Photo: Marjorie Elzey

Hartford Athletic controlled the match from the get-go at Subaru Park Sunday night, leaving with all three points in a strong 3-0 win against Philadelphia Union II.

Coming off of a dominate 4-0 win against Loudoun United, Philadelphia Union II, for the first time in club history, sent out the same starting lineup in consecutive matches, in hopes of securing consecutive wins for the first time this season.

Hartford entered the match coming off a 3-1 home win against New York Red Bulls II on Wednesday evening.  With 22 points earned this season, Hartford was looking to keep a firm hold on 2nd place in Group F with a victory. A Hartford victory would also officially eliminate Philadelphia Union II from USLC Playoff contention.

The match kicked off just after 5 p.m. on a beautiful evening in Chester, PA.  Play started off chippy, with both teams exchanging a handful of fouls earlier on.

Hartford opened the scoring early in the 8th minute with a through ball stretching the Union II defense, leading to a breakaway.  The ball was crossed into the path of Alex Dickson who put the ball away with a well-placed finish, beating Matt Freese.  It was clear early on the Union II defense was in for a challenge against the Hartford attack.

A foul a few minutes later in the 11th minute gave way to a Hartford free-kick in Union II’s half, which was placed into a dangerous area in the box, but dealt with nicely by the Union II defense.

A sloppy give away by the Union II defense in the 14th minute led to Ever Guzman picking up the ball in the Union II box and getting enough on his shot to get the ball to the goal-line, which was ultimately aided across the line by Jamoi Topey, extending the Hartford lead to 2-0.

Hartford kept on the pressure in the 15th minute with captain Danny Barrera getting a good look at goal from outside the box, but the shot was dealt with easily enough by Freese.

Union II saw their first real opportunity with a ball into the box in the 18th minute.  Bohui looked to get a foot to the ball right in front of goal, but Hartford goalkeeper Parfait Mandanda did will to get in front and make the save.

Paxten Aaronson saw his first look at goal,  letting a shot fly front outside the box in the 22nd minute, but couldn’t find the target.

A great opportunity for Union II came a minute later in the 23rd minute, with defender Anthony Sorenson beating his man on the dribble to the corner, crossing it into Bohui, who put the shot just wide of the net.

Hartford appeared to get away with a foul in the 26th minute, when defender Sam Strong slid in with a strong challenge, getting some ball but also catching a large chunk of Axel Picazo.  Play went on, but Hartford played the ball back to Union II after the ball quickly went out of play.

Union II had another solid look with a ball played through to Axel Picazo in the 29th minute, who was just off the mark with his shot across goal.

Hartford squandered a golden opportunity to take a 3-0 led in the 30th minute with a ball played in across the box.  Freese came off his line but couldn’t get a hand to it.  Hesitancy by the Hartford attack to rip a shot led to enough Union II players getting back to force an errant shot off target.

The night’s first yellow came in the 34th minute when Dante Huckaby mistimed a tackle.  Hartford sent the ball into the box on the ensuing set piece, but was dealt with well  by Union II defender  Nathan Harriel.

In the 38th minute, a long ball through by Hartford captain Danny Barrera found Alex Dixon in stride.  Anthony Sorenson did will to get in front of the shot in the box but was forced to come off temporarily after getting banged up on the block.

Another yellow was issued just before half-time, this time to Hartford defender Sam Strong.

A decent look came in stoppage time when Patrick Bohui controlled a through ball into the box with a shot on target.  The shot lacked enough to pace and Mandanda was able to scoop up the shot easily.

Another opportunity was squandered by Hartford to extend their lead when Ever Guzman ran onto a nice long-ball, cutting into the box around Sorenson, but blasted the shot well off target.  The teams would go into the locker room with the score 2-0.

Union II made two substitutions at half, bringing on Danny Flores and Caden Stafford, replacing Jamoi Topey and Patrick Bohui.

A decent opportunity came for Union II off of a great cross field pass from Picazo  in the 54′ minute, which led to a Paxten Aaronson blocked shot.

However, Hartford again found the net again in the 58′  when Alex Dixon finished scored in the box after a careless turnover by Union II defense, extending the Hartford lead to 3-0.

Union II continued to try to find a goal, with a breakaway coming in the 72′ minute.  Paxten Aaronson carried the ball from mid-field to the edge of the eighteen, with options on both sides; he elected to take the long shot but was off target.

Another opportunity came off the corner a few minutes later, with the ball into the box finding Brendan Craig, but the volley went straight at Mandanda.

Hartford would ultimately finish playing with 10 men after Matteus Silva came off with an injury concern with no subs available.  They’d also earn an additional yellow card in the 90′ minute, but the match game to a close, ending 3-0.

The teams will meet again on Wednesday in Hartford.

3-Points

Long-Balls – Hartford found success all night with long-balls being played by their defenders over the top creating creating great chances in transition.

Turnovers – The Hartford attack was swift and deserves credit, but the Union II defense lacked conviction and communication in their own box, with two careless turnovers leading to two Hartford goals.

Out of Contention – The young Union II squad are now officially eliminated from contention for the USLC Playoffs

Lineups:

Philadelphia Union II

Patrick Bohui (Caden Stafford 45′), Paxten Aaronson, Axel Picazo (Quinn Sullivan 63′), Jack McGlynn, Brandon Craig, Steve Kingue (David Rabadan 63′), Anthony Sorenson, Nathan Harriel, Jamoi Topey (Danny Flores 45′), Dante Huckaby, Matt Freese

Unused Subs: Mitchell Budler, Jack Jasinski, Selmir Miscic,

Hartford Athletic

Ever Guzman (Markus Naglestad 75′), Alex Dixon, Aiden Mesias (Mads Jorgensen 67′), Justin Haak, Danny Barrera (c)(Nicky Downs 75′), Tyreke Johnson, Idan Cohen (Arthur Rogers 67′), Matheus Silva, Kevin Politz, Sam Strong (Alex Lara 67′), Parfait Mandanda

Unused Subs:  Markus Naglestad, Mike Novotny,  Gabriel Torres

Scoring Summary

HAR – Alex Dixon 8′

HAR – Jamoi Topey (own goal) 13′

HAR – Alex Dixon 58′

Misconduct Summary

PHI – Dante Huckaby 34′

HAR – Sam Strong 44′

HAR – Tyreke Johnson 90′