New England Well Represented in USL Jägermeister Cup Team of the Round
Hartford Athletic midfielder Samuel Careaga was named USL Jägermeister Cup Player of the Round
Hartford Athletic midfielder Samuel Careaga was named USL Jägermeister Cup Player of the Round following the second round of play while Portland Hearts of Pine head coach Bobby Murphy, along with Jay Tee Kamara made the TOTR.
The Argentine scored a brace in Hartford’s 3-2 win over Westchester SC on Saturday, with both his goals serving to level the score after Juan Carlos Obregon penalties had twice put the League One side ahead.
Careaga’s first goal was a cracker from distance. Sebastian Anderson played a short ball to Careaga out on the right-hand side and, with no Westchester defender closing him down, the Argentine cut inside before unleashing a shot from nearly 25 yards out that beat keeper Andrew Hammersley to level the score.
After another Obregon penalty restored the host’s lead, Careaga struck again. Mamadou Dieng recycled the ball in the penalty area, and Jonathan Jimenez simply rolled it into the path of a late-arriving Careaga, who rocketed the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the penalty area to equalize once again. The Latics went on to claim all three points via a late Dieng winner.
Careaga, who is on loan from Lanús of the Argentine Primera División, was a key offseason acquisition for Hartford, but was unable to join up with the first team until very close to opening day. He then struggled with injuries through the first weeks of the season.
While Careaga has appeared in nine of the club’s 13 games in all competitions so far, he’s been limited to less than 600 minutes and is perhaps only now beginning to properly settle in the team. During his previous USL Championship loan spell with Memphis 901FC, he scored ten times in just over 1800 minutes, while also chipping in three assists. If Saturday’s performance is indicative of a return to that kind of form, it will improve the Latics’ outlook for this season dramatically.
It’s the second great individual performance of the USL Cup for Hartford. Following the first round of play, teammate and New England Revolution loanee Jack Panayotou was named to the bench following his brace in Hartford’s 2-nil win over Portland Hearts of Pine at Trinity Health Stadium, with his red card probably keeping him out of the first XI.
Careaga is the first Latic to be named Player of the Round, although two players have previously been named USL Championship Player of the Week in league play. In 2024, goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro (week 28) and midfielder Danny Barrera (week 32) earned that honor.
Murphy led Portland from the touchline as Hearts cupset Detroit City FC 4-2. Kamara played a key role on the pitch, recording a pair of assists and had three chances created. The midfielder also completed 20 of 23 passes, won two of three tackles, and recorded two interceptions and six recoveries.
Hartford Athletic are back in action on Friday night, as they host North Carolina FC in USL Championship action at 7:30 PM. Portland Hearts of Pine returns to the pitch on Saturday evening as they head on the road to face Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at 7:00 PM.