CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — For more than 90 minutes, it looked like Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC would get their first ever win in Chattanooga, but the footballing gods, and Red Wolves forward Ropapa Mensah, had other ideas.
Mensah headed in a corner kick in the 93rd minute after Hailstorm had led for the entire second half, making the result a 1-1 draw. The draw did extend Hailstorm’s club-record unbeaten streak to nine games.
“Obviously disappointed to concede a set piece in injury time,” Hailstorm assistant coach Colin Falvey said. “Kinda left Chattanooga hanging around and got sucker punched.”
The match was also Hailstorm’s third straight draw at CHI Memorial Stadium.
“Hard game, it’s a tough place to come. The boys put in a lot of effort and it’s just really disappointing to lose the three points right at the end,” Hailstorm midfielder Arthur Rogers said.
It was an uneventful first half until Trevor Amann extended his lead in USL League One’s Golden Boot race in stoppage time, getting on the end of a cross from Valentín Sabella and giving Hailstorm a 1-0 lead just before the break.
Hailstorm nearly doubled their lead early in the second half, but Noah Powder’s long-range shot was tipped over the bar by an acrobatic save from Chattanooga keeper Carlos Avilez. They thought they had doubled the lead in the 75th minute but Amann’s second goal of the night was disallowed for offside in the build up.
That meant the score was still 1-0 when Mensah headed the corner home at the near post to equalize for the hosts.
“It kind of feels like a loss,” Hailstorm goalkeeper Lalo Delgado said. “At the end of the day that’s a good sign for us if a tie is a loss away.”
Hailstorm will not have much time to lick their wounds, as they are back in action Tuesday night against One Knoxville SC. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Mountain time in Knoxville.
“”We’ve got to dust ourselves off, it’s a quick turnaround to Tuesday for another big away game to try to get top of the table,” Falvey said.
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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.