# 2020 Hartford Athletic season

The 2020 Hartford Athletic season was the club's second season of existence and their second in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. This article covers the period from October 20, 2019, the day after Hartford's final match of the 2019 regular season, to the conclusion of the 2020 USLC Playoff Final, scheduled for November 12–16, 2020.

## Season in review
### Background, off-season and pre-season

Hartford finished its inaugural season in next to last place in the Eastern Conference, seven table positions and fourteen points out of the playoff spots. The club parted ways with head coach Jimmy Nielsen just seven days after the 2019 season's end and signed former Southampton U-23 coach Radhi Jaïdi to fill the vacancy on November 8. The club also parted ways with COO Donovan Powell five days later.
The club began announcing roster moves in October, also, quickly announcing the return of four players from the 2019 roster (Harry Swartz, Alex Dixon, Alex Davey, and Nicky Downs), with the return of Danny Barrera and Mads Jørgensen being announced in early November, and the return of Mike Novotny being announced in early December. New signings began in earnest in late November with the addition of Aiden Mesias, former Fresno FC defender Sam Strong, Brazilian defender Gabriel Torres, 2019 Greenville Triumph center back Kevin Politz, Cal State Northridge products Dre Deas and Alex Lara, Dartmouth midfielder Noah Paravicini, and UT-Rio Grande Valley midfielder Arthur Rogers. In January, the club signed San Antonio FC's all-time leading scorer Éver Guzmán, Brazilian defender Matheus Silva, and announced the return of forward Mac Steeves. In February, the club announced loan deals for goalkeeper Parfait Mandanda and Southampton U-23 midfielder Tyreke Johnson.

## Roster

    As of September 4, 2020
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
| 2 | DF | Alex Lara | United States |
| 3 | DF | Matheus Silva | Brazil |
| 4 | DF | Kevin Politz | United States |
| 5 | DF | Alex Davey | Scotland |
| 6 | MF | Arthur Rogers | England |
| 7 | MF | Noah Paravicini | United States |
| 8 | MF | Mads Jørgensen | Denmark |
| 9 | FW | Mac Steeves | United States |
| 10 | MF | Danny Barrera | United States |
| 11 | FW | Alex Dixon | United States |
| 16 | MF | Gabriel Torres | Brazil |
| 17 | FW | Alfonso Vazquez | United States |
| 18 | GK | Mike Novotny | United States |
| 25 | DF | Idan Cohen | Israel |
| 20 | FW | Markus Naglestad | Norway |
| 21 | MF | Nicky Downs | United States |
| 23 | MF | Aiden Mesias | England |
| 24 | DF | Sam Strong | United States |
| 28 | MF | Conor McGlynn | United States |
| 33 | MF | Harry Swartz | United States |
| 35 | GK | Parfait Mandanda (on loan from Charleroi) | DR Congo |
| 42 | FW | Dre Deas | United States |
| 80 | MF | Justin Haak (on loan from New York City FC) | United States |
| 88 | MF | Tyreke Johnson (on loan from Southampton) | England |
| 99 | FW | Éver Guzmán | Mexico |

## Competitions
### USL Championship
#### Standings — Group F

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 1 | Hartford Athletic | 16 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 35 | 2.19 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 39 | 10 | +29 | 34 | 2.13 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 3 | New York Red Bulls II | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 15 | 0.94 | |
| 4 | Philadelphia Union II | 16 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 20 | 45 | −25 | 9 | 0.56 | |
| 5 | Loudoun United FC | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 28 | −18 | 6 | 0.46 | |

#### Match results

In the preparations for the resumption of league play following the shutdown prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hartford's schedule was announced on July 2.

