Prpa's late goal gives Athletic a tie in home opener

May 16—HARTFORD — Luka Prpa has scored goals in USL Championship before.

But none quite like the one he scored for Hartford Athletic Saturday night.

The midfielder's header in stoppage time in the second half gave Athletic a 1-1 tie with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in an Atlantic Division game before an announced sellout crowd of 2,750 at Dillon Stadium in the team's home opener Saturday — the stadium operated at 50 percent capacity.

"Getting a goal is always special," Prpa said. "So, to do it in front of them, it felt great."

With Athletic (2-0-1) trailing, forward Walmer Martinez was fouled by Pittsburgh's Joshua Gatt. Hartford captain Danny Barrera took the ensuing free kick from near the sideline. Prpa found his way to the ball and put it in with a flick of his head.

"It shows our character and our will to keep going," Prpa said. "I think the fans helped with that. They got behind us the whole time. Scoring a late goal, it just shows that we never gave up. We tried for the second one as well. Unfortunately, it didn't come."

Hartford had seized momentum in the 78th minute when Pittsburgh's Kenardo Forbes was given a straight red card for violent conduct. As a result, Pittsburgh was forced to play with 10 players for the rest of the way.

"The momentum went to us, and it was important that we equalized," Athletic head coach Harry Watling said.

Pittsburgh applied pressure throughout much of the first half. In the 40th minute, Russell Cicerone slid the ball towards former Athletic forward Alex Dixon following a great run. But Hartford's Walid "Tulu" Yacoubou's sliding tackle broke the play up. Two minutes later, Cicerone found the back of the net following a pass from Thomas Williamson.

Athletic had their chances in the first half. Barrera found Juan Carlos Obregon with a cross in the 17th minute. But Obregon's volley went over the net.

Though Pittsburgh outshot Hartford 9-8, including 3-2 in shots on goal, Athletic out-possessed (56.2% to 43.8%) and had better passing accuracy (83.4% to 79.8%) than the Riverhounds (0-1-1).

Jeff Caldwell made two saves in the win while Danny Vitiello stopped one shot.

Athletic is off until May 29 when it welcomes Real Monarchs SLC for an interconference game. Starting that night, Dillon Stadium will operate at 100 percent capacity for the first time since 2019.

"I think that everyone in society is now getting used to this kind of coming through and out of this crazy pandemic," Athletic chairman Bruce Mandell said before Saturday's game. "I expect the supporters' section to be crazy, loud, having a blast. I expect the rest of our fans to be into the game and really rooting this team on."

Kickoff on the 29th is at 7 p.m. (WCTX-TV59).

For coverage of the Connecticut Sun and professional women's basketball, Hartford Athletic pro soccer team, as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.