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USL1 Lexington Sporting Club

Ates Diouf Notches First Brace in Club History as Lexington Sporting Club Draws Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC 2-2

June 3, 2023 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Lexington Sporting Club News Release


Lexington Sporting Club reached a 2-2 draw against Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC at Toyota Stadium in Georgetown, Ky, thanks in big part to Ates Diouf's two goals, the first brace in club history.

The draw brings the club's record to 2-5-3 (9 points), standing at 11th place in the league standings. The draw also saw Hailstorm Fc move to 4-1-3 (15 points), standing at 5th in the league.

"I stand (here) every week and (talk) about the passion of this group and the quality of this group," head coach Sam Stockley said. "Obviously they're still learning, they're still trying to get better. We have to take our chances and they know that and we work at it a lot but obviously to have the bravery and the courage to keep going I can't fault them at all."

The home team entered the game after finishing deadlocked with league rivals One Knoxville SC with the final score being 1-1. The game was the first of a two-game home stint for the club and the second fixture of the Bourbon Barrel Derby.

On a sweltering day in Georgetown, 2,302 fans packed into Toyota Stadium for the fixture. Starting off a fast-paced affair, the visitor's struck first in the fourth minute thanks to Billy King.

A near miss from Diouf in the box would be a tasty appetizer for the Senegalese forward's game-tying goal in the 21st minute after an assist from Jalen James.

Hailstorm FC refused to back down in the match, retaking the lead in the 39th minute after Bruno Rendon scored on a set-piece play to give the visitors a halftime lead.

Both teams picked up right where they left off in the second half with more fast paced action and scoring attempts.

"We knew we could win this game because we were playing better," Diouf said. "You can see in the first that they were winning but we were the better team."

Luckily for the home fans in attendance it would be Diouf to find the back of the net once again, this time off an assist from team captain Charlie Machell, in the 81st minute to re-level the game.

A set piece play in the final minute of action nearly saw Diouf level his third in what would've been a club-first hat trick, but the on-the-field officials declared him offsides, leading to a 2-2 finish.

Lexington SC controlled the possession and expected goals in the match, holding the ball 60% of the time and seeing a 1.82 to 1.71 advantage in expected goals.

Next up for Lexington SC is a road trip to Statesboro to face South Georgia Tormenta FC on Saturday, June 10. The club will then return home on June 14 for a match against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.

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