From the opening kickoff on Saturday night, Hartford Athletic wanted to send a message.

They hadn’t come this far – to the first final in the club’s history – to walk away empty-handed.

“Honestly, the message was by any means necessary,” said Athletic captain Jordan Scarlett. “We weren’t going to leave without it. They’re going to drag us off this field.”

Two years after Hartford had finished with the fewest points in the USL Championship – a paltry 18 from 34 games in the 2023 season – they were finally ascendent, delivering the sort of performance that results in titles.

Samuel Careaga’s second-half goal sent the visitors to a 1-0 win against Sacramento Republic FC in the 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup Final before a sold-out crowd of 11,569 fans at Heart Health Park and in the process turned the page on the club’s first five seasons.

“It changes the club,” said Hartford Head Coach Brendan Burke. “You know, anytime you add silverware, and especially when it’s your first piece, that’s a special night. That was a special year for us, a special run. We still have a lot of work to do. That’s how we feel in the locker room, but we’ll certainly celebrate tonight and enjoy each other’s company there.”

• UP AND AT ‘EM: Burke didn’t expect his side to be overawed by the occasion, and he was correct in his assumption. Hartford’s early pressure took the game to the hosts and a raucous crowd. In just the sixth minute, Adewale Obalola claimed possession ahead of Republic FC goalkeeper Jared Mazzola on the right edge of the penalty area. The 20-year-old elected to try and finish the chance himself instead of laying a pass off to Michee Ngalina, who was well set centrally, but it provided an early warning.

• BALANCING OUT: Sacramento came into the game as the half went on and almost grabbed the opening goal via a flicked header from Russell Cicerone in the 20th minute that hit the left post. As Republic FC continued to maintain more possession, though, there was a conspicuous lack of attacking edge as Hartford’s defense kept the likes of home talisman Rodrigo Lopez in check outside of set piece opportunities.

• THE BIG PAYOFF: A set piece in the end proved the difference for Athletic. As Hartford stacked the top of the six-yard area on a corner kick from the left – and Ngalina made a run into the box to draw a floating defender with him – it created space for Sebastian Anderson to play a pass to the top of the penalty area for Careaga. The Argentine’s shot flashed through the traffic and found the net, giving the tournament’s highest scorers a lead they then defended to the death.

For a club that has long been knocked down by rival clubs and supporters, the final whistle was a moment of catharsis for the players and staff as they flooded onto the field, the supporters who’d made the coast-to-coast trip to be there in person, and the watch parties up well after midnight in Connecticut.

“I think for a couple years, you know, Hartford been a laughingstock,” said Scarlett. “Every time we go away, the other team, they talk down on us, they come to our place, and they don’t give us a respect. But now the game-plan they’re building around us. We’re the target. Now we don't press, we hunt.”

Scarlett was one of the veterans that Burke called upon when he began the rebuilding process prior to the 2024 season at Trinity Health Stadium. Now he has his fourth piece of silverware in his USL career. Fellow defender Joe Farrell earned his fifth, coming on as a late substitute to help see out the game.

It was part of Burke’s plan to pair the young, emerging talent he could develop with players who had been there and done that in their careers. Admittedly, it came together even faster than he had believed it could, but it burnished Burke’s own reputation as someone who can turn bad situations into positive ones in short order.

“This one took every bit of two years to get us there, and we really did have to come off the bottom and worked through so many difficult periods,” said Burke. “We were really poor at the beginning of this season, results-wise. So, the character that our locker room has shown is really admirable. I told them before the game, win or lose, I’m just very proud to be your coach.”

In the end, with the way his side rose to meet the moment, Hartford was fully deserving of its victory.

Now, with a second trip to the USL Championship Playoffs on the horizon and a bright future beyond, who knows how far this club might go.