Hartford Athletic Gear Up For Rematch With Sacramento Republic
The Latics could clinch a first playoff berth since 2020 on Saturday night
Hartford Athletic welcome Sacramento Republic to Trinity Health Stadium on Saturday night, in an immediate rematch of last weekend’s Jägermeister Cup final, which was won 1-0 by the Latics. Samuel Careaga scored the only goal of the game to earn Finals MVP honors as Hartford got the better of one of the best defenses in the USL Championship.
The Latics now return home following a western road trip that saw them take on Colorado Springs Switchbacks and Oakland Roots in addition to their cup triumph over Sacramento. Despite being outplayed over large stretches of both league games, Hartford won both by a combined score of 5-1, claiming six points that have brought them to the brink of playoff qualification.
Hartford manager Brendan Burke credited his team’s resilience and quality for those victories.
“Even when we didn’t play well at times in Colorado and certainly in Oakland in that first half, they just kept digging and kept covering ground, fighting, trying to stay in the game,” he said. “And eventually the quality took over.”
Beyond resilience and quality, Burke also highlighted one more thing that lifted his team: a belief that they can and will win.
“[The] belief is very real right now in our locker room,” he said. “That’s the word I would keep coming back to…belief.”
That belief is something Hartford teams have rarely, if ever, had in the past, and it was on full display over the road trip, as the Latics overcame poor performances and difficult opponents to win all three games, taking them to 13 consecutive games unbeaten away from Trinity Health Stadium.
With Saturday’s game being a rematch against a team they just played, there’s little new to say about the opposition. It’s the third time this season that the league and Jägermeister cup schedules have given Hartford two games in quick succession against the same club. Against Detroit City, Hartford followed a penalty-shootout loss in the third Jägermeister Cup group stage game with a 2-1 road victory over Le Rouge in the league. After a nil-nil league result against RIFC a few weeks later, it went back to Tidewater and secured a win on penalties that propelled the club to the knockout rounds of the cup.
While it’s not a true revenge game for Sacramento — Hartford claimed silverware last Saturday, and this is “only” a league fixture — Burke does expect a little something extra.
“You have to expect that the energy level is going to be raised and temperatures will be raised on both sides,” he said. “But it was a really well played, clean match, so I don’t think there’s any bad intent on either side of it, but it’s definitely going to have more energy in it than a a regular season game normally would.”
While Sacramento have already clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference, Hartford still has some work to do. There are several permutations that could see the Latics clinch a first playoff berth since 2020 on Saturday night. The first, and simplest, is to get a result against Sacramento. One point will be enough, as this would take them, at minimum, seven points clear of ninth place with only six points available.
Even with a loss, Hartford could qualify for the playoffs in one of two ways. Firstly, if Indy Eleven, currently in ninth place, fails to get a result against Pittsburgh, Hartford will clinch a spot. Secondly, if Rhode Island loses to Tampa Bay Rowdies, the Latics will be in the playoffs, regardless of their result against Sacramento or the outcome of the Indy-Pittsburgh game.
Other, more complex possibilities do exist, but the three above are the most straightforward. And with a playoff spot all but sewn up, Burke and his side are focused beyond that.
“You know, we want to control our own fate,” he said. “And that would require getting a home playoff game because, you know, then you can actually get the whole building behind you and and feed off that energy. You know, typically teams that go deep in these playoffs are at home for at least one game. So our focus isn’t on qualifying for the playoffs anymore. It’s it’s being in the top four position.”
It’s too early to talk about magic numbers for those last two slots on the top four of the Eastern Conference — four teams are separated by only four points — but Hartford does have the inside track. It currently sits third, level on 41 points with NCFC, but has the edge on tiebreakers. Loudoun sits two points back on 39, and Hartford has the edge on tiebreakers there as well. A further two points back are Pittsburgh, on 37 points, although it does have the tiebreaker edge on Hartford if it comes to that. With NCFC and Loudoun also set to play on the final day of the season — which will mean at least one team has to drop points — Hartford are in pole position for a top four finish and the home playoff game that comes with it.