July 30, 2022 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – Forward Madison FC News Release
Forward Madison FC battled Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC at Breese Stevens Field on Saturday, July 30th at 7:00 pm CT. The match resulted in a 1-1 draw. Rojay Smith had a stellar performance, scoring a clutch, equalizing goal in the 63rd minute. The Forward Madison faithful were electric, bringing a wild crowd of 4,759 fans!
The first half opened with the ‘Mingos playing aggressive and controlling the possession in the Hailstorm’s half of the field. A foul by Northern Colorado led to a free kick for Jeremiah Streng. The Finnish striker nearly scored off the free kick, as he fired a rocket of a shot at the Northern Colorado goalkeeper who managed to punch the ball just over the top post. At the 11th minute mark, Forward Madison recorded another chance thanks to a perfect Mitch Osmond pass to Derek Gebhard who shot a low ball at the goal. Unfortunately for the ‘Mingos, Gebhard’s shot got deflected and then cleared by a Northern Colorado defender. Raiko Arozarena built upon his dominant start since joining the Pink and Blue. The Cuban goalkeeper made his first save in the match in the 23rd minute when a Hailstorm striker drove right outside the edge of the box and shot a ball that didn’t make it off the ground.
At the 30th minute mark, the Hailstorm crossed a ball into the box with Arozarena slightly out of position. The cross went over Arozarena’s head and Northern Colorado’s leading goal scorer, Irvin Parra, tapped the ball into the goal with his head. The Hailstorm goal and now 1-0 lead seemed to give Northern Colorado more momentum. Raiko Arozarena did his best to limit the Hailstorm’s momentum by making a punch save off a corner kick in the 37th minute. As the first half of Saturday’s contest came to an end, the team’s went back and forth but neither team was able to record any chances or shots. Northern Colorado Hailstorm entered halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Forward Madison’s coach Matt Glaeser opened the second half with a couple of substitutions. Drew Conner and Cyrus Rad subbed onto the pitch for Christian Dean and Alann Torres. At the 50th minute mark, Northern Colorado looked like they were about to build on their lead after a great deep ball led to a one-on-one breakaway. Luckily for FMFC, Raiko Arozarena came in clutch, stopping the breakaway with a diving save. Forward Madison nearly scored minutes later thanks to a Matheus Cassini cross to Cyrus Rad who headed…