The USL season is a few weeks old, but local fans got their first live look at Hartford Athletic's 2021 squad over the weekend, playing to a 1-1 draw against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Dillon Stadium on Saturday. Now 2-0-1 on the year, the squad will look to build off of last year's first-place finish and move past the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
Whether you're a new or "old" (as in, three years) fan, let's get reacquainted or introduced to some of the key members of Hartford Athletic as they embark on a USL championship.
ATTACK
Juan Carlos Obregon, Jr: The New York native and former Siena Saint enters his third season in the USL Championship, having spent 2019 and 2020 with Rio Grande Valley FC. Obregon has started up top as the center forward in each of the first three games as part of the 4-3-2-1 formation Hartford uses, scoring his first goal in the season opening win against New York Red Bulls II.
Preston Tabortetaka: The 22-year-old has traveled all around the world in his young career, but is off to a comfortable start with Hartford. His effort off the bench in scoring the only goal of a 1-0 win at Miami gave him Man of the Match honors, and he's started in the other two games on the right wing.
It's his third year in the USL Championship, after making a pair of appearances with San Antonio in 2020 and playing in 31 games on a loan spell with Las Vegas in 2019. Prior to that, the forward had played professionally in his native Cameroon, Albania and the Czech Republic in addition to the U.S.
MIDFIELD
Danny Barrera: An original member on the 2019 team, Barrera is the mainstay in the Hartford midfield. The 31-year-old led the team in assists in both 2019 and 2020 (when he was also named team captain and the team's MVP), and he's off to a strong start again in 2021. He scored the team's first goal of the season in a 3-2 win over New York Red Bulls II in the opener, and has an assist in each of the last two games (including the 91st minute equalizer against Pittsburgh).
Arthur Rogers: Along with Barrera, Rogers has started every league game thus far for the Boys in Green, once as a central midfielder and twice out on the left. A fellow returner from last year's team, in which he scored twice in nine starts and 16 appearances, this is Rogers' third season in the USL Championship after graduating from UT Rio Grande Valley.
DEFENSE
Jeff Caldwell: A new member of the 2021 squad, the goalkeeper hasn't played much since leaving the University of Virginia in 2017. Drafted by New York City FC in the MLS SuperDraft, he didn't play in 2018, spent 2019 on loan with Memphis 901 before NYC released him. And last year he was the third-choice keeper for the New England Revolution, not making any appearances in 2020. Now he's the first-choice in Hartford, where he's made each of the first three starts to the league season.
Gabriel Torres: Another returner, the left-back has started each of the first three games in 2021. The 24-year-old Brazilian led the team last year in most defensive categories (duels won, aerial duels won and tackles won) and chipped in a pair of goals.
Harry Watling: On top of everything else, the Boys in Green have a new head coach. Harry Watling is the team's third head coach in as many years, coming over from West Ham of the Premier League, where he worked in the Academy system with youth players. Despite being only 31, Watling brings over a decade of coaching experience, working in the academy systems for Chelsea and Millwall in addition to West Ham.