Danny Barrera looks to carry the ball upfield in Saturday night’s 0-0 draw with Indy 11 in Hartford. (Photo courtesy Hartford Athletic)
HARTFORD, Sept. 7, 2024 – The Hartford Athletic soccer team battled to 0-0 tie on a cold and rainy Saturday night at Trinity Health Stadium in USL Championship action.
Hartford (8-12-6, 30 points) is 2-0-2 in their last four games and picked up another point. But Hartford remains five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference with eight games remaining.
Hartford has a pair of road games this week in Memphis on Wednesday and at Miami on Saturday night as the Athletic hope to make a run at a playoff berth.
“I was extremely proud of the energy, the effort, the attention, the detail, the fight. I mean, the reality is, by the time the game ends, we’re missing eight guys that normally start for us. So that’s a great result and a huge sign of growth. So, I’m really happy,” Hartford head coach and GM Brendan Burke said. “Probably our best chances came off crossing situations where we just didn’t put the ball in the right spot. We overcooked the cross or we undercooked the cross.”
The two squads took five shots through the first 35 minutes, putting one on target apiece. Hartford’s Michee Ngalina threatened in Indy’s box just three minutes into the match, forcing a save at the near post from Indianapolis goalie Hunter Sulte.
Indy Eleven (10-9-7) had the most dangerous opportunity of the half, when Foster forced a quality kick save from Hartford goalie Renan Ribeiro in the 38th minute. The striker bursted through Hartford’s third in transition, leaving him one-on-one with Ribeiro on the right side of the box.
Charging off his line, Ribeiro extended his right foot to deny the open look on goal and keep Hartford level. Indy took two more shots that didn’t challenge Ribeiro, and the teams took to the locker rooms knotted at 0-0.
The Green and Blue took more control over the match in the second half, stabilizing the Indy attack and holding them thirty minutes without a shot.
Athletic generated the first scoring opportunity of the half in the 60th minute, when Kyle Edwards headed Danny Barrera’s corner delivery just over the crossbar. Nine minutes later, Edwards put another header from Barrera just wide.
The teams remained deadlocked as the match reached stoppage time, and Michael Deshields came up with potentially point-saving defensive play on the final action of the match. Maalique Foster chased down a lead ball into Hartford’s third, and cut into the box with defenders on his back. Just before Foster could get a shot off, Deshields swooped in to take the ball right off his foot. The final whistle blew less than a minute later, solidifying the 0-0 final.
Danny Barrera created three chances for Hartford off the bench, and Kyle Edwards took five shots. Renan Ribeiro finished the night with two saves and four clearances.
Hartford returns home on Saturday, Sept. 21 when they host Oakland at 7 p.m.
