September 4, 2022 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC News Release
SEVERANCE, Colo. – Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (8W-9L-8D, 32 points) defeated North Carolina FC (6W-12L-5D, 23 points) 4-1 at Severance High School. Trevor Amann fueled the win with the first hat trick in Northern Colorado history.
Lachlan McLean grabbed Northern Colorado an early lead. 15 minutes in, Arthur Rogers whipped a free kick into the six-yard box. McLean brought the ball down, and beat North Carolina goalkeeper Will Pulisic with the point blank range shot. This moved Rogers into second-place in USL League One for assists with eight.
A quarter of an hour later, the Hailstorm doubled their lead. A long ball over the top of the North Carolina defense put Amann in a one-on-one with Pulisic. Amann found an angle and passed the ball into the back of the net for 2-0.
On the verge of halftime, Amann completed the first brace in club history. From another Rogers free kick, McLean headed a shot on target. Pulisic made a diving save to deny McLean. However, the ball rebounded to Amann. putting it into the wide-open net, making it three-nil at the break.
In the 79th minute, Amann took a penalty kick for Northern Colorado. The referee awarded the penalty kick after Jackson Dietrich got fouled just inside the penalty area. Pulisic chose the right direction of Amann’s shot, but could only deflect it into the top of the net. The hat trick brought Amann’s season total to five goals, the second-most at the club.
Four minutes later, North Carolina received a penalty kick when Wolfgang Prentice took down Oalex Anderson. Garrett McLaughlin stepped up to the spot, scoring his 11th goal of the season, keeping his chances at the USL League One Golden Boot award alive.
It is the first time Northern Colorado have won back-to-back league matches. Following up their 2-0 victory over Greenville Triumph SC on August 27. The win moves the Hailstorm into the playoff picture with six weeks to play.
The Hailstorm return to action on September 10 when they visit South Georgia Tormenta FC. The match will begin at 5:30 p.m. MDT, at the Erk Russell Athletic Park in Statesboro, Georgia.
Match Quotes:
Head Coach Éamon Zayed
On the hat trick…
“It’s been coming, Trevor’s been in and around the box. He’s hit the post, he’s hit the bar, he’s had goals disallowed, and he’s missed some chances as well. With Irvin out, I challenged Trevor and Lachlan to go out and score some goals. He was due…