WINDSOR, Colo. — There are almost 9,000 miles separating Melbourne, Australia and Windsor, Colorado, but for Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC midfielder Pat Langlois, it wasn’t long before Windsor felt like home.
“A little bit of culture shock at first, but the lads are great and I was able to adjust really quickly,” Langlois said.
Langlois has been a near constant in the Hailstorm midfield during his first season with the club, playing in 31 of 34 games and starting 27 of them. He has played more than 2,300 minutes in all competitions this season.
“Pat is the quintessential unsung hero,” Hailstorm head coach and technical director Eamon Zayed said. “He just does his job really, really well and effectively. Unless you’re really paying attention and watching games closely, he’ll lose out on the headlines to someone like Bruno Rendon or Ethan Hoard.”
Playing at the base of the Hailstorm midfield, Langlois has been a key piece of a Hailstorm defense that has allowed just 27 goals in 31 matches against USL League One competition.
“We’re obviously at the USL League One level, but he reminds me of years ago when Chelsea brought in Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante, what they did for them, being the unsung part of the midfield,” Zayed said.
Born in San Diego, Langlois grew up in Australia and started his professional career “Down Under.” He made his pro debut with the Newcastle Jets of the A-League, Australia’s top tier, in 2019.
Langlois played seven times for Newcastle in the A-League before moving to Hume City in Australia’s second tier for the 2021 season. He then returned to his hometown of Melbourne to play for South Melbourne FC in 2022, helping them to win the regular season in the NPL Victoria before falling in the Grand Final. He also played with South Melbourne in 2023, finishing runners up for the second straight season, before joining Hailstorm in 2024.
“It was a great opportunity,” Langlois said of joining Hailstorm. “Things ended in Melbourne and there was a spot available for me here, so I got over as quick as I could.”
Langlois’ connection to Hailstorm stems from his days at Newcastle, where he played with Irish striker Roy O’Donovan.
“Roy was an ex-teammate of mine and he was playing in Australia,” Hailstorm assistant coach Colin Falvey said. “He was a teammate of Pat’s and he recommended him, not only because he valued him as a player, but he also made me aware that he had a U.S. passport.”
The fact that Langlois holds a U.S. passport is valuable in USL League One because it means he does not take up one of Hailstorm’s seven available international roster slots.
Falvey first attempted to bring Langlois to USL when he was an assistant coach with Sacramento Republic in 2021, but Langlois decided to remain in his home country.
When he finally did come to the States and join Hailstorm, Langlois was thrust into the starting lineup for the season opener at Lexington SC, a 0-0 draw, thanks in large part to injuries and absences in the Hailstorm midfield.
“He found himself starting in the first game of the season and we got the clean sheet,” Zayed said. “We didn’t have the greatest start of the season in terms of results, so we put Pat back in there to solidify the defensive midfield position. And [since then], it’s been a case of, ‘How can we take him out?'”
True to his word, Zayed has rarely taken Langlois out of the lineup as the season has progressed. He has started 24 of Hailstorm’s last 29 games, with the team posting a 15-3-6 record in those 24 starts.
“He gives us safety and discipline,” Zayed said. “That’s two traits that sometimes you take for granted, but you need them if you’re going to play an attacking, aggressive style of football.”
In his first season with Hailstorm, Langlois started his third final in as many years. After falling short in back-to-back Grand Finals with South Melbourne, he finally captured a trophy as he helped Hailstorm lift the USL Jägermeister Cup last month.
“When I came in, the first week or two of training, the standards were very high. I thought we’d be in for a good chance of winning something,” Langlois said.
Langlois made a significant contribution to the Cup win, as well, taking and scoring Hailstorm’s first attempt in the decisive penalty shootout.
Following the Cup win, Langlois got his first goal in a Hailstorm shirt against Charlotte on October 12, tapping home a free kick just before halftime to level the score, helping his club to a 2-1 win.
“Delighted to see him get that first goal,” Zayed said. “I know he can score goals and we’ve pushed him up in the box for set pieces and he’s had chances, the keeper just made the save.”
If Hailstorm are going to achieve their goal of pairing their USL Jägermeister Cup with a USL League One championship this season, Langlois will certainly be a key factor.
Even if he goes a bit unnoticed.