Hartford Athletic to host USL Cup championship game on Oct. 4

The Hartford Athletic will host the USL Cup final against Louisville City FC on Sunday, Oct. 4 in Hartford. (Photo courtesy Hartford Athletic)

The Hartford Athletic will host the championship match of the Prinx Tires USL Cup on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m. at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford.

The Athletic will try to win their second straight Cup championship when they host Louisville FC, outlasted San Antonio FC, 8-7 on penalty kicks in the other semifinal contest.

Hartford beat Sacramento, 1-0, last October to win their first tournament championship as a club. Dating back to last season, the Athletic have won 13 consecutive games without a loss in USL Cup play, including five consecutive wins in regulation in the knockout stage.

Barry Coffey scored the opening goal against Colorado Springs for his third goal of this year’s USL Cup competition, tied with Augustine Wiliams for the team high.

The Athletic is currently in its best form of the current campaign, sitting with a seven-game undefeated streak overall (5-0-2) and a +6-goal differential over that span.

Newly-arrived goalkeeper Ryan Schewe shone in his first start for Louisville FC. Schewe made three saves in the shootout, the last allowing Amadou Dia to convert in the 10th round and send the side through.

LouCity has advanced on penalties in each of its knockout stage games in the 2026 tournament, previously defeating the Tampa Bay Rowdies 5-3 in the quarterfinals and San Antonio in the semifinals.

Louisville City has an 8-1-3 record all-time against Hartford, including a 1-0 win when the teams met for the first time this campaign on July 4 in Louisville.

The championship game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.