USL1 Lexington Sporting Club

Lexington Sporting Club Rally Falls Short as Club Suffers 3-2 Defeat at NC Hailstorm FC

September 6, 2023 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Lexington Sporting Club News Release


Lexington Sporting Club's Ates Diouf on game night
Lexington Sporting Club's Ates Diouf on game night
(Lexington Sporting Club)

Lexington Sporting Club suffered a 3-2 defeat at Future Legends Field against NC Hailstorm FC on Wednesday.

The loss brings the club's record to 7-12-7 (28 points), remaining in 9th in the league standings. The result also saw Hailstorm FC improve to 13-5-7 (46 points), standing at 2nd in the league.

Lexington SC entered the match on the back of a 1-1 draw against Greenville Triumph SC at Toyota Stadium, which marked the second consecutive point-bearing result for the club.

The match in Windsor, the second the club had played there, also kicked off a match week that will see Lexington play two road matches in five days. It also saw the first start in USL League One play by Lexington's own Kimball Jackson.

NC Hailstorm FC put the pressure on early, forcing several impressive saves by Amal Knight and a sliding block by defender Erick Ceja Gonzalez.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the constant pressure would soon become too much as the home side recorded its first goal of the night in the 16th minute.

Lexington SC would continue to struggle in the first half, conceding a second in the 43rd minute.

With the half soon coming to a close, Lexington found itself trailing 2-0 at the break.

While the boys in green came out looking for a comeback, disaster struck in the 55th minute when Hailstorm FC scored its third. The goal, scored by reigning USL League One Player of the Week Noah Powder, would ultimately be the deciding factor.

Down 3-0, the visitors refused to back down with Phila Dlamini breaking the Hailstorm FC shutout with his first goal of the season in the 75th minute. He was assisted by Khalid Balogun on the play.

Continuing to fight, Lexington SC was awarded a penalty kick, which was promptly sent home in the 87th minute by Don Smart, making it a one-goal match.

Unfortunately, even with a debuting Josh Head taking the pitch, Lexington SC simply ran out of time in the contest, with the final whistle coming before the visitors could find an equalizer.

Lexington SC controlled the possession in the match, holding the ball 54.7% of the time while NC Hailstorm FC won in expected goals, seeing a 1.27 to 1.05 advantage.

Next up for Lexington SC the boys in green will stay on the road for a battle against CV Fuego FC on Sunday before returning home on September 17 against Charlotte Independence.

Check out the Lexington Sporting Club Statistics




Images from this story

Lexington Sporting Club's Ates Diouf on game night
Lexington Sporting Club's Ates Diouf on game night
   



United Soccer League One Stories from September 6, 2023


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