June 10, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Hartford Athletic News Release
Date: Saturday, June 11th, 2022
Time: 10:00 PM ET
Location: Torero Stadium, San Diego, California
Local TV: WCTX MyTV9
Streaming: ESPN+ or hartfordathletic.com/watch
HARTFORD ATHLETIC (2-7-2) vs SAN DIEGO LOYAL (6-3-4)
LAST TIME OUT
Hartford Athletic will be embarking on another long road trip after earning one point in a hard fought 1-1 tie with El Paso Locomotive FC last Saturday night. Each team had dangerous opportunities in the first half, but neither could find the back of the net. El Paso made an early sub in the second half, entering Diego Abarca into the game. The 16-year-old Abarca opened up the scoring with a magnificent left-footed strike from the top of Hartford’s box in the 56th minute. Hartford was able to answer with their own substitutions, as Peter-Lee Vassell replaced Danny Barrera in the 64th minute. Four minutes later, Corey Hertzog launched a throw into the box and El Paso’s keeper deflected the ball back into traffic where Vassell was in the right place at the right time, netting the equalizer off the deflection. This score would hold for the remainder of the match.
A FULL 90 MINUTES
Over the past two weeks, Head Coach Harry Watling has repeatedly emphasized the need for his club to consistently play like the “big team.” Following the 1-1 tie with El Paso last Saturday, he said, “We’ve got to evolve from being that team we’ve become, which is a team that fights and can dominate when we really put our foot on the gas, to a team that arrives like that at the beginning of the game and puts 90 minutes together.”
20 OUT OF 20
Saturday in El Paso, Hartford’s second half substitutions proved to to turn the tide of the game in Hartford’s favor. El Paso controlled the first half of the contest and Hartford’s gaffer decided to shake up his lineup in the second. He made five substitutions, including the rare choice to take Hartford captain Danny Barrera out of the game, replacing him with Jamaican Midfielder Peter-Lee Vassell. This decision was validated just minutes later when Vassell scored the equalizer off of a rebound in the box. Post-game, Watling further elaborated on the greater than usual substitutions, saying, “It’s a squad game. We’ve got twenty players on our roster and we need all twenty of them.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Hartford Athletic, Modou Jadama, DF #23
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