
Hartford’s Mac Steeves races onto the ball and gets it past Charlotte goalie Curtis Anderson in a USL game in East Hartford last spring. (Photo courtesy Hartford Athletic)
HARTFORD, July 2, 2020 – The Hartford Athletic soccer team will finally get to play in two weeks. The United Soccer League Championship league released their revised 2020 schedule and the Athletic have nine of 16 games set to be played at Dillon Stadium.
The opening game of the season for Hartford will be on Friday, July 17, when the Athletic travel to New Jersey to face the New York Red Bulls II. The Athletic will host their first USL Championship game at Dillon Stadium on Monday, July 20, when Loudoun United out of Leesburg, Va., comes to town. Hartford never got started when the USL suspended play in March due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
“We are very excited to start our season,” said Radhi Jaïdi, Hartford’s first-year head coach. “We’ve dealt with many challenges on and off the field and I am proud of our club for handling everything so positively. Our players and staff have been intensely focused over the past few weeks and have worked hard to make sure they will be at their best for our first match. I am incredibly optimistic about this season.”
No decision has been made yet regarding fans attending games at Dillon Stadium. Hartford is working closely with state and city officials on protocols that would allow fans to safely attend matches. Season ticket holders, flex plan holders and fans with single game tickets will have first priority to get what is expected to be a limited amount of tickets.
Every Hartford Athletic game will be available on broadcast TV on WCTX Channel 59 (MyTV9) with the exception of the home opener against Loudoun United, which will be broadcast on ESPN2. Each game will be streamed on WTNH.com.
Hartford went 8-21-5 in their first season in USL Championship.
The 17 teams in the USL’s Eastern Conference were split up into four groups to reduce the amount of travel for the teams.
Hartford is in Group F with New York, Loudoun United, Philadelphia Union II and 2019 Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Each team will play their fellow group members three times with one out-of-group contest. Hartford’s out-of-group contest will be on July 29 when the Athletic travel to Indianapolis to take on Indy Eleven at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
Meanwhile, each team in Group F will play its fellow group members three times. The remaining games will be played against teams that fall within a similar geographic region.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the USL Championship playoffs.
Group E: Indy Eleven, Louisville City FC, Saint Louis FC, Sporting Kansas City II
Group F: Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United FC, New York Red Bulls II, Philadelphia Union II, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Group G: Birmingham Legion FC, Charlotte Independence, Memphis 901 FC, North Carolina FC
Group H: Atlanta United 2, Charleston Battery, Miami FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies
Hartford Athletic 2020 USL Championship Schedule*
July 17: @ New York Red Bulls II
July 20: LOUDOUN UNITED FC**
July 25: PHILADELPHIA UNION II
July 29: @ Indy Eleven
August 2: LOUDOUN UNITED FC
August 9: @ Philadelphia Union II
August 15: NEW YORK RED BULLS II
August 19: @ Philadelphia Union II
August 23: LOUDOUN UNITED FC
August 28: PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS SC
Sept. 5: LOUDOUN UNITED FC
Sept. 12: @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Sept. 16: NEW YORK RED BULLS II
Sept. 20: PHILADELPHIA UNION II
Sept. 26: @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Oct. 4: @ New York Red Bulls II
*All home matches to be played at Dillon Stadium, times TBD
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.


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