Northern Colorado come up just short in their first time to Greenville.
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The last road trip for the month of June for the Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC was to face off against the reigning USL League One runner-ups, Greenville Triumph SC.
Greenville came out firing first forcing keeper Thomas Olsen to make a close range save in the 6th minute. The ensuing corner needed to be taken care of as well by Olsen but it was less challenging than the save he had made moments before. Olsen made it a hat trick of saves early on when he was called into action once more in the 13th minute. A ball fell for forward Lucas Coutinho on the edge of the area and he let one fly but Olsen dove to his left and punched it wide of the target.
The first half came and went without many more threats to the nil-nil scoreline. That all changed in the second half when forward Jacob Labovitz was taken down in the area by Destan Norman. The Greenville number ten Don Smart was the one to go to the spot and converted, sending Olsen the wrong way, and opening the scoring.
Four minutes was all that lead would hold for as we saw a connection that we witnessed earlier this week. The substitute Marky Hernandez had the ball out on the wing and flew a cross across the box for the Hailstorm number ten Irvin Parra, who powered a header past the diving keeper Paul Christensen. That makes for a Northern Colorado best, six goals in USL League One action for Parra.
Just past the hour mark in the match, Greenville had a substitute of their own impact the game. Jesús Ibarra cut the ball back outside the edge of the box and let one go. However, unlike the earlier mentioned shot from the edge of the box, this time Olsen wasn’t able to get a glove to the ball.
Late on, when pushing for the equalizer Jerry Desdunes made his return to the pitch after his injury a few matches ago that kept him out of Wednesday’s fixture. Desdunes also immediately sent a cross in that made Greenville wary. Then with time winding down, Hernandez picked out a through ball for Desdunes who had a step on the keeper. But in the process of rounding the keeper the angle closed to find the target and Desdunes’ effort was stopped by the Triumph. The Triumph players started lining up for a free kick after but it was given as a goal kick.
“I felt we created enough opportunities, good opportunities, to maybe get something from the game,” said head coach Éamon Zayed.
Opening in 2022, the 118-acre Future Legends Complex will feature two stadiums, multiple baseball diamonds and multi-purpose fields, an indoor sports arena, lodging, and retail; and will host guests for major sports tournaments, events, leagues, and more.