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Matchday Preview: Hartford Athletic vs. Charleston Battery

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 08/31/21, 9:07AM EDT

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Atlantic Division playoff rivals square off in key game at Dillon Stadium on Wednesday night


The Charleston Battery's Zeiko Lewis and Hartford Athletic's Justin Haak battle for possession in the most recent meeting between the sides at Dillon Stadium as they vie for a playoff place in the Atlantic Division. | Photo courtesy Hartford Athletic

HARTFORD, Conn. – Hartford Athletic plays host to the Charleston Battery on Wednesday night at Dillon Stadium in an important game for both sides in their quest to reach the USL Championship Playoffs as they enter separated by a point either side of the Atlantic Division playoff line. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

@HFDAthletic (8-8-3, 27pts) fell for only the second time at home this season last Saturday night as Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC took a late 3-2 victory at Dillon Stadium. Hartford had taken an early second-half lead in the contest thanks to a penalty kick by Danny Barrera after a first-half penalty save by Jeff Caldwell – his league-leading fourth of the season – but Tulu’s red card in the first half which reduced the hosts to 10 men eventually became too much to overcome as the Hounds piled on pressure late before scoring in stoppage time. Tulu will be suspended for Wednesday night’s game and Hartford is set to be without another pair of players in forwards Sebastian Elney (Haiti) and Walmer Martinez (El Salvador) due to international duty. The Athletic will be hoping to replicate their performance when they last hosted the Battery on August 17 for a 2-1 win that saw Barrera notch a goal and assist and Derek Dodson find the net, but that stands as the side’s lone win in the past five games with two losses on either side.

The @Chas_Battery (8-7-4, 28pts) edged into fourth place in the Atlantic Division on Saturday night as they played to a 0-0 draw with Orange County SC at Patriots Point as Joe Kuzminsky recorded a three-save shutout for the hosts. DZ Harmon was sent off late for the side against OCSC and will serve a one-game suspension on Wednesday night. The Battery have taken four points from their past two games and will be looking to notch their third three-game undefeated streak of the season as they head to Hartford with the side beginning to return to full strength after injuries to players like Robbie Crawford and Romario Piggott who played notable roles a season ago in the side reaching the postseason. Charleston took a 3-1 victory against Hartford earlier this season as Piggott, Claudio Repetto and Nicque Daley found the net at Patriots Point, and Repetto notched the Battery’s goal when the teams last met. The Italian forward now leads the side with six goals this season, while Zeiko Lewis has moved into a tie for third place in the league with seven assists to go with his four goals on the campaign.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Hartford Athletic 42%, Charleston Battery 32%, Draw 26%

Most Recent Lineups

Hartford Athletic (4-3-3): Jeff Caldwell; Younes Boudadi, Tulu, Thomas Janjigian, Gabriel Torres; Conor McGlynn, Danny Barrera, Justin Haak; Walmer Martinez, Juan Carlos Obregon Jr., Preston Tabort Etaka

Charleston Battery (4-4-2): Joe Kuzminsky; Ben Di Rosa, Leland Archer, Patrick Hogan, AJ Paterson; Zeiko Lewis, Angelo Kelly, Robbie Crawford, Romario Piggott; Claudio Repetto, Nicque Daley

Discipline

Hartford Athletic – Suspended: Tulu

Charleston Battery – Suspended: DZ Harmon

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