Owen Presthus Headlines Three Hartford Athletic Players in USL Championship Team of the Week
Manager Brendan Burke is also named Coach of the Week following a 3-0 victory over RIFC
Following a resounding victory in El Clamico, three Hartford Athletic players were named to the USL Championship Team of the Week, headlined by debutante Owen Presthus and Brendan Burke became the first manager in club history to be named coach of the week as well. Samuel Careaga and Jordan Scarlett joined Presthus in the team.
It’s the second time in club history that three players have been named to the Team of the Week — not including players on the bench — following week 28 of the 2024 season, when Mamadou Dieng and Joe Farrell joined Player of the Week Renan Ribeiro with the honor.
The spotlight of course goes on Presthus, who made his debut against RIFC, capping a stellar performance with a goal, becoming the 10th player in club history to score on his debut in the process. It was also the first time that Owen and his older brother TJ — who signed with Hartford in the offseason — had played together in a competitive fixture.
“I think back to having dinner in my house when I was five years old,” he said. “TJ and I are talking about how when we're older, we're going to be on the field together.”
Presthus is the fourth Hartford Athletic player in the last two seasons to be named Player of the Week, after no player received the honor through the first five and a half seasons of the club’s existence. Goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro was the first, followed by Danny Barrera and then Mamadou Dieng. Along the way, Samuel Careaga was also named Player of the Round during the second round of group games in this year’s USL Jägermeister Cup.
Careaga now makes his first appearance in the USL Championship Team of the Week this season. His goal on Saturday — which gave the Latics an early lead in El Clamico — is indicative of how things are going for his side of late, where they seem quickest to everything. RIFC keeper Koke Vegas parried a stinging shot from Adewale Obalola, and Careaga was first to the loose ball to fire it home, despite the presence of a Rhode Island defender.
Scarlett made his first appearance in the Teeam of the Week as a member of Hartford Athletic, and in fact, it was the first time the defender had been named to the Team of the Week since the 2022 season. It’s in some sense one of the final steps in a long road to recovery following an injury that robbed him of almost all of the 2023 season, and the first months of the 2024 season as well. A former second-team all-league defender during the 2020 season, Scarlett has been a huge part of the Latics defensive success this year and is finally receiving outside recognition for those performances.
And finally, there’s Burke, who becomes the first manager in club history to be named coach of the week. After last season’s campaign — which fell short of preseason expectations, but still saw the club finish with their highest-ever points total — Burke now has his side positioned to go a few steps further. With at least 11 games left to be played, the Latics are all but certain to set a new single-season record for wins in all competitions. They also have a cup semifinal to contest, the closest they’ve ever been to any silverware. This kind of success is why Burke was brought to Hartford — and it’s certainly the kind of success he expects to have — and the recognition for getting his team in this position is well deserved.
Hartford Athletic are back in action on Saturday, as it travels to take on North Carolina FC in USL Championship action