Hartford Continue to Build 2024 Roster With Pair of Veterans
Jordan Scarlett and Romario Williams impact both ends of the field as the latest signings from the Green and Blue -- bringing with them a combined 62 goals and 267 USL appearances.
As the 2024 USL Championship season inches closer, Hartford Athletic’s roster has continued to take shape: A pair of experienced Jamaicans with a combined 15 seasons of professional soccer between them are the latest in a slew of recent acquisitions.
The club announced Tuesday the signing of defender Jordan Scarlett from Louisville City FC. An experienced defender with almost 160 appearances totaling over 12,000 minutes in six seasons between New York Red Bulls II (Now of MLS Next Pro) and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Scarlett was sidelined with a season-ending knee injury just three appearances into his sole campaign with the 2023 Eastern Conference Finalists last season.
However, the previous three years told a different story for the 28-year-old, who quickly became a regular in the Rowdies’ squad following his move from the Red Bulls’ affiliate in 2020. He made 88 appearances in his time down south, scoring five of his six career goals in green and yellow.
Hartford will be Scarlett’s fourth stop in the Championship’s Eastern Conference as he approaches his eighth season in the league — if a comeback from injury progresses smoothly, Hartford fans can look forward to a reliable and experienced central defender to provide much-needed leadership in the back for the Green and Blue.
Earlier in the week, Hartford addressed a growing need on the opposite end of the field — a consistent goalscorer who has a sixth sense for the back of the net.
Just two days following the acquisition of Deshane Beckford, his fellow Jamaican International and former Colorado Springs Switchbacks teammate Romario Williams became the second consecutive player to make the move to the opposite coast.
Another veteran USL presence, the forward had a career year last season, leading the Colorado Springs attack with 15 goals in three assists. The career-high scoring tally was also good for the seventh-most in the league — he averaged more than a goal every two games in 29 regular season appearances.
In total, the accomplished center-forward has tallied 65 goals in 186 appearances for 10 clubs; He spent brief stints with the Montréal Impact (Now CF Montréal), the Columbus Crew and Atlanta United of Major League Soccer — most notably making 17 appearances and scoring a goal in the five stripes’ first-ever MLS Cup-winning season in 2018.
After being selected third overall by Montréal in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, William’s most prolific numbers came in a pair of seasons with the Charleston Battery in 2016-17. It was in 2017 where he notched the only other 15-goal season of his career, following his 10-goal season the year prior, maintaining a fierce pace of just under a goal every 180 minutes.
The 26-year-old’s decorated tenure in the Championship included stops with Atlanta’s reserves, Miami FC — and most recently — New Mexico United. He also spent a pair of seasons abroad with Al Ittihad of the Egyptian Premier League, and has a pair of international goals to his name for his native Jamaica in 15 caps.
The forward’s 56 total USL Championship goals see him sitting 21st in the league’s all-time scoring list, and Hartford fans will hope that Williams’ statistical resurgence in 2023 will carry over to the east coast as he gears up for his ninth USL season and seventh USL Championship club.