It’s close to a 24 hour road trip from Windsor in northern Colorado to the oil capital of Tulsa. For the Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, it will likely feel longer on the way back, for the winless USL League One side, as they fell to FC Tulsa, 2-1.
For FC Tulsa, it was the club’s first win over a pro team in the competition in team history. Out of the four times they have advanced, three of them were against amateur teams, and a fourth was a penalty kick shootout win over San Antonio FC (US Open Cup games that go to PKs are officially listed as a “draw”)
FC Tulsa pinned the Hailstorm into their defensive third for much of the opening twenty minutes, winning a series of corner kicks but failing to capitalize. The pressure would continue against Hailstorm’s low block without threatening the Coloradan goal mouth.
In fact, the best chance for either side came when a Noah Powder free kick for Hailstorm was whipped in from the left hand side of the penalty area, only for Tulsa keeper Michael Creek to deny a Brecc Evans header at point blank range, in the 32nd minute.
It took a mental error by Powder at the other end for FC Tulsa to go ahead, with the Trinidad and Tobago international hip checking Blaine Ferri to the ground in the penalty area in the 37th minute. Diogo Pacheco snuck his penalty kick just past the left hand of Edward Delgado into the goal.
In the 44th minute, substitute Milo Yosef added to the margin, driving a ball into the near post from 24 yards out after a free kick wasn’t fully cleared. Hailstorm closed out the first half on the attack, securing back to back corners, the last one marginally past an onrushing Bruno Rendon.
Northern Colorado Hailstorm fought their way back into the game and in the 65th minute, substitutes combined as Isidro Martinez pulled a goal back with a sumptuous curler into the Tulsa net after Ethan Hoard laid the ball back to the top of the box.
Alex Dalou had a shot kicked clear by Hailstorm keeper Delgado in the 68th minute, with the FCT player claiming a penalty, but it was not given.
The last few minutes saw end to end action, although neither side threatened until Camilo Ponce sliced a half volley wide in the 80th minute for FC Tulsa. Ethan Hoard returned the favor, muscling in and earning a corner with a shot. David Garcia, who got the winner against Rapids 2 in the Second Round, had a second chance shot blocked by Creek. Ethan Hoard drove in, with the clock approaching 90, but a ball across the box was missed by Lucky Opara and Hailstorm’s challenge evaporated.
“Going back to the Rapids 2 game, it had been 10 days since we played, so we were rusty and we were awful in that first half, just like tonight. This time we gave ourselves too big a mountain to climb,” Hailstorm FC head coach Éamon Zayed said.