New England Soccer Today

Colts Playoff Hopes End in ET at Stockade

Photo credit: Hartford City FC

Sebastian Stezewski grabbed an early lead for Hartford City FC, but Kingston Stockade FC prevailed in extra time to grab a 2-1 win in Saturday’s Atlantic White Conference Division final in front of a record 1,396 fans at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, N.Y.

Stezewski scored inside of six minutes to put the Colts ahead before Kingston’s Bruce Jeter equalized in the 15th minute in a match that required extra time to separate the combatants.

Not long after extra time kicked off, Michael Creswick turned and blasted a volley from 20 yards in the 94th minute to put the hosts ahead.

Paulinton Johnson tested Skonieczny with back-to-back shots in the 101st minute, but was unable to stuff it into the back of the net. Shortly after Johnson’s second attempt, a loose ball squirted into the Stockade net, but a foul was called on the Colts, thus nullifying the goal.

But the drama was far from over. Hami Kara, who made a collection of acrobatic saves over the course of the evening, confidently denied a Matt Koziol penalty in the 118th minute to keep his team within striking distance in the waning moments.

Not long after, time expired on Hartford City’s bid for a spot in the Northeast Regional bracket.

Hartford City ends its inaugural campaign with a 5-3-4 record (19 points), good for third place in the Atlantic White Conference Division.

They notched the first playoff win in club history on Wednesday, a dramatic 2-1 road playoff victory at Boston City on Wednesday before their remarkable debut season came to an end in Kingston.

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