#### USL Cup Playoffs
### U.S. Open Cup

As a USL Championship club, Hartford as enter the competition in the second round, to be played April 7–9. The 2020 U.S. Open Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | USLC | USLC |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 11 | FW | USA | Alex Dixon ||16 || 6 ||15 || 6 |
| 99 | FW | MEX | Éver Guzmán || 13 || 5 || 12|| 5 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Kevin Politz ||15 || 1||14 ||1 |
| 33 | MF | USA | Harry Swartz ||7 || 1||7 ||1 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Aiden Mesias || 14 || 0||13 ||0 |
| 42 | FW | USA | Dre Deas || 7 || 0|| 7||0 |
| 28 | MF | USA | Conor McGlynn ||10 ||1 ||9 ||1 |
| 25 | DF | ISR | Idan Cohen || 8 || 0|| 7||0 |
| 24 | DF | USA | Sam Strong ||14 || 2|| 13||2 |
| 21 | DF | USA | Nicky Downs ||11 || 0|| 11||0 |
| 20 | FW | NOR | Markus Naglestad || 9 ||1 || 8||1 |
| 17 | FW | USA | Alfonso Vazquez || 4||1 || 4||1 |
| 16 | MF | BRA | Gabriel Torres ||15 || 2|| 14||2 |
| 10 | MF | USA | Danny Barrera || 17 ||2 || 16||2 |
| 9 | FW | USA | Mac Steeves ||0 || 0|| 0||0 |
| 8 | MF | DEN | Mads Jørgensen ||12 ||2 || 12||2 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Arthur Rogers ||15 ||1 ||14 ||1 |
| 3 | DF | BRA | Matheus Silva || 15 || 1|| 14||1 |
| 2 | DF | USA | Alex Lara ||12 ||1 || 12||1 |
| 7 | MF | USA | Noah Paravicini ||0 ||0 || 0||0 |
| 80 | MF | USA | Justin Haak || 8 ||1 ||7 ||1 |
| Players who left Hartford during the season: ||||||||
| 85 | MF | ENG | Tyreke Johnson | 14 | 2 | 14 | 2 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Alex Davey | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Name | USLC | USLC | Total | Total |
| 3 | Defender | Matheus Silva | 8 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 10 | Midfielder | Danny Barrera | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 | Midfielder | Nicky Downs | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 42 | Forward | Dre Deas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Forward | Alex Dixon | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | Midfielder | Conor McGlynn | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | Midfielder | Harry Swartz | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Defender | Alex Davey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Midfielder | Gabriel Torres | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 35 | Goalkeeper | Parfait Mandanda | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Defender | Sam Strong | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 12 | Defender | Alex Lara | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 80 | Midfielder | Justin Haak | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Defender | Kevin Politz | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 88 | Midfielder | Tyreke Johnson | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | Goalkeeper | Mike Novotny | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | Midfielder | Mads Jørgensen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Midfielder | Arthur Rogers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 99 | Forward | Ever Guzman | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Forward | Markus Naglestad | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Defender | Idan Cohen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

| No. | Name | USLC | USLC Playoffs | Total | Games Played |
| No. | Name | 22 | Parfait Mandanda | 4 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
| 16 | Mike Novotny | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes | Date |
| Defender | Sam Strong | Fresno FC | Free | December 1, 2019 |
| Defender | Gabriel Torres | Chattanooga FC | Free | December 9, 2020 |
| Defender | Kevin Politz | Greenville Triumph SC | Free | December 9, 2019 |
| Forward | Dre Deas | CSUN Matadors | Free | December 12, 2019 |
| Defender | Alex Lara | CSUN Matadors | Free | December 12, 2019 |
| Midfielder | Noah Paravicini | Napa Valley 1839 FC | Free | December 18, 2019 |
| Forward | Arthur Rogers | Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros | Free | December 23, 2020 |
| Forward | Ever Guzman | San Antonio FC | Free | January 8, 2020 |
| Midfielder | Matheus Silva | Miami FC | Free | January 13, 2020 |
| Midfielder | Conor McGlynn | FA Euro New York | Open tryouts | March 12, 2020 |
| Forward | Alfonso Vazquez | Windham High School | Open tryouts | March 12, 2020 |
| Forward | Markus Naglestad | Egersunds IK | Free | August 13, 2020 |
| Defender | Idan Cohen | Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. | Free | September 3, 2020 |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes | Date | Source |
| Defender | Alex Davey | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Free | September 2 | |

### Loan in

| Pos. | Player | Parent club | Length/Notes | Beginning | End |
| Goalkeeper | Parfait Mandanda | R. Charleroi S.C. | Season long | February 20 | End of season |
| Midfielder | Tyreke Johnson | Southampton F.C. | Season long | February 24 | October 8 |
| Midfielder | Justin Haak | New York City FC | Remainder of the season | September 9 | End of season |

### Loan out

| Pos. | Player | Loanee club | Length/Notes | Beginning | End | Source |

## Kits

| Home | Away | Charity Alternate |
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Record |
| Home | Green | Green | Green | Match 3 vs. Louisville / 6–2–1 |
| Away | White | White | White | Match 1 vs. New York / 4–0–2 |
| Charity Alternate | Red | Red | Red | Match 15 vs. Philadelphia / 1-0-0 |