WINDSOR, Colo. — Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC emerged victorious, 4-2, in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw against the Charlotte Independence in USL Jägermeister Cup action at 4Rivers Equip.
Hailstorm outshot Charlotte 31-7 in the match and forced Independence goalkeeper Austin Pack to make 10 saves.
“We got to the final third quite a lot,” Hailstorm FC head coach Éamon Zayed said. “I thought we could have been more clinical, especially in the first half.”
Bruno Rendon got Hailstorm on the board with his third goal in the last two matches in the 14th minute, converting a rebound from his own shot. It was Rendon’s fourth goal in USL Jägermeister cup play.
Charlotte equalized with their first shot of the match in the 27th minute as Joel Johnson put one in the top corner of the goal from outside the box, sending the teams to the half level at 1-1.
The visitors took the lead early in the second half, again from outside the box. This time it was Luis Alvarez scoring from distance from a Gabriel Obertan pass. The two goals were Charlotte’s only shots on target in the match.
“It’s one of those games I just hate,” Hailstorm goalkeeper Lalo Delgado said. “I don’t have any nice, easy saves to get me into the game, it’s just a banger and then another banger.”
Hailstorm left it late to find the equalizer, and it was Marky Hernández providing another late equalizer. This time he got on the end of a cross from Ethan Hoard in the 89th minute, heading it past Pack to make it 2-2.
“Just what I expected. I got headers last year so it’s nothing new,” Hernández said.
Hailstorm then converted all four penalties in the shootout, while Delgado set the tone by saving Charlotte’s first attempt and saw them hit a penalty over the bar.
“We were on the wrong side of penalties against Omaha a few weeks ago, so it’s nice to get that extra point,” Zayed said.
Hailstorm return to USL League One action against Union Omaha at 6 p.m. next Saturday. The match can be streamed on ESPN+.
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The home of Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, 118-acre Future Legends Complex will feature 6,500-seat TicketSocket Park, 2,500-seat 4Rivers Equipment Stadium, 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.