June 25, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Hartford Athletic News Release
Hartford welcomed Louisville City FC to Trinity Health Stadium for a midday match live on ESPN and were unable to overcome the Eastern Conference leaders.
The match started off quiet, with neither team able to muster up a strong scoring chance for the first 10 minutes. Louisville City FC threatened to score early, firing a shot from the top of the six that was saved by a diving Oettl. Hartford’s biggest enemy throughout the beginning of the game was the whistle, as they were called for five offsides in just the first twenty minutes. In the 14th minute, Logan Gdula used some fancy footwork to break into the attacking third but was taken down on the play, giving the Boys in Blue a free kick in the center of the pitch. This kick sailed into the box and found its way to Juan Carlos Obregón’s foot, who sent it past the keeper and into the net. However, the offsides whistle thwarted Hartford’s hope to take a quick 1-0 lead. Just minutes later, Joel Johnson broke down the sideline and sent a shot on goal, but Louisville keeper Danny Faundez kept it out of the net.
After another back and forth period where neither team could get an offensive foothold, Louisville appeared eager to break the seal before the first half came to a close. They had a pair of scoring chances inside the 18 in the last 10 minutes. First, a bouncing ball in the box was sent on net and deflected out of play by the Green and Blue’s back line. Then, Louisville launched a shot from the top of the box and a leaping Yannik Oettl flew in to make the stop. The match went into halftime the same way it began, with both teams holding clean sheets.
Athletic came out of the locker rooms looking to jump ahead, going on the attack right from kickoff. Juan Carlos Obregón Jr found his way inside the 18 and launched a shot on net in the 47th minute that was punched over the woodwork by the Louisville keeper. Hartford sustained this offensive aggressiveness throughout the half, with two scoring looks in the 61st and 62nd minutes. Obregón once again had his shot knocked away by Faundez and Prince Saydee’s shot was blocked out of harm’s way
Despite Hartford’s flurry of shots, it was Louisville who got on the board first in the 64th minute. Amadou Dia sent a cross into Athletic’s box from the end line. After sailing over multiple players, Sean Totsch leapt into the air and headed it into the net to notch the first…