Hartford Athletic are the hottest team in the USL.
The club ran its unbeaten streak to seven straight with a 2-0 win over Oakland Roots SC at Trinity Health Stadium on Saturday night.
Athletic haven’t lost a game since Aug. 10, winning four and drawing three, and entered Sunday just one point back of the final playoff spot in the East with five games left to play.
Midfielder Marlon Hairston got Athletic on the board first on Saturday, scoring off of a rebound on a Triston Hodge shot in the 20th minute. Hairston, who’s missed 10 games due to injury this season, left the game about five minutes later with an injury, however.
Defender Jordan Scarlett picked up a red card in the 51st minute, sending Hartford down to 10 men, but it didn’t matter, as Athletic defended valiantly and kept Oakland off the scoreboard for the remaining 39 minutes.
Kyle Edwards scored his first goal of the season in the 77th minute, giving Hartford a 2-0 lead. Athletic finished off its fourth straight clean sheet as goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro made another six saves, including three straight on target in stoppage time.
Hartford has held opponents scoreless in the last 429 minutes of game action, a remarkable streak that helped land Ribeiro USL Player of the Week honors last week.
Athletic (10-12-7, 37 points) will head to Tampa Bay on Saturday, Sept. 28 for its next game. The club is looking to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
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