PREVIEW: Hartford Athletic Aim to Close Out Home Stand on High

The Green and Blue welcome El Paso Locomotive to Trinity Health Stadium on Saturday in the final of three straight home games.

Photo courtesy of Hartford Athletic

For Hartford Athletic, a valiant midweek comeback effort turned what could have been a second consecutive 3-0 shutout loss into a narrow 4-3 defeat to the Eastern Conference leading Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

Despite scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes of what was otherwise another poor performance for the Green and Blue, they still fell to their third straight loss, with any remaining hope at clinching a playoff spot dwindling as they remain at the bottom of the East.

As the final stretch of the season nears closer, Hartford will close out the summer — and a three-game home stand — as they get set to host El Paso Locomotive on Saturday night. Although Hartford’s record may not favor them heading in the match, El Paso have had their fair share of struggles this summer. Ever since a 2-1 win over last place Las Vegas Lights FC on June 14, Locomotive are 0-7-3, and losers of their last five games dating back to mid-July.

El Paso’s nine wins of the year are what currently keeps them in playoff position heading into the weekend — five of which have come on the road. With a 9-10-5 overall record on the year, El Paso are 5-3-3 away from Southwest University Park, with all three road losses coming in their last five games. Finding the back of the net has not been the main issue for either team throughout the season — both squads sit middle of the pack in the league in goals scored, separated by only a single goal. Hartford narrowly edge El Paso having scored 32 on the year, while Locomotive have scored 31.

For both teams, major issues throughout the season have come defensively. El Paso’s last five straight losses have seen them outscored 20-5, and they have let a staggering 25 goals in since their last win on June 14. The late stretch accounts for more than half of their 40 total conceded goals on the year, good for sixth-most in the USL Championship. Before dropping a narrow 3-2 contest against Indy Eleven most recently, El Paso went three straight matches having conceded four or more goals, and were shutout on two straight occasions in a pair of lopsided losses against Miami FC (4-0) and Phoenix Rising FC (5-0).

For Hartford, their recent record is not much better. They remain atop the lead with 56 goals conceded, having been outscored 8-3 in their last three matches, with all three goals coming in the last 15 minutes of their most recent 4-3 loss. Similarly to their opponents, they have conceded at least three goals in three of their last five matches, falling victim to a pair of shutouts in that time. While their last win came just three weeks ago against New Mexico United, it was only their fourth such result of the season — a league-low tally that sees them stranded at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, eight points behind 11th-place Loudoun United and 13 points out of the final playoff spot.

On the attack, Hartford’s success on Wednesday came off of the bench. Juan Pablo Torres (assist), Antoine Hoppenot (goal+assist) and Danny Barrera (goal) all came off the bench late in the game, and had a major role to play in all three goals. Most notably, Hartford’s second goal of the night featured Hoppenot use speed and crafty footwork at the touchline to get on the end of a long ball first and beat his man, feeding the ball into the box to the left foot of Danny Barrera, who etched his name in Hartford history with his 16th goal for the club — the most of any player in their five-year history.

For El Paso, Luis Solignac leads the team with nine goals on the year, having most recently found the back of the net in a 5-2 loss to Rio Grande Valley in late July. Marc Navarro was the key to their attacking success in their 3-2 loss to Indy, playing a role in both of their goals. He assisted the opener with an inch-perfect cross to Eric Calvillo in the box, before unleashing a rocket from outside the box in the second have to retake what was a 2-1 lead.

Saturday’s matchup between the two teams is only the second all-time, and will be a battle between two squads with their seasons on the line — Hartford are all-but-mathematically eliminated with any hope of a late-season revival riding on much-needed points at home, while El Paso are clinging onto the West’s final spot by a thin one-point margin.

Kickoff from Trinity Health Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on WCTX MyTV9 and ESPN+.