STATESBORO, Ga. — Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC earned their first win of the season in scintillating fashion Saturday with a 3-0 Storm Showdown victory over South Georgia Tormenta FC.
The win was the largest away from home in Hailstorm FC (1-0-1, 4 pts) club history and also marked the first back-to-back clean sheets in club history. It also moved Northern Colorado to second place in the USL League One table, ahead of Richmond on goal difference and with a game in hand on league leaders Charlotte.
“We had a game plan tonight and I thought the guys executed it excellently,” Hailstorm FC head coach Éamon Zayed said.
Hailstorm had to weather the Tormenta (1-2-0, 3 pts) storm early, with goalkeeper Lalo Delgado making a save in the 18th minute and defender Rob Cornwall clearing a Tormenta chance off the line a minute later.
It was Hailstorm FC’s captain who got them on the board first, as Cornwall found himself on the end of an Arthur Rogers corner kick and slotted it past Tormenta keeper T.J. Bush to give Northern Colorado the 1-0 advantage in the 25th minute.
“It was big for everybody I think, we needed that to kickstart us,” Cornwall said.
Hailstorm kept the pressure on, as midfielder Stefan Lukic went just over Bush’s goal with a shot from the top of the box in the 28th minute.
Northern Colorado took the lead into halftime and out-shot the hosts 8-6 despite having just 36 percent possession in the first half. They ended the game with a 13-8 advantage in shots and 35.7 percent possession.
As the second half began, Delgado was called upon to keep Tormenta off the board in the 51st minute and did so with an acrobatic save of a Jackson Khoury shot.
The story of the second half was the Hailstorm FC substitutes, who injected energy when they came on and helped to seal the win.
One of those subs was midfielder Nortei Nortey, who added to the lead in the 76th minute when his shot deflected past Bush. It was Nortey’s third career goal in blue and white, two of which have been against Tormenta.
Another substitute, forward Marky Hernández, wrapped up the three points with a diving header to convert on the rebound from forward Donald Benamna’s long shot that was parried by Bush in the 83rd minute. It was a rare moment for the 5-foot-5 winger, not known for his aerial prowess.
“He actually stays after training and works on his heading,” Zayed said. “It was great to see him duck down and score the header.”
In addition to the goal contributions, midfielder McCain Clarke came on for his debut, becoming the youngest player in Hailstorm history at just 18 years old.
“To have an 18 year old make his professional debut tonight speaks volumes for the club,” Zayed said. “Hopefully that will be the first of many pro appearances for McCain.”
The clean sheet was preserved in the 90th minute when Tormenta forward Mukwelle Kale missed a penalty to Delgado’s right.
“It felt good to get the clean sheet,” Hailstorm FC defender Bruno Rendon said. “I’m happy for the team, we all did well defensively.”
Hailstorm FC now step out of USL League One play and travel down I-25 to take on Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Wednesday at 7 p.m. Mountain time.
Featured Image credit: Jaylinn Coleman
—
The future home of Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, 118-acre Future Legends Complex, will feature 6,500-seat TicketSmarter Stadium, 2,500-seat Future Legends Field, multiple baseball diamonds, multi-purpose fields, an indoor sports arena, lodging, and retail; and will host guests for major sports leagues, tournaments, events and more.
More information is available at HailstormFC.com and FutureLegendsComplex.com.