Recovery to rally Hartford Athletic comes back from two down; Windham native Vazquez debuts
HARTFORD — Hartford Athletic played arguably its worst soccer of the young season to start Saturday’s game against Philadelphia Union II at Dillon Stadium, as the defense allowed its first two goals of the year in the first 16 minutes.
Hartford’s back line and keeper Parfait Mandanda, who had been a wall in net through the team’s first two games, both wins, quickly unraveled as Philadelphia’s players celebrated in front of Hartford’s fans not once, but twice, in the early part of the game.
The early deficit was no problem for the home side. Hartford brushed off the sluggish start, scored twice in the first half ’s final 10 minutes and took the lead just eight minutes into the second half and never let go, en route to a 3-2 win in front of 1,375 fans. With the win, Hartford is in sole possession of first place in its regional group in the USL’s Eastern Conference.
“It’s only the start,” said firstyear head coach Radhi Jaidi. “I’m not even thinking about being on the top as much as I’m thinking about our performance on the pitch.”
Philadelphia scored five minutes into the game, thanks largely to a Hartford miscue. Defender Kevin Politz slipped in the box while attempting to wrangle a loose ball, and Philadelphia’s Yomi Scintu scooped it up and scored on Mandanda in a one-on-one situation. Union II scored again 11 minutes later, this time on a pass from Danny Flores to Axel Picazo.
There was a feeling on the home sideline that there were goals waiting to be scored. Philadelphia had allowed 11 goals in its last two games, while Hartford proved an ability to score in bunches after a 3-1 win over Loudoun United FC just five days prior.
“If you go back and see the goals we conceded, it was individual mistakes,” Jaidi said. “In general, I’m really positive about the resilience of the team, and the coming back from 2-nil down.”
After a 20-minutes scoreless period where Hartford’s attack continued to settle in, Gabriel Torres scored Athletic’s first goal of the night, and was followed 10 minutes later by Mads Jorgensen, who ripped an equalizer from outside the box just moments before halftime.
Ever Guzman, who scored 23 goals for San Antonio FC from 2017-19, scored a go-ahead goal in the 53rd minute, his second game