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

Dogs Down Goats at The Dunk

Trejo

HARTFORD—Alan Trejo's grand slam was not enough to rescue the Hartford Yard Goats, as the Portland Sea Dogs rallied for a 7-6 win Monday night, before 3,994 fans at Dunkin' Donuts Park. The Yard Goats loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning against reliever Andrew Schwaab, who settled down to retire the last two battles and save the game for Matthew Kent. It was Hartford's third straight loss.

Hartford was paced by Colton Welker's two doubles, single, RBI and two runs scored. Welker has 10 hits in his last 18 at bats. Trejo added a bunt single to his slam and had four RBI.

Portland (7-12) jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a home run by lefty hitter Brett Netzer that left the ballpark in right field and an RBI-single by Tate Matheny. However, Hartford (11-14) rallied for five runs in its half of the first off of Red Sox pitching prospect Darwinzon Hernandez, who pitched for Boston last week. A walk, a run-scoring double by Welker, two more walks and Trejo's grand slam led to Hernandez' demise. The southpaw was pulled after striking out the next batter, having thrown 34 pitches.

The Sea Dogs came back against Yard Goats starter Ty Culbreth in the second inning on a two-run homer by Marcus Wilson—acquired from Arizona for Blake Swihart—and a sacrifice fly by C.J. Chatham in the fifth. Hartford recaptured the lead in the fifth on a Welker double and a two-out single by Vince Fernandez off of Kent, who allowed the Yard Goats just one run in 5.1 innings in relief of Hernandez. Portland rallied in the sixth against reliever Heath Holder, taking the lead for good on run-scoring singles by Netzer and Bobby Dalbec.



Ianetta

Ianetta on Rehab

Chris Iannetta, catcher for the Colorado Rockies, the Yard Goats' parent club, is on a rehab assignment with Hartford. The Providence native, now in his second stint with the Rockies, has also played with the Angels, Mariners and D-backs. He went 0-for-3 in his five-inning appearance last night.

Weather permitting, game two of the three-game series will be tonight. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. at Dunkin’ Donuts Park. RHP Rico Garcia is the scheduled starter for Hartford, while southpaw Kyle Hart will take the hill for Portland. The game will be broadcast on News Radio 1410AM, on 100.9 FM, in Spanish on 1120AM and on the Internet on newsradio1410.iheart.com and on MiLB.com

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#NoGoatsNoGlory #MiLB

—Staff Reports

Sun Send Ogwumike To Sparks

The Ogwumike sisters, Chiney (right) and Nneka (left) will
play together on the Los Angeles Sparks this season.

UNCASVILLE—The Connecticut Sun sent Chiney Ogwumike to the Los Angeles Sparks for LA’s first-round pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft on Saturday.

“We would like to thank Chiney Ogwumike for her contributions to our organization since 2014,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “We wish her well with her career and expanding her off court interests.”

The Sun will open the 2019 WNBA season on Saturday, May 25 against the Washington Mystics. Connecticut returns nine players from the 2017 and 2018 rosters and is the only team that finished in the top-four in the regular season both of those years. Tip-off at Mohegan Sun Arena for the home opener is set for 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, by visiting ConnecticutSun.com, or by calling 1-877-SUN-TIXX.

Ogwumike was expected to be the face of the franchise for many years after being drafted first overall out of Stanford in the 2014 draft but was hampered by injuries throughout her run in Connecticut. She will join her older sister, Nneka, also a No. 1 overall pick out of Stanford, on the Sparks.

Sun Set For 7 Games on CBS Sports

The Sun will be appearing seven times on the CBS Sports Network this season. Those games are (all times Eastern):

• Tues., May 28, at Indiana, 7 p.m.
• Tues., June 11, vs. Washington, 7 p.m.
• Thurs., Aug. 1, vs. Phoenix, 7 p.m.
• Fri., Aug. 9, at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
• Wed., Aug. 14, at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
• Fri., Aug. 23, vs. Las Vegas, 7:30 p.m.
• Wed., Sept. 4, vs. Dallas, 7 p.m.

—Staff Reports

#WNBA #CTSun #LASparks

Sound Tigers Fall To Bears, Season Over

Bridgeport's Josh Ho-Sang advances the puck past the blue line. The
Sound Tigers gave it all they had but came up short and were defeated
by Hershey, 3-2 in OT, and were bounced from the Calder Cup playoffs.

By Bob Phillips

Photos by Bill Harper

BRIDGEPORT—All good things must come to an end, and so it was last night for the 5,253 fans who attended the fifth and deciding game of the AHL Atlantic Division Semifinal series between the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Hershey Bears at the Webster Bank Arena on Saturday night.

The short story: the Sound Tigers dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to the Hershey Bears in Game 5 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals on Saturday, which ended their 2018-19 season. Brian Pinho scored the series-winner at 10:27 of the extra frame on a partial breakaway for his first playoff goal.

But the long story is that this series will be remembered as a classic, played between two teams as evenly matched as conceivable. Bridgeport, which ended the regular season one point ahead of Hershey, lived to see the light of day for Game 5 when they staved off elimination with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4 at the Giant Center in Hershey on Thursday night.

However, the Sound Tigers had history working against them, even playing a Game 5 of a best-three-of-five series on their home ice: Bridgeport entered the game just 1-6 in Game 5s in the 18-year history of the franchise.

The Bears had scored first in each of the first four games of the series, but Bridgeport’s Matt Lorito reversed that trend with his second straight goal—Lorito scored the game-winner in overtime in Game 4. After Sebastian Aho took control of a loose puck in front of the Hershey goal and fed Lorito between the circles, he wristed a shot past Hershey netminder Ilya Samsonov’s glove for his second goal of the postseason.

