[4][5] In July 2017, a U.S. District Court judge found developers James Duckett Jr. and Mitchell Anderson guilty of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.

[6] On October 28, 2015, the MASL announced that Hartford City FC would not be permitted to enter the league that season and began league-wide schedule changes to replace the failed franchise.

[9] In November, the National Premier Soccer League announced that Hartford City FC would join the Atlantic division's White Conference for the 2017 season.

Head coach Christian Benjamin resigned in the offseason, technical director Nick Balistierri took over, and the club relocated to Al-Marzook Field at the University of Hartford.

Playing at a more intimate TD Bank Oakwood Soccer Park in nearby Portland; City found much success with a heavily rebuilt roster; highlighted by new captain Mark Grant; returnee Louis Beddouri; depth players-turned-stars Cooper Knecht, Noah Silverman, and goalkeeper Evan Dadonna; and newcomers Ben Awashie and Jamis Fite.

A scheduling conflict at Oakwood led to the Colts' first games at Dillon Stadium, years after their failed attempt to secure it as their permanent home field.

Three days later, the Colts came out on the positive end of a hard-fought, back-and-forth affair against rival Kingston Stockade, avenging their Wooden Shoe loss and capturing their first trophy in club history.

Nestled into the renamed Trinity Health Stadium and fully recovered from a first-round exit from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the Colts ran rampant through the North Atlantic Conference schedule.

Evan Southern earned a controversial penalty at the edge of the box, and a converted PK by Christian Dionne moved the scoring momentum forward for both teams.

In 2019, the Agents of Hale along with Kingston Stockade FC's Dutch Guard established the Wooden Shoe, a fan cup to be awarded to the winner of the season series between the two teams.