After Controversy, Hartford Athletic Look to Bounce Back Against Colorado Springs
The Latics are targeting the playoffs and are in good form on the road as they head west
Following a week enveloped in controversy, Hartford Athletic are back in action on Saturday night as they take on Colorado Springs Switchbacks in USL Championship action. The Latics will be looking to continue their good away form, as they are currently on a streak of 11 games unbeaten in all competitions away from Trinity Health Stadium.
Last weekend’s game against Pittsburgh Riverhounds was halted early amid accusations that a Pittsburgh player had used a racial slur, which was later denied by both the player and his club. Statements from both clubs later in the week indicated that the league had investigated these claims and found that the allegation was unsubstantiated, although the league did not comment publicly, and did not respond to a request for comment.
The controversy aside, the result was disappointing for the Latics, who fell to a 2-1 defeat and missed out on a chance to solidify their place in the Eastern Conference standings. Hartford manager Brendan Burke emphasized that, over the 90 minutes, he thought Pittsburgh were the better team.
“We were a little bit outplayed I thought the other night in terms of just scrap, in terms of, you know, what Pittsburgh does well, win second balls and build the net and, you know, have a great structure,” he said. “So I thought they played very well and I didn’t think we played as well as we’re capable of.”
Burke’s critique of his team’s performance has merit, but it truly wasn’t an especially sour showing from the Latics. In fact, contrary to Burke’s comments, Hartford were in some ways arguably the better team on the night, outshooting the Hounds 15-9 and holding an expected goals advantage of 1.55 to 1.11 (via American Soccer Analysis).
This continued a long stretch of games where Hartford have been, by at least some measures, the better side on the day with the last time they were indisputably second best in a USL Championship game being away at Rhode Island on July 19, just over two months ago. Before that, you have to go back to May to find games where the Latics were obviously the worse team in a league fixture.
Taking in the bigger picture, Hartford are in a position they’ve basically never been in before in their history: regularly being the better team. In past seasons, there has been an occasional performance where they’ve been the better side, but there’s been too little in the way of consistency.
Even in 2024, when their last 12 games saw them take a run at the playoffs, they had the edge in expected goals in just half their games. Now, the situation is entirely different. Since the beginning of June, the Latics have had a better expected goals than their opponents in 14 of 16 league games.
Expected goals are not the final word on a team’s performance, but it highlights the fact that when the opportunities tilt in your direction in more games than not, you’ll pick up points in more games than not. Case in point: in that 16 game span, Hartford have picked up 30 points. By contrast, in the nine league games they played in the first three months of the season, they had the expected goals advantage in just three - and had only five points to show for it.
If there was a significant takeaway for Hartford from the Pittsburgh game, it’s the need to clean up defensive breakdowns. They seemed somewhat switched off for Pittsburgh’s first goal, in much the same way they didn’t seem totally locked in during Indy Eleven’s first goal just over two weeks ago. For the Hounds’ second, there was a failure of communication and structure, as too many defenders chased the ball, leaving too many unmarked Pittsburgh players in front of goal.
Those kinds of defensive breakdowns have plagued Hartford this season. Sometimes they simply haven’t mattered: Enzo Martinez got in front of his man to score a stoppage time goal in Birmingham, but his side were already four goals down, and all it did was deny Hartford a clean sheet. Other errors have been more costly. In Indianapolis earlier this season, the Latics conceded in stoppage time in both halves, ultimately dropping two points in a four-all draw - points that could come in handy now as they try to chase down a top-four finish and a home playoff game.
As for Saturday night’s game, for Burke, it’s a first return to Weidner Field since 2022, when he led Switchbacks to the Western Conference finals. He described it as “bittersweet,” given the foundational role he played in their road to success. Before Burke’s arrival in 2021, the club had gone four years without a playoff appearance; in two seasons with him at the helm, they made two trips to the postseason, reaching the Western Conference finals in 2022. Their journey to the title in 2024 was helmed by James Chambers, who Burke brought to the club as an assistant prior to the 2021 season.
In 2025, Switchbacks are hovering right at the playoff line, in eighth place in the Western Conference. Their recent results have been defined by inconsistency. Their last five games have seen some good, including a 2-0 win over conference leaders Tulsa and a three-all draw with Tampa Bay where they fought back from deficits of 1-0 and 3-1. They’ve also seen some bad, as they fell 2-1 to New Mexico on Wednesday, in a game where they had a chance to go up 2-0 on the second half after winning a penalty, but failed to convert and ultimately ceded all three points.
With both clubs in need of points to advance their quest for the playoffs, Burke expects an intense atmosphere.
“I think, you know, this is going to feel like a playoff game because we’re going with the same intent,” he said. “We aren’t free and clear. We’re not qualified yet and that’s in the back of our minds. So going in, I think this is going to be a very entertaining game because neither team will back off at all.”
Hartford fans will likely want more than entertainment. Although a cup final looms the following weekend, three further points in the quest for a first playoff appearance since 2020 will be at the top of the wishlist, and Burke’s men will look to bounce back and deliver at Weidner Field.