Atlanta United 2 begins the 2019 United Soccer League Championship season against expansion team Hartford Athletic Saturday at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. The match is scheduled to kick-off at 7:30 p.m. EST and will be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2’s will kick off the night under new head coach Stephen Glass at Kennesaw State University. Atlanta retained eight USL-contracted players from last season while adding eight more to its roster including newcomers Guillermo Benitez, Dylan Castanheira, Wesly Decas, Luiz Fernando and Laurence Wyke. Jackson Conway, previously of Atlanta United’s Academy, signed with ATL UTD 2 in the offseason while Jose Hernandez and Patrick Okonkwo were each loaned to the USL Championship squad for the season. Keep an eye out for Laurent Kissiedou, Yosef Samuel, and Lagos Kunga this year.
Saturday’s match will be Hartford Athletic’s first in club history. Hartford starts its inaugural season with eight consecutive road contests as construction continues on Dillon Stadium, the future home for Athletic. Hartford is managed by Jimmy Nielsen. This is the second time Nielsen has been the head coach of an expansion side as he coached the USL’s OKC Energy FC from 2014 to 2017.
MATCH INFORMATION
Saturday, March 9 | Fifth Third Bank Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia | 7:30 p.m. (EST)
ATL UTD 2 (0-0-0, 0 points) vs. Hartford Athletic (0-0-0, 0 points)
STREAM: ESPN+
Talent: Jon Nelson (play-by-play) and Jason Longshore (analyst)
Link: here