RICHMOND, Va. — Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC notched their third-straight win in USL League One play and earned their first clean sheet since March with a 2-0 victory over the Richmond Kickers.
“I’m delighted, the clean sheet has been coming. Really solid, professional performance,” Hailstorm head coach Éamon Zayed said.
It may have been 96 degrees at kickoff at City Stadium, but the hottest one in the building was Bruno Rendon, who scored his eighth goal in the last seven games in all competitions to give Hailstorm a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute.
“I’m just happy we’re getting the wins and climbing that table,” Rendon said.
After getting the goal five minutes before halftime, Hailstorm added a second five minutes after the break thanks to a brilliant individual effort for Ethan Hoard, who scored his seventh goal of the season in the 50th minute to make it 2-0.
“All four players up front contribute to the performance, but Bruno and Ethan are on fire right now,” Zayed said.
Hailstorm had the two-goal lead through their top two scorers, and the defense did their part to make sure it held, limiting Richmond to just a single shot attempt in the second half, and it took until stoppage time for that effort to be sent Lalo Delgado’s way.
“I think everybody bought in,” Hailstorm defender Johnny Fenwick said. “Big shifts from the starting 11 and also the players that came off the bench, a real team performance.”
Hailstorm will now step out of league play and return to USL Jägermeister Cup action when they come home to face Spokane Velocity FC at 7 p.m. next Saturday at 4Rivers Equipment Stadium.
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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.