It took all 120 minutes, but the Northern Colorado Hailstorm advanced to the Third Round of 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup beating the Colorado Rapids 2, 3-2 in extra time, at Dicks Sporting Goods Park.
Second half substitute defender David Garcia made up for missing an open header only moments before, tapping in a Lucky Opara cross at the 120-minute mark to break the deadlock.
“I was going to be thinking about that one if the game ended on a tie,” Garcia said. “I stayed up after that and we got another cross in. When the cross came in it was going to Jake . I said ‘Dummy!’ and he left it for me. It was just an easy tap in.”
After an uninspired first half from both teams, Wayne Frederick put the Rapids 2 in the lead two minutes after the start of the second half, running onto a chipped ball from Marlon Vargas. Frederick chested the ball in stride to set up a simple finish from seven yards out.
“We woke up after they got that first goal,” said Hailstorm coach Éamon Zayed. “We were off the pace in the first half. We have a lot of guys just coming back into the team who haven’t played a lot of minutes yet. The goal woke us up. We were much better after that goal.
Marky Hernández, whom Zayed was forced to bring off the bench due to a lack of fitness, drew the Hailstorm level in the 59th minute moments after entering the match, getting his own rebound after Rapids 2 defender, Michael Edwards denied his first opportunity off a driven cross from Noah Powder on the right side.
“Marky so good at putting himself in the box,” Zayed said. “He scored quite a few goals for us last year. He’s just getting his fitness back. He’s not ready to start yet.”
After 20 minutes of frantic, back-and-forth play, the Hailstorm took the lead with 10 minutes to play thanks to carelessness on the ball from a fatigued Vargas. Ethan Hoard dispossessed Vargas and was played over the top of the Rapids back line by Hernández. Hoard turned the corner and smashed the ball to the far post. The goal was Hoard’s second in Open Cup play.
“We got punished for being half a second late,” said Rapids 2 head coach, Erik Bushey. “Key moments define big games. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong end of them tonight.”
With time winding down Zayed brought in Garcia to play as an extra defender to see out the game as the Rapids 2 threw players forward in search of an equalizer. They got it when 2024 draft pick, Kimani Stewart-Baynes, smashed a mis-hit clearance by Opara inside the penalty area in the 92nd minute. Stewart-Baynes’ goal came on the heels of a game-winning-assist in the Colorado Rapids’ win over LAFC last weekend.
With only seconds left in added time, Powder nearly ended things for the Rapids 2, smashing a ball off the base of the goalpost from 35 yards out, beating Rapids 2 goalkeeper Adam Beaudry but not the woodwork.
After neither team could generate any scoring chances in the first half of extra time, Garcia nearly put the game away in the 119th minute, putting his free header just over the crossbar.
“I brought him on to see out the game, play him as an extra defender,” Zayed said. “Then we ended up going to a back three and he was playing right back. I know he wants to get up on the end of things.”
Garcia atoned for his miss moments later, sliding Opara’s cross from the left flank just inside the far post for the win.
“This is a big win for us,” Zayed said. “On paper we’re both third division, but we’re two completely different clubs. They’re trying to bleed players through to the first team. That’s what they’re all about. Performance is the name of the game for them. We’re trying to win. We’re trying to get results and win.”