GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Despite losing a pair of one goal leads, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC extended their unbeaten streak to four with a 2-2 draw at USL League One newcomers Lexington SC.
“You have to look at it as two points dropped,” Hailstorm FC head coach Éamon Zayed said. “When you get into those positions where you score two goals away from home and you take the lead twice, you need to be able to keep them out.”
Hailstorm FC (4-1-3, 15 pts) got on the board first, with forward Billy King scoring the earliest goal of the season after latching on to a through ball from Arthur Rogers in the fifth minute. It was his third league goal of the season.
Lexington (2-5-3, 9 pts) nearly had a response in the 10th minute, but Lalo Delgado made a fine diving save to his right against Lexington’s Ates Dioif to keep the home team off the board.
Delgado could not repeat the feat in the 21st minute as he found himself one-on-one against Diouf, who pulled Lexington level.
Northern Colorado restored their lead in the 39th minute when Bruno Rendon scored his first Hailstorm goal after a scramble in front of goal from a corner kick making it 2-1 at halftime.
“I’m happy to score my first goal for the team, but I’m also disappointed we didn’t get the win,” Rendon said.
The second half was relatively uneventful until Diouf found himself free in the Hailstorm penalty area again and scored his second equalizer of the match in the 81st minute.
“We didn’t take care of the ball enough in key areas,” Hailstorm defender Arthur Rogers said. “We didn’t do our defensive jobs properly and that’ll cost you.”
Diouf thought he had a hat trick and a game winner from a free kick deep in stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out for offside and Northern Colorado preserved the draw.
The match in Lexington was Hailstorm FC’s seventh of eight in the league, and ninth of 10 overall, away from home this season, but they will be on home turf for four of their next five contests.
“I’m delighted to be able to get back home over the next few weeks,” Zayed said.
The first of those is a mid-week tilt this Wednesday at Future Legends Field against the Richmond Kickers. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Mountain time.
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The 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.