COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The first-ever Platte River Derby turned out to be the end of Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC’s Open Cup run after a 3-1 road defeat at the hands of Colorado Rapids.
Hailstorm started slow and fell behind fast. Just five minutes in, Rapids midfielder Jonathan Lewis slipped in a skipping shot from just outside the 18-yard box. It got past Hailstorm goalkeeper Lalo Delgado for the match’s first goal.
The visitors were quiet in attack through the first 20 or so minutes, but the latter part of the first half saw a lot more life from the blue and white.
“The last 15 minutes of that first half, we were dominating them, in my opinion,” Hailstorm midfielder Jackson Dietrich said.
Fellow midfielder Stefan Lukic offered the first great chance. After corralling a long ball from Hailstorm defender Rob Cornwall, Lukic danced through defenders before his right-footed attempt missed just wide.
A few more chances piled up following Lukic’s look, and the momentum started to pile up too.
“The guys fought back,” Hailstorm head coach Eamon Zayed said. “They fought back and really created some dangerous moments. And I loved the equalizer.”
It came in the 40th minute. Hailstorm defender Bruno Rendon flashed fancy footwork before delivering a left-footed cross to the back post. Dietrich’s diving header tied the game, giving him his first goal of the season in the process.
“That back post ball is very hard to defend,” Dietrich said. “I had a gut feeling that the ball was gonna go in, and I’m glad I made that run.”
The second half started with the scoreboard reading 1-1, but it didn’t stay that way for long. Delgado did preserve the tie in the 49th minute with a close range save against Rapids homegrown forward Darren Yapi. But in the 55th minute, Lewis logged another goal, giving him a brace and giving his club a 2-1 lead.
It expanded after a Hailstorm turnover 10 minutes later. Lewis intercepted a soft pass from Hailstorm’s back line and dropped his own pass back to Rapids midfielder Max Alves, whose left-footed strike skimmed Delgado’s outstretched hand before finding the back of the net.
“Sadly, when you play a team at this level, one or two small mistakes like missed passes can lead to a goal,” Dietrich said. “And that’s what happened.”
Despite some small mistakes, Hailstorm left Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday night feeling like fighters.
“We kept our own. We were toe to toe. I think everybody was buzzing, and I think it will only help us grow,” Dietrich said. “We should go into the league full of confidence, knowing that we can play with these MLS teams.”
In their two Cup games, this battle-tested bunch has shown confidence and character. It’s made their manager proud.
“First game, we went a goal down and we showed resilience to get a goal back. Tonight, to go a goal down after four or five minutes, they could have rolled over. I was actually afraid after the first goal to see how they’d react. And they reacted,” Zayed said. “It’s the character and resilience of this group that I was the most proud of.”
Hailstorm puts their spotless league record on the line Saturday with a trip to Werner Park to play Union Omaha. In that match, Hailstorm have a chance to break the League One record for clean sheets to start a season. The current record is held by Union Omaha, matter of fact, who set it on their way to a League One title in 2021.
Kick off on Saturday is scheduled for 6 p.m. Mountain Time. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.