WINDSOR, Colo. — With one playoff win under their belts, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC will face North Carolina FC in the USL League One semifinals on Saturday.
“We’ve already played a playoff game, won it 4-1, so we go in with full confidence that we can go down there and beat North Carolina,” Hailstorm FC head coach Éamon Zayed said.
Hailstorm played NCFC three times during the regular season, splitting their two meetings away from home and dropping the matchup at Future Legends Field.
“When two good teams play each other it’s always going to be a tough game,” Hailstorm defender Arthur Rogers said. “It might be decided by an individual moment or something like a set piece.”
Rogers could prove key in the set piece department, having scored twice and provided nine assists from set pieces this season including an Olimpico in Hailstorm’s 4-1 win over Forward Madison FC in the quarterfinals last week. On the other side, NCFC scored a pair of goals direct from free kicks against Hailstorm this season, one from Louis Perez and one from Garrett McLaughlin.
“We have to limit needless fouls around our box, because they are very, very dangerous,” Zayed said.
Hailstorm and NCFC are scheduled to kick off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The match can be streamed live on ESPN+.
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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.