The Sound Tigers had an excellent chance to double their lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the oprninh period when Chris Bourque set Steve Bernier up beautifully in front of Hershey net, but Bernier’s attempted wrister was stuffed by Samsonov

Steve Whitney (11) scores Hershey's first goal of the contest. The Sound
Tigers gave it their all, but fell just short and were eliminated from the
Calder Cup Playoffs by the Bears who will now play Charlotte.

The Bears knotted the game at 1-1 when Steve Whitney converted a 2-on-1 rush at the 6:43 mark, beating Sound Tigers’ goalie Christopher Gibson for his first goal of the playoffs. The Sound Tigers out-shot Hershey in the first period, 13-7. Bridgeport was 0-for-1 on the power play. STs did not commit a penalty in the first period.

Oliver Wahlstrom put the Sound Tigers back on top at 12:07 of the middle frame. Kieffer Bellows skated across the high slot and cut to the right circle and dropped the puck for Wahlstrom who fired a missile into the bottom right corner of the net. 

Hershey scored its only power-play goal of the series less than four minutes later to knot the contest at 2-2. After Mitch Vande Sompel was whistled for cross-checking. the Bears cashed in when Jayson Megna sent a centering pass to Riley Barber, who fired a one-timer past Gibson from the slot.

Both goaltenders were lights out in a fast-paced, high-stakes third period. Chris Bourque nearly put one in midway through the frame, but drew iron on a slap shot that had Samsonov fooled. Gibson also made a gorgeous stretched-out pad save in the final three minutes as regulation ended with the teams tied at two.

In the extra period, Garrett Pilon guided a stretch pass to Pinho, who inched ahead on a partial breakaway and scored just inside the right post. That goal not only won the series for Hershey, it also marked the first time that the Bears had scored three goals in the series.

The Sound Tigers finished the game 0-for-1 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. Samsonov (2-1) had 29 saves for the Bears, while Hershey out-shot the Sound Tigers by a 34-31 margin.

So the Bears now advance to the Atlantic Division finals where they will challenge the Charlotte Checkers while the Sound Tigers, who have not advanced to the second round since 2003, have the rest of the spring and a long, hot summer to ponder “What if?” before starting it up again in October.

THE SKINNY

—with staff reports

#soundtigers #hersheybears #AHL #CalderCupPlayoffs

Sound Tigers Survive!



Matt Lorito (14) scored the game winner in OT to send the Sound Tigers
home where they will face the Hershey Bears in the fifth and deciding
game of the AHL Atlantic Division playoff series.

HERSHEY, PA—The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have been living on the edge this postseason, and last night was no different. Staring down the barrel in a win-or-go-home game, Matt Lorito scored the game-winning goal 73 seconds into overtime to lift the Sound Tigers to a 3-2 victory in Game 4 of their Calder Cup Atlantic Division semifinal series against the Hershey Bears before 6,858 fans at Giant Center Thursday night.

Stephen Gionta and Oliver Wahlstrom each scored in regulation, but Bridgeport never led until Lorito fired home the game-winner off Vitek Vanecek’s glove at 1:13 of overtime. It was Lorito’s first playoff game-winner since May 27, 2017, when he was playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Hershey opened the scoring for the fourth consecutive time when Ryan Sproul’s followed up his game-winning tally on Tuesday night with hia second goal of the series. Beck Malenstyn created a flurry of chances in the Sound Tigers’ zone when he hammered a shot above the right circle that Bridgeport netminder Christopher Gibson turned back. Brian Pinho gathered the loose puck and ripped another shot from the right side that Gibson stopped, but Pinho slipped the rebound to the crease and Sproul pushed it in at the 5:47 mark.

Gionta tied the game 2:18 into the second period with his first goal of the postseason on a rebound in front. Vanecek denied Kyle Burroughs on a backhand shot between the circles and the second chance skipped to Gionta, where he muscled home the equalizer.

Steve Whitney took a high-sticking penalty at 15:01 of the middle frame, but Hershey swung the momentum with Jayson Megna’s second shorthanded goal of the series. Chris Bourque had the puck jump over his stick at the right point and Megna charged after it and won a race in transition. He outlasted Bourque to the puck and tucked a forehand shot between Gibson’s pads to make it 2-1 at the 15:22 mark.

Wahlstrom responded with his first professional playoff goal in the opening two minutes of the third period to knot the score at 2-2. Otto Koivula directed a pass to the right point where Burroughs stepped into a slap shot near the blue line. His drive was redirected by Wahlstrom in the low slot and beat Vanecek at 1:56. It was one of Bridgeport’s 17 shots in the third period, but the club’s only tally, despite outshooting the Bears by 12.

Bridgeport outshot Hershey 40-24, including 30-11 in the second and third periods combined. Gibson (2-1) made 22 saves, while Vanecek (1-1) turned back 37 shots. It was the first time the Sound Tigers have won two overtime games in a postseason series since 2006.

The best-of-five series is now tied at two games apiece and heads to Bridgeport for the deciding Game 5 at Webster Bank Arena on Saturday. The winner of that game will advance to the Atlantic Division Finals where they will take on the winner of the other Atlantic Division semifinal series being played between the Charlotte Checkers and the Providence Bruins. Charlotte currently leads that series 2-1.

First puck drops at 7 p.m., and tickets are currently available, including the Sound Tigers’ “4 for $44” ticket special. Tickets are available at the Webster Bank Arena, by calling 203-345-2300 (option 7) or by clicking HERE. Fans unable to attend can follow the live action via the Sound Tigers Radio Network and AHLTV, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.

THE SKINNY

 

 

#soundtigers #hersheybears #ahl #CalderCupPlayoffs

—With staff reports