Northern Colorado may have shown us they are for real, but it’s no time to panic in Madison.
Madison, WI – Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC finished a six-match road stretch with a 2-0 win against Forward Madison on Thursday night. Forward Trevor Amann scored both goals, bringing his season total to five, while Madison’s goalkeeper saved what could have been the third on a Billy King penalty kick.
Both squads entered the match fresh off of road wins, with Madison having defeated top-ranked NCFC, and Hailstorm taking care of lower-ranked One Knox.
Trevor Amann struck early after stripping Madison defenseman Timmy Mehl and then maneuvering around two other defenders to get the ball past goalkeeper Bernd Schippman.
Madison attempted to strike back, with a quality shot from Christian Chaney on a beautiful chance created by Jayden Onen that went just wide. Several minutes later Chaney appeared to score on the rebound of a Lalo Delgado block but was called offside.
Amann nearly doubled the lead in the 51st minute, breaking through the defenses on a long clear. The forward was taken down in the box by Mehl, who was shown the red card.
Billy King set up for the penalty shot, which was blocked by Schippman, maintaining a 1-0 score.
The penalty save was Schippman’s second on the year, having previously saved an attempt by Greenville Triumph.
However, in the 75th minute, Amann put the match away with his second goal, a left-footed shot into the opposite side netting on a Marky Hernández assist.
Forward Madison Match Notes
The Mingos entered the match with some of the strongest statistics in the league, especially on defense. However, Hailstorm found ways around the normally tight backline, especially Timmy Mehl. Things just got worse when Mehl exited the match with a red card in the 52nd minute.
The squad was held to three shots on target, two from Chaney and another from Isidro Martinez. The defense gave up six shots on target.
Coach Matt Glaeser used all five subs by the 88th minute, bringing on forwards Nazeem Bartman and Wolfgang Prentice in the 68th minute, followed by Francis Jno-Baptiste and Eric Conerty in the 78th. Defender Robert Screen would replace midfielder Isidro Martinez in the 88th. Bartman would take one shot off target and create one chance, but Madison largely struggled to rally anything later in this match.
Even with the loss, there is no need for panic in Madison with this as its first loss in seven matches. The club remains the league leader in goals allowed per match with 0.57 and third in goal differential. We’d expect the club to continue to compete for one of the top four slots in the league moving forward.
Moving forward: The Mingos will face rivals Union Omaha on the road on May 27th.
Hailstorm FC Match Notes
We mentioned in our match preview that Hailstorm FC could win this if they scored early and hung on. Thanks to Trevor Amann’s early goal, this did the trick, as they never lost the early lead, and added an insurance goal in the second half. It was Hailstorm’s second first-half goal of the year, out of nine total goals scored.
Amann now places second in the league for goals scored with five. The second-year pro had five total in all of 2022 and has stepped up in 2023 with the absence of Irvin Parra.
Hailstorm’s offensive bench depth also came in handy, as midfielder Marky Hernández came on for Stefan Lukic in the 68th minute, and assisted on Amann’s second goal only seven minutes later. The bench was stocked with capable offensive contributors, including Nortei Nortey, Brandon Rosas, Valentin Sabella and McCain Clarke. Taking a 2-0 lead in the 75h minute allowed coach Eamon Zayed to rest veteran Rosas in favor of 18-year-old Clarke, who made his 3rd appearance.
Exiting the six-match away stretch to start the season, Hailstorm takes a respectable 3-1-2 WLD record and 11 points back to Colorado. Going into the weekend, they are currently 2nd in points per match, goal differential, goals scored per match, and goals allowed per match. These stats are subject to change as the rest of the week’s matches complete, but should give the squad something to feel good about heading home.
Moving forward: Hailstorm will finally get to host a match, making its home debut against lowly Central Valley Fuego FC on May 27th. It won’t boost the strength of schedule numbers, but on paper, it goes down as an expected win.