What was arguably the best regular season in Hartford Athletic‘s history came to a close with a loss at Louisville on Saturday night, and now Hartford will have to go on the road to open the playoffs.
Athletic fell 1-0 to top-seeded Louisville City FC, thanks to a 39th minute score from Phillip Goodrum.
Louisville outshot Hartford 9-0 and dominated possession, with 56.4% of the ball.
Hartford needed at least a draw to clinch a home playoff game at Trinity Health Stadium on Nov. 1, but the loss combined with a North Carolina win and a Pittsburgh draw meant the team will go on the road for the first round, at Pittsburgh. They’ll enter the playoffs as a No. 5 seed.
Hartford lost both games to Pittsburgh this season, falling 1-0 in Pennsylvania in March and 2-1 in Hartford in September, which was the only defeat in a string of seven games, six of which were Athletic wins.
The game is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
