It was the new signings that helped Athletic continue their playoff push in a 3-1 win over New York Red Bulls ll at Dillon Stadium. Hartford started off on the front foot early, newcomer Justin Haak and Aiden Mesias were pulling the strings and finding space all over the pitch. In the 11th minute, Hartford won a free kick right in front of the Red Bull bench. Another newcomer, Idan Cohen swung in an absolute beauty that found the head of Matheus Silva to put Hartford in front! This was the big Brazilian defender’s first goal in the green and blue jersey.  

Mesias, Cohen, and Danny Barrera were linking well on the far side throughout the first half. New York tested Goalkeeper Parfait Mandanda once or twice, but nothing seriously troubled the French goalkeeper. Right after the added time board showed 5 minutes, Alex Dixon picked up the ball outside the 18. The veteran tested young Red Bulls keeper Wallis Lapsley and his near-post strike went into the net to put Hartford two-nil up just before the half!  

In the second half, Hartford and Red Bulls II shared the possession, but it was New York who made the most of it. In the 65th minute, Jake LaCava scored a deserved goal for his performance, tapping in unmarked at the back post.  

10 minutes later in the 75th minute, Hartford started to rack up some corners. The second corner worked in Athletic’s favor, the flicked on header fell to Haak. The loanee from New York City FC made no mistake and volleyed home to make in 3-1!  

In the end, Hartford held on comfortably to take down Red Bulls II to make in three wins out of three on the season. Hartford will play third place RBII one more time, in the final match of the regular season at Red Bull Arena. Hartford hits the road on Sunday afternoon to take on Philadelphia Union II at 5 PM. You can watch the match on WCTX-MyTV9 or stream on hartfordathletic.com/watch.

FAST STATS:

Shots (On-Target): Hartford Athletic 13 (5) - 16 (5) RBII

Corners: Hartford Athletic 3-4 RBII

Fouls: Hartford Athletic 16-13 RBII

Offsides: Hartford Athletic 1-1 RBII

Possession: Hartford Athletic 44.2%-55.8% RBII

Passing Accuracy: Hartford Athletic 59.4%-65.1% RBII

Saves: Hartford Athletic 4-2 RBII

SCORING SUMMARY:

11' - Matheus Silva (Idan Cohen) 1-0

45+1' - Alex Dixon 2-0

64' - Jake LaCava (Chris Lema) 2-1

75' - Justin Haak 3-1

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY:

39' - Edgardo Rito (Yellow)

43' - Justin Haak (Yellow)

54' - Gabriel Torres (Yellow)

68' - Danny Barrera (Yellow)

69' - Caden Clark (Yellow)

HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP:

35 (GK) Parfait Mandanda; 25 (D) Idan Cohen (Arthur Rogers 65'), 24 (D) Sam Strong, 4 (D) Kevin Politz, 3 (D) Matheus Silva, 16 (MF) Gabriel Torres; 10 (MF) Danny Barrera (Nicky Downs 78'), 80 (MF) Justin Haak, 23 (MF) Aiden Mesias (Mads Jørgensen); 11 (F) Alex Dixon (Markus Naglestad 78'), 99 (F) Ever Guzmán

NEW YORK RED BULLS II STARTING LINEUP:

65 (GK) Wallis Lapsley; 47 (D) John Tolkein, 73 (D) Joe Fala, 85 (D) Joey Zalinsky, 72 (D) Edgardo Rito (Bo Cummins, 89'); 80 (MF) Chris Lema, 66 (MF) Barry Sharifi (Deri Corfe, 65'), 37 (MF) Caden Clark, 64 (MF) Jake LaCava; 67 (F) Omar Sowe, 96 (F) Dantouma Toure (Sheriff Dieye, 65')