Torres’ late strike gives Hartford Athletic win
HARTFORD — Gabriel Torres calmly strutted away from the net, approached the goal line, and dropped to his knees with his fingers pointed to the sky.
In the 76th minute of Hartford Athletic’s game against Loudoun United FC on Saturday, Torres gave Hartford a late, and ultimately decisive goal. His late dash resulted in Hartford’s first score since a 17th-minute equalizer, and locked up a 2-1 win. Hartford is now 6-2-1, and in second place in Group F of the USL’s Eastern Conference.
“When I saw [Alex] Lara had the ball and was getting ready for the cross, I tried to be in the best position I could,” said Torres, who scored his second goal of the season. “Honestly I felt very blessed ... It was very good to come back in front of our fans, it was very special.”
Torres’ game winner gave Hartford its first win in its last three games. It’s last victory came on Aug. 15 against New York Red Bulls II, and was followed by a draw to Loudoun and a loss to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, which overtook Hartford for first place in Group F.
With seven games remaining in the regular season, two of which are against Pittsburgh, Hartford can still chase down the Riverhounds and secure first place.
“I’m very proud of the team reaction, especially
the second half,” head coach Radhi Jaidi said. “I think we need to go and challenge Pittsburgh, it’s an opportunity for us. They’re in a good position and we’re in a good position. If they get in our way, we need to go and challenge them.”
Loudoun scored just four minutes into play off of a strike from Josh Fawole. Hartford’s Arthur Rogers evened the game at 1-1 in the 17th minute. Loudoun registered seven shots, three of which were on target, in the first half, Hartford kept United scoreless for the entire second half, and allowed just one shot on target. Elvis Amoh, a striker for Loudoun, had scored against Hartford in every match until Saturday.
“He’s a lucky guy,” Jaidi
said with a laugh.
Hartford had played Loudoun three times prior to Saturday’s game, and posted a record of 2-0-1, outscoring Loudoun 9-3. Jaidi said he adjusted the shape of the starting lineup in hopes of throwing a different look at Loudoun than one it had previously seen.
“They know everything about them and they know everything about you,” Jaidi said. “I thought the change of shape would be an opportunity for us to reduce their strengths and reduce their weaknesses.”
Saturday’s game was Hartford’s last before embarking on a stretch of seven games in 22 days, starting next Saturday at PIttsburgh, and ending Sept. 30 at Bethlehem Steel FC.