Athletic Drop Eighth Straight Match

Hartford Athletic lost its eighth straight match—all on the road—to
open their first season in USL Championship.

CARY, NC—The Hartford Athletic’s brutal season-opening eight-match road trip came to a merciful end when they dropped a 4-1 decision to North Carolina FC at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday. The Athletic, in their initial voyage in the USL Championship (formerly known as the United Soccer League), fall to 0-8.

North Carolina scored the fifth minute of the match when Mario Lomis broke loose and launched a shot towards the far post past Hartford goalkeeper Frederik Due. The Athletic had several scoring opportunities in the following minutes—including great chances from Mac Steeves and Alex Dixon—but failed to find the net. Due made a number of outstanding saves to keep the score 1-0 at halftime.

North Carolina would add one more during stoppage time. Sam Brotherton found open space off a corner kick and poked it past a scrum of Hartford defenders, and North Carolina took a 2-0 lead into the break. NCFC would add another right out of the break off the foot of the captain Steven Miller to go up 3-0. But Hartford had an answer. 11 minutes later Dixon powered home an incredible strike from just outside the box to put Hartford on the board. North Carolina would add one more goal to put the game away in the 81'. 

Hartford Athletic now heads home for the first home match in club history against Charlotte Independence on Saturday, May 4, at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. Game time is 7 p.m., and tickets are available by clicking HERE.

STATS:

• Shots: 16-13 NCFC
• Shots on Target: 10-4 NCFC
• Corner Kicks: 5-4 HFD
• Fouls Committed: 18-12 HFD
• Saves: 5-2 HFD
• Offside: 2-1 NCFC
• Possession: 62-38 NCFC
• Passing Accuracy: 81-68 NCFC

SCORING SUMMARY

• Marios Lomis 4' (Steven Miller)
• Sam Brotherton 45+2'
• Steven Miller 47'
• Alex Dixon 58' (Mac Steeves)
• Robert Kristo 81' (Manny Perez)

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

• Giuseppe Gentile - Yellow (41')
• Sam Brotherton - Yellow (52')
• Kyle Curinga - Yellow (90+1')

NORTH CAROLINA FC STARTING LINEUP

Alex Tambakis; Aaron Guillen, Sam Brotherton, Alex Comsia, DJ Taylor; Steven Miller (Yamikani Chester 74'), Graham Smith, Manny Perez; Dre Fortune, Ben Speas (Viktor Igbekoyi 83'); Marios Lomis (Robert Kristo 55').

HARTFORD ATHLETIC STARTING LINEUP

Frederik Due; Kyle Curinga, Sem de Wit, Nikolaj Lyngo, Giuseppe Gentile (Sebastian Dalgaard 65'); Nicky Downs, Alex Dixon, Phil Rasmussen (Mads Jorgensen 73'), Collin Martin (Ryan Williams 73'), Jonny Brown; Mac Steeves. 

—Staff Reports