COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — As Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC players and coaches celebrated a win in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Weidner Field for the second consecutive season, the real storm came as snow began to fall on a cold April night.
To borrow a quote that may be more appropriate for their baseball-playing stadium-mates, it was deja vu all over again for Hailstorm FC as they took down in-state rivals Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in extra time for a second straight season, this time by a score of 3-1.
“I take the Cup competitions seriously, but I can’t speak for the Switchbacks,” Hailstorm FC head coach Éamon Zayed said. “I love the coaches over there, but just felt they kind of disrespected the game a little bit tonight.”
Hailstorm FC started brightly in the first half against a youthful Switchbacks eleven, keeping 56 percent of the ball before the break and having a 9-2 advantage in shots. Despite that, the teams entered the locker rooms level at 0-0.
By the hour mark, the Switchbacks had used all five of their substitutions to bring on more senior players and were in the ascendency. It was the home team that finally broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute with a goal from midfielder Drew Skundrich, who took a pass from 17-year-old Marco Rios and beat Hailstorm keeper Lalo Delgado. It was the first goal Delgado has conceded this season.
The Switchbacks weren’t the only team to make effective use of their subs, however, as six minutes later Hailstorm forward Trevor Amman, on as a substitute, latched onto the end of an Arthur Rogers cross and equalized, sending the game into extra time.
“We won the game tonight because of Trevor Amann,” Zayed said.
Once extra time kicked off, Northern Colorado left little doubt as to who would be advancing to the next round of the cup.
“I thought the back line was fantastic, especially in extra time,” Zayed said,
It took just five minutes of the extra period for Hailstorm FC to take the lead with more contributions from their bench. Midfielder Marky Hernández beat a man with a step over and a dribble and sent in a low cross that forward Donald Benamna found the end of to score his first goal for the club and give his team a lead it would not relinquish.
“Yesterday I said watch out for Donald coming off the bench,” Zayed said. “I feel like if it’s a close game he’ll win it for us. Donald’s a live wire.”
In the early stages of the second half of extra time, Amann and Hernández swapped their roles from earlier in the night as the goalscorer’s long ball left Hernández one-on-one with Switchbacks keeper Alec Smir and he scored his second goal in as many games to secure the win.
“I was against the goalie and I wasn’t going to miss, that’s bread and butter for me,” Hernández said.
Hailstorm FC will find out their third round opponent when the draw happens Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Mountain time, and they return to action April 15 at 4 p.m. Mountain time against Richmond Kickers in USL League One play.
“We’re ready for the next game, hoping for a bigger opponent and a bigger opportunity,” Hernández said.
—
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.