Hartford Athletic head down to Virginia to take on Loudoun United on Saturday night in USL Championship action.
It will be the 20th meeting all-time between the two clubs, the most times that Hartford have played any single opponent in their history. Of the previous 19 fixtures, Hartford have have one 12 and lost 5, with the teams drawing the two remaining games, including earlier this season at Trinity Health Stadium.
Last weekend, Hartford ground out another point on the road in Phoenix, keeping a clean sheet for the eighth time in the Championship. The Latics also failed to score for the tenth time in the league in 2026, as the Latics have played an incredible six nil-nil draws this year.
Manager Brendan Burke called the result “fantastic” given the circumstances, with Hartford missing Samuel Careaga, Michee Ngalina, Beverly Makangila, Arturo Diz Pe, Emmanuel Samadia, Sebastian Anderson and Matt Real from among their preferred 18-man gameday roster. With that number of key players missing, it would be easy to have low expectations for a game like Saturday’s, but Burke also acknowledged the need to pick up as many points as possible, regardless of the circumstances.
“We're at the midpoint in the season," he said. "So whether we have 20 guys available or 12 guys available, we have to attack these games and try to pick up points wherever we can.”
Burke had particular praise for his team’s defensive effort, an area where the team has continued to have success despite the plethora of injuries, with strong performances across the board backstopped by at truly elite season from goalkeeper Antony Siaha. To this point in the season, Hartford are conceding fewer goals per game than any other team in the entire Championshp, a fact that has kept their season afloat even as they struggle to find some goals.
“To keep a tenth clean sheet in 20 competitive games is just phenomenal. Our defenders are having elite seasons. Anto is having an elite season, but it's the 10 guys in front of him that are allowing him to just make those one or two outstanding saves in the game and the rest are pretty routine. And he makes some difficult stuff look routine too.”
Siaha is having a truly great season by any measure, with his eight clean sheets the most of any keeper in the league. And while clean sheets are truly a team effort, Siaha has had plenty to do to, making 3.6 saves per game (third most in the league) at an 80.6% save percentage, which is the best in the entire USL Championship. At midseason, there simply is no keeper in the league contributing more to his team than Siaha.
But as good as Hartford’s defending has been, it’s barely papering over the cracks caused by so many injuries, with Burke acknowledging that it’s been taking a toll on his team.
Away games – and all the travel that comes with it – add to the difficulty, as a depleted lineup can’t rotate as much as Burke might like, putting more wear and tear on the players who are available. And it requires some changes to how the team approaches the space between games.
“You have to change your training rhythms a little bit to allow for a little more recovery and rest. So days like today [Thursday] are a true tactical walkthrough. The guys didn't really touch a ball today and that's OK. It's OK to have that and long video sessions and things like that where you just take the day off the legs and do all the other things that are going to help you prepare and be organized for your next game. We've done a lot of that the last few weeks.”
That change in rhythm isn’t exactly desirable, but it is necessary under the circumstances, and it does also allow a new player like Michael Adedokun – who is in line to start on Saturday night – a chance to start understanding what’s required of him in Hartford’s tactical approach. And Hartford also need to reintegrate players who are returning to full health, with both Sadat Anaku and Adewale Obalola expected to play a bigger role this weekend, and Arturo Diz Pe, Beverly Makangila and Emmanuel Samadia all thought to be available for minutes as well. Those returns should hopefully counterbalance the absence of Augustine Williams, who is expected to miss this game after sustaining a concussion in training this week.
As for Saturday’s opposition, they currently sit next to the Latics in the Eastern Conference table, with Loudoun looking to make up a five-point difference between the two clubs and close on the playoff places. And while they are healthier than they were earlier in the season, with 2025 USL Championship Young Player of the Year Abdelatif Aboukoura having returned at the end of May, they’re still struggling for consistency at both ends of the pitch.
Prior to a 1-nil win over Indy Eleven last weekend – another team struggling for consistency – Loudoun hadn’t won in the USL Championship since the beginning of May, a stretch of seven games without claiming all three points. They do have goalscorers, with Aboukoura scoring three times in seven league games since his return, and Thor Ulfasson having nine goals in eighteen games across the league and USL Cup, and it’s there that the danger really lies on Saturday night.
"Those guys can both score a goal from nothing, from absolutely nothing,” said Burke of Aboukoura and Ulfarsson, “So it's really important that we put them under pressure on the other end of the field so those guys don't feature.”
Hartford have struggled to put other teams under pressure this season, and while they will have more top-level talent available on Saturday night than they have over the last few games, it might still be a tall order to really produce a great performance. Another point might be a good outcome and would certainly be a valuable one as the Latics look to maintain their position in the playoff race.
