Northern Colorado Hailstorm Win 2024 USL Jägermeister Cup Final!

WINDSOR – The rumored demise of Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC will be ignored for at least the next week. On Saturday night, Hail Yeah hosted Forward Madison in the USL Jägermeister Cup Final on Saturday night. It was a cagey nail bitter with a fitting end.

The Flamingos lineup was not surprising. Goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann and captain Mitch Osmond were in defense. Star striker christian Chaney was up top in what on paper was a 4-4-2. For NoCo, winger Real Gill was back starting. Captain Jackson Dietrich was in central midfield. Bruno Rendon led the defense.

It took Forward Madison just nine minutes to open the scoring. Former NoCo wing back Wolfgang Prentice delivered a great ball into the box to Chaney, who chested the ball down then volleyed past a stunned Lalo Delgado.

Hailstorm responded and were the better team the rest of the half. Rendon scored a banger to make it 1-1 come the 12th. Ethan Hoard knocked down a cross into space in the box. Rendon ran onto it, cut inside, and buried it top corner.

The team tried to find Hoard with crosses throughout the half. The best chance for the home side after the goal came in the 34th. Rendon had a shot in the middle of the box saves. Chelo Martinez got to the rebound bout it was collected by goalkeeper Stephen Payne.

Prentice had a rising shot in the 36th that Lalo made a good save on. First half stoppage time saw Devin Boyce get a free kick from a dangerous position, but he shot it off the wall and out for a corner.

Things tightened up in the second half. Hailstorm were knocking on the door all half but they were mostly half chances. The back three of Madison limited space for Hoard. Osmond did well. The Flamingos had their best looks off of restarts, but Hailstorm did well defensively on their corners. John Murphy for Madison and Dietrich for Northern Colorado both had looks.

“The first half was cagey for us. Then in the second half, we turned the screw and went for it. With 15 minutes to go, Madison, they looked happy enough to play for penalties,” suspended Hailstorm manager Éamon Zayed told Burgundy Wave postgame.

Maybe the best look of the half was in the 79th. Lucky Opara got into space and sent a ball across the box. Rendon and Hoard could not connect for a tap in. Juan Galindrez had a great chance in the 83rd but it was blocked by Brecc Evans.

Marky Hernandez could have won it on a header off a free kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Hoard flicked it on to him, but it was saved on the line by Schipmann. The 90 minutes ended with Hailstorm outshooting Madison 18-8 (6-2 on goal). The match ended 1-1 and we headed to penalties.

Delgado and Schipmann are the two best goalkeepers in League One, so it shaped up to be a tight shootout. Madison went first as the first six takers all made, with some close calls for both teams. In the top of the fourth round, defender Jacob Crull stepped up at the top of the fourth. He went low and to his right. Delgado anticipated, making the save.

“I knew he knew that I knew where he was going. Glad I was able to make the save. I had a kid help me out. He said ‘Lalo the ball,’ as it was trickling in,” Delgado said of his PK save on Crull.

The next two penalty takers converted. We headed to the bottom of the fifth. Snakebitten professional rookie Hoard stepped up to take it. He went waste high and left, beating Schipmann to the inside of the left post. With that, the match was over, with Hailstorm winning 5-4 on penalties.

Bruno Rendon and Ethan Hoard: “It was meant to be.”

“It’s an amazing feeling that they trust me to take the final pk to win the Jägermeister Cup. I said I was going to finish it no matter what. We practice (PKs) every single day. It wasn’t about PKS really though. It was about the mentality that we brought to the game,” Hoard said with youthful maturity.

An exhausted Rendon added, “So excited. So happy. It feels amazing. My first trophy as a professional.” He described his goal as the second best quality wise he had scored all year.

“Fantastic goal from Bruno, he’s scored in every round (of the Cup) now. Nobody remembers how, they just remember who,” Zayed said. “Things are meant to be. Bruno scoring, Ethan getting the last kick, that’s just meant to be. He and Bruno have been the best players of the competition.”

Lalo Delgado penalty heroics:

Hailstorm players and coaches talk about Delgado like he’s their Zack Steffen. He had stopped 4 of 14 in game penalties going back to last year. The 26-year-old was not happy giving up the first goal. Similar to Zayed, he saw some poetry in the way the match unfolded.

“After that first goal they scored on me, in my head we had to go to penalties. I know everyone would hate me. I needed to make up for that. I was just glad to be able to come back and do my job, make that PK save. Credit to them, they made all five. That’s a good goalie (Schipmann),” he told Burgundy Wave.

Zayed was a nervous wreck of a bystander during penalties. The club did not pre-determine who would take penalties. It was decided in the moment. The third year manager admitted, even with the confidence the club had in Delgado, pens would be a lottery.

“I just wanted this so much for the players. I said before the game, ‘I don’t care how, but I do not want to go through penalties again.’ I was a nervous wreck. I never want to see someone go down the middle again,” a relieved Zayed said on the sideline postgame, referring to Hernandez passing the ball into the net on his penalty.

Hoard joked that their preparation for penalties was almost demoralizing with how good Delgado had been leading up this week.

“Lalo saves our pens in practice every single day. Sometimes he misses them so we can have confidence. It’s that good.”

No matter what comes, the Hailstorm have won silverware:

The coaches and players have done well this year to compartmentalize the noise surrounding the club’s future. This final was a triumph of their growing fanbase and what Zayed and everyone have built since 2022. They set a new attendance record as well, with 3,550 fans in attendance.

“This was target one. Achieved. First trophy of the season. The target now is win a double. That’s history. They (the players) are going in buzzing now. We should be going into the playoffs full of confidence,” said Zayed. “This is my third year. This is the best atmosphere I witnessed here in Colorado.”

“The club is deserving. No matter what people say. No matter, we’re living it. We deserve it,” Delgado added.

No matter what happens in the rest of league play, the playoffs, and the offseason, the Hailstorm have won a major trophy. Nothing and nobody can take that away.

Photo Credit: Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC

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