Hartford Athletic were selected to host the final of the 2026 USL Cup, with Louisville City as their opponents. The final will take place on Sunday, October 4 at 3 PM.

Both finalists will be targeting more silverware in October. While Hartford will be aiming to win back-to-back USL Cups, Louisville will be looking to add to a trophy cabinet that already includes two USL Championship titles (2017, 2018) as well as two Player's Shields (2024, 2025).

Hartford’s journey to their second consecutive USL Cup final began when it opened play with a nil-nil draw against RIFC before losing in a penalty shootout. The Latics rebounded from this to win the remainder of their group games, beating Brooklyn FC 2-0, New York Cosmos 4-1 and Westchester SC 2-1. Drawn against League One Charlotte in the quarterfinals, they went four goals to the good, and then survived a late fightback to triumph 4-2, and then downed Colorado Springs Switchbacks 2-1 in last night’s semifinal.

Louisville City were winners of Group 4, where they beat League One opponents Fort Wayne and Union Omaha 3-1 and 5-1 respectively, before a nil-nil draw against Detroit City (with the bonus point for a penalty shootout win), rounding things out with a 4-2 win in El Bluegrassico over Lexington SC. Both of their knockout games have finished nil-nil, with City beating quarterfinal opponents Tampa Bay Rowdies and semifinal foes San Antonio SC on penalties.

The two teams will now play twice in a week, as they are scheduled for a league clash at Trinity Health Stadium on Friday, September 25, before meeting in the Cup final just nine days later. In an odd twist, it’s the second consecutive year that Hartford will see their Cup final opponent twice in quick succession, as it did the same against Sacramento last season, hosting Republic at Trinity Health just a week after defeating them on the road to lift the then-Jägermeister Cup.

Both teams will also need to have a fixture rescheduled, as Louisville were scheduled to travel to Jacksonville on Friday, October 2, while Hartford were supposed to host Charleston on Saturday, October 3. Makeup dates for these games have yet to be announced.

Hartford Athletic are back in action this coming Saturday, as they host Player’s Shield leaders Tampa Bay Rowdies in USL Championship action.