, the way they travel, everything is a class above most of the league and I think that helps them get results when things aren't going well. I want us to have that feeling, like we've had over the last 10 games. I want us to have that feeling all year, every year. That's that's my goal for the technical side of our own organization.”

Reaching that goal is for the future, and will require an organization-wide effort, not just one from the technical side. For now, though, there’s Friday night; the first of two opportunities to prove themselves against the league’s most successful team.