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Matchday Preview: Hartford Athletic vs. Loudoun United FC

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 06/18/21, 8:05AM EDT

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Hartford aims to rebound from first defeat of season as Loudoun visits Dillon Stadium


Hartford Athletic and Loudoun United FC will square off for the first time this season on Saturday night at Dillon Stadium.

HARTFORD, Conn. – Hartford Athletic will try to rebound from its first defeat of the 2021 season on Saturday night as it returns to Dillon Stadium to face Loudoun United FC in the first meeting between the clubs this campaign. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

@HFDAthletic (3-1-1, 10pts) twice held the lead against the Charlotte Independence last Sunday night at the Sportplex at Mathews, but the visitors rallied to take a 3-2 victory to snap Hartford’s four-game undefeated run to start the season. The attacking promise the Athletic have shown this season continued, however, as Danny Barrera scored his fourth goal of the season to go with his league-leading five assists, while Preston Tabort Etaka had a goal and assist for the side. Barrera now sits on four goals after a scoring change issued in the club’s 7-0 win against the New York Red Bulls II on June 5, which credited Barrera with the sixth goal of the night instead of Tabort Etaka. As a result, Barrera is now officially the first player in league history to have recorded two goals and three assists in a single game.

@LoudounUnitedFC (1-5-0, 3pts) suffered a third consecutive defeat in its last outing as it fell 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies despite taking an early lead at Al Lang Stadium through Robbie Dambrot. Loudoun now sits in last place in the Atlantic Division, but the side has shown positive signs throughout the campaign despite the lack of results that have come about. Each of United’s defeats have come by a single goal, but the side’s lack of consistent finishing has been a major factor in its struggles with Loudoun sitting at a 9.2% shot conversion rate going into Saturday night’s contest, the lowest in the league. Saturday night could see a return to Dillon Stadium of Nicky Downs, who made 36 appearances for Hartford in his first two seasons as a professional before making the move to Loudoun this offseason.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Hartford Athletic 50%, Miami FC 25%, Draw 26%

Most Recent Lineups

Hartford Athletic (3-4-1-2): Jeff Caldwell; Alex Lara, Conor McGlynn, Thomas Janjigian; Younes Boudadi, Arthur Rogers, Nii Ashitey, Richie Sanchez; Danny Barrera; Juan Carlos Obregon Jr., Bradford Jamieson IV

Loudoun United FC (3-4-1-2): Keegan Meyer; Michael DeShields, Timmy Mehl, Wahab Ackwei; Ted Ku-DiPietro, Nicky Downs, Jeremy Garay, Robbie Dambrot; Barry Sharifi; Darluis Paz, Jovanny Bolivar

Discipline

Hartford Athletic – None

Loudoun United FC – None

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