Hartford Athletic Look to Bounce Back Against Charleston

Latics finish up back-to-back road games against 2023 Eastern Conference finalists with trip to Patriots Point

Photo Courtesy of Hartford Athletic

Hartford returns to action on Saturday night, looking to end a three-game skid across all competitions that has seen them concede 12 goals, culminating in a 6-0 thrashing by Louisville City at Lynn Family Stadium last week. In that fixture, the Latics fell behind early and were never able to find a proper foothold in the game.

“We were nowhere near good enough,” said manager Brendan Burke, speaking to media on Thursday. “Our effort was nowhere near good enough [and] our attention to detail was nowhere near good enough.”

For the second consecutive game, Hartford was flat out of the gate, after some much better first halves earlier in the year. While these ups and downs are characteristic of any rebuild — especially one as comprehensive as the one currently underway — supporters will be hoping to see the side develop some more consistency in the coming weeks.

There’s perhaps no better model for that kind of rebuild than Saturday’s opponent. In 2022, the Charleston Battery had arguably the worst season in their storied history when they finished 12th of 14 teams in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only MLS II sides NYRBII and ATL UTD 2, recording only 25 points and a goal differential of -36. Conor Casey - who had replaced longtime manager Mike Anheuser in the 2021-22 offseason - was out of a job even before the last game of the season, and was quickly replaced by former Detroit City and Memphis 901 FC manager Ben Pirmann.

While Pirmann made good use of existing players like Augustine Williams, AJ Paterson, and Robbie Crawford, he also made significant changes to the roster bringing in FC Cincinnati draftee Nick Markanich and Seattle Sounders youth product Trey Muse, as well as former Memphis players like Chris Allan and Derek Dodson (also formerly of this parish).

Like any rebuild, it took some time to come together; some good early results were sprinkled with bad ones like a 7-0 home loss to then-defending champions San Antonio FC but the team ultimately finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference during the regular season and then beat Indy Eleven, Birmingham Legion and Louisville City on the way to the final where they lost on penalties to Phoenix Rising.

Coming into this season, Pirmann has aimed to complete this rebuild and take the team to the very top of the mountain, keyed by the addition of two-time USL all-league selection Aaron Molloy. While leading scorer Williams is gone, the returning Markanich (11 goals) and new addition MD Myers (6 goals) have keyed a dynamic attack while Mark Segbers, Graham Smith, and Nathan Dossantos are critical components of an almost entirely rebuilt defense as the Battery aim to go one better than their 2023 result and win a title.

And make no mistake, Charleston are in incredible form to start the season. They are unbeaten in nine games so far in 2024 - winning six of those - and have scored 24 goals while conceding only seven.

They come off a 6-0 thrashing of Las Vegas Lights - in which the red-hot Markanich scored four goals - and will be looking to keep the good times rolling on Saturday. The Latics will have their work cut out for them, but tomorrow night’s matchup might provide a glimpse into one possible future for the club.