Yale’s Nicky Downs will be in starting lineup in Hartford Athletic’s inaugural home match Saturday night

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FARMINGTON — Jimmy Nielsen, head coach of the fledgling Hartford Athletic soccer team, doesn’t typically announce his starting lineup prior to a match.

He’ll make an exception for Saturday night’s long-awaited home-opener, however. Nicky Downs will be roaming center midfield for the Athletic.

“He’ll be the first one on the starting sheet for Saturday,” Nielsen promised.

That’s because Downs, a Lakeville product who’ll graduate from Yale in a couple of weeks, couldn’t have been better in his first career start Saturday in a 4-1 loss at North Carolina FC this past Saturday.

“I thought he was our best player,” said Nielsen. “I told the guys after the game, if you don’t know what I mean about grinding and battling and giving everything you have, then go back, watch the game again and look at Nicky for 90-plus minutes. It was a phenomenal performance by him.”

Downs was just happy to be able to contribute a little more to a team that’s gotten off to a rough, 0-8 start.

“When your name gets called, you’ve got to be ready to take the chance,” he said, following a recent practice at Farmington Sports Arena. “It was nice to finally get out there (in the starting lineup), but I’m just trying to train hard. That’s the thought on my mind.”

The Athletic, in its inaugural season, has played its first eight games on the road as the team’s home stadium situation gets resolved. All eight games were against teams that would be in the United Soccer League playoffs if the postseason began today.

The team finally plays its first home match on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rentschler Field, though it likely won’t be playing home matches at its future home, the 5,500-seat Dillon Stadium, until mid-July.

Yale's Nicky Downs will be starting at midfield for the Hartford Athletic in its inaugural home match Saturday night at Rentschler Field. Yale's Nicky Downs will be starting at midfield for the Hartford Athletic in its inaugural home match Saturday night at Rentschler Field. Photo: Courtesy Of Hartford Athletic Photo: Courtesy Of Hartford Athletic Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Yale’s Nicky Downs will be in starting lineup in Hartford Athletic’s inaugural home match Saturday night 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

“Playing eight games on the road is never easy, especially for a new team,” Downs noted. “Just to get back at home, in front of our own fans, will make a huge difference. There’s definitely another level of excitement going into a game like that. Hopefully, (fans) will see that on the field.”

It’s been a hectic several months for Downs, who’s been balancing his senior year at Yale with his first foray into professional soccer. Downs, a Hotchkiss School graduate, was basically a four-year starter at Yale and was the team’s second-leading scorer last fall as a senior (four goals, five assists, 13 points). But he was more happy with the way Yale’s program improved over the course of his career, from winning just one game as a freshman to going 7-6-3 this past season and playing Final Four-bound Michigan State to a 2-2 draw in September.

“That, more than anything, was super-satisfying,” said Downs. “I loved my four years at school, and they obviously helped me to get where I am today.”

Soon after his senior season ended, Downs approached the Athletic and learned there was mutual interest. He signed a contract in early December and reported for preseason in February. It’s been tough, driving back and forth between Yale for classes and Farmington, where the Athletic practices (and where Downs also has an apartment), then heading out on the road on weekends.

“Until last week, it had been a pretty busy spring, juggling both,” he said. “But it ended up working out alright. I’m just excited to be done with school, and I can focus fully on being here.”

Classes ended for Downs last week, and he just has one more paper to complete (due Monday) before his collegiate career is officially over.

“That’ll be a nice feeling,” he noted.

Armed with an economics degree from Yale, Downs could have numerous job opportunities open to him in the future. But he plans on sticking this soccer thing out for as long as possible.

“This is definitely what I’m passionate about,” he said. “Obviously, I went to Yale and I have an interest outside of soccer. But as long as I’m physically able, I want to play, and this is an awesome first step for me, being a local guy and getting my first professional minutes here. I’ll just take it from there. As long as I’m able to, I want to be able to play.”

On Saturday night at The Rent, he’ll be playing in front of numerous family members and friends (along with at least 10,000 fans, the team reports). And he’ll be in the starting lineup, thanks in no small part to an eye-opening effort a week earlier in North Carolina.

“He came in with fresh energy, he gave everything he had,” Nielsen added. “He’s passing, he was a vacuum on the midfield. He was tackling, keeping things simple. Overall, by far, our best player in that game. I was very, very impressed with him.”

Fans can get tickets for Saturday’s match, as well as other matches and flex plans, by visiting hartfordathletic.com/tickets. Tickets for Saturday’s match start as low as $10.

david.borges