Football Season Guide

Hartford were one of the surprise packages of the 2025 season as the perennial strugglers surpassed expectations by finishing 4th in the Eastern Conference. Their efforts were fuelled by an outstanding run of form from striker Kyle Edwards but he has departed over the close-season to rivals Sacramento, while their second leading scorer Mamadou Dieng joined Minnesota in MLS midway through last season. This leaves a massive gap in the attack, though they have at least managed to retain the bulk of the other key members of the squad. Augustine Williams has arrived from Pittsburgh to fill the shoes of Edwards. With 85 goals in the USL Championship, he is an experienced and proven player at this standard. Having scored 9 goals last season, he will not be able to pull the offensive weight alone, Sadat Anaku arrives from KCCA in Uganda to help fill that void. This deal is typical of the type of signing that Hartford have made this season, as they have drawn players from across the world. Indeed, their midfield has been totally reconstructed with players arriving from Cyprus, Honduras, Ireland and Argentina, making it difficult to judge how well they will gel. There is more USL experience in the defensive line, which also reshaped. Matt Real will compete for the left-back slot while Owen Preshus should play on the right. Josh Belluz also spent time at the club on loan last term, so is a face well known, even if he only played a couple of matches. Goalkeeper Antony Siaha should be the first choice after keeping a decent 9 clean sheets in 27 games last season.