Hartford Athletic to Host Greenville Triumph in USL Jägermeister Cup Semifinal
RIFC and Sacramento Republic will contest the other semifinal as the cup reaches its penultimate stage
Hartford Athletic will host Greenville Triumph of USL League One in the semifinals of the USL Jägermeister Cup on September 10th. The game will be played at Trinity Health Stadium as part of a busy stretch for Hartford, with the club currently scheduled to play five games in 15 days.
The Latics advanced to the semifinals after a confident 2-0 win over San Antonio FC in the quarterfinals. Mamadou Dieng and Marlon Hairston provided the goals, as Antony Siaha recorded his ninth clean sheet in all competitions.
Their route through the group stage started with wins over League One sides Portland Hearts of Pine and Westchester SC, before stumbling against Detroit City. Hartford twice took the lead in that game, but conceded late and then lost on penalties. The Latics needed a good result in their final game against RIFC to advance from group four.
In Pawtucket, Hartford went down a man in the first half following Beverly Makangila’s second early yellow, and then seized the lead with an acrobatic overhead finish from TJ Presthus. A deflected effort from Amos Shapiro-Thompson and a Maxi Rodriguez penalty put the hosts ahead, and left the Latics staring down elimination from the tournament. They were not dead yet, and an excellent finish from Adrian Diz Pe pulled them level, and with no further goals, the game went to penalties.
Four straight finishes from Hartford were enough, as Rhode Island missed two of its efforts, and Hartford moved onto nine points in the group, which combined with its edge in the tie-breakers, was enough to move Hartford into the quarterfinals as the second wildcard team.
Greenville started their Jägermeister Cup campaign on the wrong foot, suffering a 2-1 defeat to League One strugglers South Georgia Tormenta. The Triumph righted the ship in their next two fixtures, however, with two victories over Championship sides.
First, they downed Charleston Battery 1-0, and then upended Miami FC 2-0. Heading into the final day, they needed a win and some help. They got the help, as Charleston downed Tampa Bay Rowdies and then got the win, coming from behind to drop FC Naples 2-1 and claim the top spot in group six.
In their quarterfinal, they played a pretty tight game against Indy Eleven, but went behind in the 55th minute to a Romario Williams goal. Things looked bleak as the game approached stoppage time, but Aodhan Quinn turned the ball into the back of his own net to give Greenville a lifeline. With no further goals through six minutes of extra time, the game immediately went to penalties according to the rules of the competition.
Both teams were perfect through their first five attempts, but after Ezekiel Soto converted Greenville’s sixth, Indy’s Oliver Brynéus had his effort saved by Gunther Rankenburg, and the Triumph edged through to the next round.
In the other semifinal, Rhode Island FC will host Sacramento Republic. RIFC earned a 1-0 win over Birmingham Legion, while Republic defeated Loudoun United on penalties. The winners will contest the cup final on October 4th.
Hartford Athletic return to action on Saturday night, as they host RIFC in the third meeting between the two clubs this season.