Hartford Athletic travel to Orange County, California for their final match of the regular season on Saturday night with a playoff spot on the line. The Green and Blue must win to give themselves a chance to secure the seventh or eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, pending results from Pittsburgh and North Carolina earlier in the evening.
LAST TIME OUT
Hartford Athletic are coming off a 2-2 draw to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday, taking a point on the road. Marcus Epps got the Green and Blue on the board early, finishing off a feed from Emmanuel Samadia. The lead held for just 13 minutes, as Leo Fernandes scored off a free kick to level the match in the 20th minute. Hartford struck once more in the final action of the half, when Michee Ngalina connected with Mamadou Dieng in the fifth minute of stoppage time. The Rowdies came out on the front foot in the opening minutes of the second half, forcing Hartford to defend and breaking through to equalize in the 64th minute. Cal Jennings soared to a cross from Blake Bodily, flicking his header over Renan Ribeiro at the near post. The match tightened up after the leveler, and neither team could net a game-winning goal.Â
PAINTING THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
Hartford Athletic’s season comes down to the final day of the 2024 campaign. With just a point collected on Wednesday, Athletic no longer control their own destiny towards a playoff berth. They must earn three points against Orange County on Saturday to have a chance at securing a playoff spot. A loss will eliminate them. The possible scenarios for Hartford Athletic to make the playoffs are as follows:Â
With a Win (47 points), Hartford secure the seventh or eighth seed IF:
– Pittsburgh fail to win vs. El Paso, Pittsburgh ends on 45 or 46pts and Hartford get in
– OR North Carolina fail to win vs. Las Vegas, North Carolina ends on 45 or 46pts
Pittsburgh and North Carolina both play at 7:00pm eastern time.
MATCHUP HISTORY
This will only be the second matchup between the two sides, and the first at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in Hartford a season ago, as Orange County’s Milan Iloski (MF) scored on a free kick early, and former Hartford forward Elvis Amoh scored the game-tying goal in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage time.Â
CONGOLESE CONNECTION
Beverly Makangila and Michee Ngalina have brought their connection from southern Africa to the Green and Blue, connecting twice against Tampa Bay to help Hartford create both of their goals. Makangila began the buildup towards Epps’ goal by finding Ngalina at the top of the box from the midfield, then Ngalina hit Samadia on an overlapping run towards the end line. Later in the half, the pair linked up on a give-and-go up the right flank. Ngalina dished to Makangila, then dashed up the right side to track down a perfectly-weighted lead ball from his teammate. The speedy winger did the rest, pinpointing the ball to the foot of Mamadou Dieng for the goal. Ngalina and Makangila are both from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and were born just five days apart.
MAKING HISTORY
What a run it’s been for the Green and Blue in the second half of the season, going undefeated in 10 of their last 11 matches and barging into the playoff conversation. After a 3-0 loss to rival Rhode Island FC on August 10th, Hartford sat in 11th place in the East and eight points below the playoff line. Since then, they have lost just one match, and find themselves a win away from a potential spot in the playoffs. The streak has been highlighted by superb defending, with Athletic conceding just 11 goals in the 11 matches, including a stretch of four straight clean sheets, which contributed to seven games undefeated in a row. A truly historic run no matter the final result, this 2024 squad has put their foot print all over Hartford Athletic’s single season record book…
RECORDS BROKEN AND SET THIS YEAR
- Most points (43)
- Best home record in a full season (9-4-4)
- Best overall record (will be secured even with two losses)
- Longest undefeated streak (seven)
- Longest clean sheet streak (four)
- Individual goals (Mamadou Dieng, 11 and counting)
BETWEEN THE POSTS
Hartford Athletic, Renan Ribeiro #40
Ribeiro is at the end of a stellar campaign in his first year with Hartford Athletic, establishing himself as one of the best keepers in the USL Championship. His presence in goal has been paramount to the club’s improbable run of form in the second half of the season, tallying 99 saves (2nd in the league), seven clean sheets, and allowing just 30 goals. Ribeiro made 20 saves during Hartford’s record-setting stretch of four straight clean sheets, including a masterful eight-save performance in Memphis to carry his team to a 0-0 draw on the road. The 34 year old Brazilian has made a splash in his first season of American soccer, having made 194 professional appearances in top tier league and Brazil and Portugal before making a trip to the states.
Orange County SC, Colin Shutler #1
The 26-year-old is in his third season with Orange County, and is having the best season of his professional career so far. He makes for an exciting goalie matchup with Renan Ribeiro, as he’s recorded 96 six saves (third-most in the the league), which puts him right behind Hartford’s keeper on the leaderboard. On 131 shots faced, Shutler has conceded 35 goals, good for a 73% save percentage. Back on March 9th, Shulter scored a stoppage-time game-tying goal against Sacramento Republic FC, becoming the first Orange County goalkeeper to score a goal. The Orange County keeper played Division I soccer at the University of Virginia, tallying 24 shutouts, an 81% save percentage, and a 0.68 GAA. Shutler also became the first Cavalier goalkeeper to earn first-team all-ACC honors since Tony Meola in 1989.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Orange County SC come into this matchup in seventh place in the West with a playoff spot clinched. They’ve scored the same amount of goals as Hartford (35), and rank near the bottom of the league in shots (305), while having conceded 43 goals (11th most in the league). Similarly to Hartford, one of Orange County’s most valuable players this season has been their goalkeeper Colin Shutler, who ranks third in the league in saves and clean sheets. Orange County has posted an 8-6-2 record at Championship Soccer Stadium this season, with their last matchup at home against New Mexico United last Saturday resulting in a 0-0 draw.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hartford Athletic: Michee Ngalina, FW #9
Michee Ngalina made his return to Hartford’s lineup on October 5th after missing three matches due to a lower body injury. While he yet to score in his return, his impact has still been felt elsewhere. The Congolese winger has notched assists in two of the last three games, and created the own goal that brought Hartford level against FC Tulsa in the first half. Ngalina has not made defending easy for Hartford’s opponents, penetrating opposing defensive units with 25 touches inside the box in the last three matches and opening up opportunities for his teammates to score. He’ll be a crucial piece to Athletic’s effort in their most important game of the season on Saturday day night.
Orange County: Ethan Zubak, FW #9
The 26-year-old homegrown striker from Corona, California is in his first season with Orange County SC, signing with the club ahead of the 2024 campaign after two seasons in the MLS with Nashville SC. This year has been a return to form for Zubak, notching double-digit goals for the first time since 2018. In 33 appearances this season, Zubak leads Orange County in goals (10), shots (45), shots on target (22), and is second on the team in chances created (18).
Zubak began his youth career with the Arsenal FC Academy in California before joining the LA Galaxy Academy in 2013. He was part of the Galaxy U16 Academy team that won a National Championship in 2014. He started his professional career in Los Angeles, playing four seasons with LA Galaxy II before moving up to LA Galaxy in the MLS for the 2019 season. He scored three goals and added an assist in his three seasons with the club. In December 2021, Zubak was traded to Nashville SC for a first-round pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft.Â
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