WINDSOR, COLO – Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC will start its inaugural USL League One season with a six-game road trip before playing the club’s first-ever home match on June 8, the league and club announced today.
Hailstorm FC will play its season opener on April 9 when they travel to Virginia to play 2021 league quarterfinalists Richmond Kickers. One week later the team travels to take on Charlotte Independence, who are playing their first season in USL League One after spending the last three years in the USL Championship.
The final leg of the six-game road trip is on May 28, when Northern Colorado heads to Union Omaha to face the defending league champions.
While the first two months of the season see the team play exclusively on the road due to construction at the Future Legends Complex, when Hailstorm FC finally does return home in June, the matches will come thick and fast.
Northern Colorado’s June 8 home opener against North Carolina FC is the start of a stretch that will see the team play five times in 14 days, including home matches against South Georgia Tormenta FC on June 11, and fellow expansion club Central Valley Fuego FC on June 22.
July 4 promises to bring fireworks on the pitch as well as in the sky when Forward Madison FC heads to Windsor, while September sees Hailstorm FC host both the defending league champions, Union Omaha, and the 2021 runners-up, Greenville Triumph SC, three days apart.
The season finale is on October 8, when Northern Colorado hosts FC Tucson, who matched Omaha as the joint-highest-scoring team in the league this past season.
The 30-match schedule is the longest in the league’s history, and the top six teams will advance to the playoffs at the end of the year. The top two sides will get a bye during the quarterfinals (October 21-23), while the semifinals will be played the weekend of October 28-30, and the final will be held between November 4-6. The highest seed in each matchup, including the final, will host.
Season and single-game tickets will be available in early 2022.
FULL 2022 NORTHERN COLORADO HAILSTORM FC SCHEDULE:
Saturday, April 9 @ Richmond Kickers
Saturday, April 16 @ Charlotte Independence
Saturday, April 30 @ North Carolina FC
Saturday, May 7 @ Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Wednesday, May 18 @ Charlotte Independence
Saturday, May 28 @ Union Omaha
Wednesday, June 8 v North Carolina FC
Saturday, June 11 v South Georgia Tormenta FC
Saturday, June 18 @ Richmond Kickers
Wednesday, June 22 v Central Valley Fuego FC
Saturday, June 25 @ Greenville Triumph SC
Thursday, June 30 v Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Monday, July 4 v Forward Madison FC
Saturday, July 9 @ FC Tucson
Wednesday, July 13 v Central Valley Fuego FC
Saturday, July 16 v Charlotte Independence
Saturday, July 23 @ Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Saturday, July 30 @ Forward Madison FC
Tuesday, August 2 v Richmond Kickers
Saturday, August 6 v South Georgia Tormenta FC
Saturday, August 13 @ Union Omaha
Wednesday, August 17 v FC Tucson
Saturday, August 20 v Forward Madison FC
Saturday, August 27 @ Greenville Triumph SC
Saturday, September 3 v North Carolina FC
Saturday, September 10 @ South Georgia Tormenta FC
Wednesday, September 21 v Union Omaha
Saturday, September 24 v Greenville Triumph
Saturday, October 1 @ Central Valley Fuego FC
Saturday, October 8 v FC Tucson