PREVIEW: Hartford Athletic Look to Continue Defensive Momentum Against Indy Eleven
PREVIEW: Hartford Athletic Look to Continue Defensive Momentum Against Indy Eleven
Following their second clean sheet of the season and the signing of last season's All-USL First Team defender, could things finally be looking up for the Green and Blue?
Following an opening 11 games of 2023 that saw Hartford Athletic give up 24 goals — the most in the USL Championship — Tab Ramos’ squad mended the damage with a 0-0 draw against Louisville City FC last weekend in what was only their second clean sheet of the year.
Following what was arguably one of their best defensive performances of the season, Ramos doubled down by announcing the signing of 2022 First Team All-USL defender Edgardo Rito from Oakland on Wednesday, days after citing the need for defense acquisitions in order to stop the bleeding.
Part of a trade deal that saw midfielder Jeciel Cedeño depart for Oakland, the defender finished a breakout year in 2022 with five goals and seven assist at right wingback, and tallied a pair of goals and assists for Hartford in 2023.
With things seemingly trending in the right direction for a group that is yet to string together any real momentum in 2023, Saturday’s road trip to Indy Eleven represents a rare opportunity to build on defensive success — something Hartford have not seen much of in 2023.
They will take the trip to Indiana to face off against Indy Eleven for the first of two meetings this month, with the two sides set to do battle in Hartford once again in just two weeks.
Last weekend’s draw with Louisville City once again saw Ramos experiment with five in the back, straying away from his preferred 4-3-3. Positional changes outlined the squad with Luke Merrill coming in a wingback for his first start of the season, pushing Matt Sheldon to an unfamiliar attacking position on the wing. According to Ramos, the move was one that proved to be successful and cause Louisville problems defensively.
“We played Matt a little bit more advanced because we had a lot of energy from Luke [at wingback],” Ramos said. “Both of them together were difficult for Louisville. In particular, Matt gave us a lot defensively, but also in the attack. In our last three games we got two clean sheets…The team is feeling a little bit more confident.”
“It was 90 minutes of being really, really organized, everybody doing their role, and no slip-ups,” Sheldon added. “I think a lot of the games we’ve had really good 80 minutes, but then [in] 5-10 minutes we mess up, a little slip up, a little mistake and all of a sudden [we’re] a goal down, two goals down.”
Most notably, Joe Rice stepped in goal for his first USL Championship start, taking the place of MLS veteran Richard Sánchez. Although he was not forced to make a single save throughout the night, he was credited with Hartford’s second clean sheet of 2023.
“I feel good, we prepare ourselves every week in training every week for these moments,“ Rice said. “I’m just happy and I’m fortunate that when my name was called upon, I was able to do my job…I think it was one of our best defensive games that we’ve had this season.”
Sticking around the goalkeeper position, Joe Rice’s counterpart is a familiar face for Hartford fans — before making the move to Indy in 2023, Yannik Oettl spent the back half of 2022 as the main man between the sticks for the Green and Blue, making 19 total appearances and racking up 74 saves in that stretch.
Since taking his talents to Indiana, the experienced goalkeeper has led Indy Eleven to four clean sheets this year, including a 4-0 thumping of Eastern Conference Leaders Charleston Battery last time out.
The result was a statement victory for a team also looking to find their form in 2023. The club sits seventh in the Eastern Conference on 15 points, having secured four wins on the year — three of which came in their last five games.
“They’ve changed a little bit the way they’ve been playing…We really don’t know exactly what to expect from them,” Ramos said. “They’re trying to find their from, I know they signed some really good players. They just won their last game 4-0, so maybe they’re starting to find that form.”
Two teams looking to make their way up the table as we approach the back half of the season certainly makes for an interesting battle, pinning a well-rounded Indy attack against a Hartford team who have made upgrades to a defense who struggled to keep the ball out of the net before last weekend. Kickoff from Carrol Stadium on Saturday is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ on WCTX MyTV9.