After 120 minutes of play, Hartford Athletic fell short of a win after being defeated by MLS Next Pro side New York City FC II, 3-2.
The U.S. Open Cup is known as the longest-running soccer competition in the United States. What attracted so much attention to the tournament is its many Cinderella runs and once-in-a-generation matchups that culminate in one of the largest knock-out tournaments in the sport. Much controversy surrounded this tournament, though, after Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber decided to pull every MLS team from the competition. After much pushback, including from the United States Soccer Federation, the league settled by sending eight of its teams and filling the remaining spots with their MLS Next Pro affiliate teams, which brings us to this point. After defeating New York Red Bulls II, New York City FC II advanced to the third round where they met Hartford Athletic who earned a direct bye to this portion of the competition.
From the start, it was a dominant showing from Hartford. While New York’s defense was struggling to get momentum going on their side, the Athletic had many opportunities. It seemed like they managed to convert a goal in the 6th minute after a header by Mamadou Dieng, but he was caught offside. Throughout the start of the first half, Hartford continued to control the tempo of the game, with their next opportunity coming in the 21st minute when Ian Shaul’s attempted goal barely went wide after having a clear shot. It wasn’t until the 38th minute that there was some life in New York’s offense with a shot attempted by Jonathan Jiménez, but his shot was too wide, keeping the game level. The first half was a scoreless one, with both teams continuing to push for a breakthrough.
The half began with a more put-together offense from the visiting side. In the 48th minute, a corner kick from New York nearly put the team in the lead but Jonathan Shore’s attempted shot went too high., going over the goalpost. However, Hartford also was able to meet their opponent’s intensity as they started to create dangerous opportunities once again. One example was a missed opportunity in the 58th minute after Rece Buckmaster got control of the ball after a successful pass but again like their previous attempts, the shot was too wide. This was a common thing seen on both sides, which explains the scoreless stalemate. That all changed in the 63rd minute when New York’s Taylor Calheira put his team in the lead after gaining control of a loose ball in the box and punishing the Hartford defense. The Athletic soon felt the pressure to answer to their one-goal deficit, which saw their offensive effort ramp up. Hartford was given a lifeline in the 79th minute when a penalty was awarded to them and Romario Williams successfully converted the penalty, forcing the game to go into extra time.
After a grueling 90 minutes of play under cold and rainy conditions, both teams were set to add 30 minutes to what had been a back-and-forth game. However, it only took Hartford two minutes to change that after Deshane Beckford successfully dribbled past New York’s defense and scored within the center of the box. But New York responded to the deficit after a header from Calheria put the game back in a draw. Things turned for the worse in the second portion of overtime when New York took the lead in the 109th minute. Máximo Carrizo’s left-foot shot from the center of the box punished Hartford’s defense. Frustration soon became clear from the Athletic with many scuffles happening on the pitch that resulted in three Hartford players being sent off with red cards. Hartford head coach Brendan Burke described the final moment as “It’s just the poor referee lost his mind, I can’t control that.” Any chance of a late comeback crumbled as Hartford failed to respond to New York’s resurgence from their front line.
Many view this game as an upset for the Athletic and a milestone for the MLS Next Pro Team. As NYCFC II head coach Matt Pilkington mentioned, this was a great opportunity to have this team face pro teams to grow the team’s competitive level. An away win in a knockout stage tournament will bring much confidence to the young team. Hartford was seeking to make a run in the historic tournament but will now have to wait until next year for another shot. The Athletic returns to Trinity Health Stadium this Saturday with a regular season matchup against San Antonio FC at 5 p.m. on MyTV9 and ESPN+.