For the first 65 minutes of South Georgia Tormenta’s matchup with Northern Colorado,  Tormenta appeared to be in complete control. Leading by a goal and not surrendering many chances. 

In the 71st minute, Tormenta looked to double its lead as Kazaiah Sterling stepped up to attempt his third penalty kick of the night, having put in the rebound off a save on the first attempt and then calmly converting the second.

On his third attempt, the Hailstorm goalkeeper Edward Delgado dove right as Sterling’s right-footed shot went left. Only this time it hit the goalpost and Tormenta was unable to put in the rebound. 

That miss would prove costly as Northern Colorado’s Mark Hernandez headed in a corner kick in the third minute of stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 draw and give each team one point as they both fight for playoff positioning.

“I think if we’d gone up 3-1, game over,” said Tormenta Manager Ian Cameron. “But then we just left them something to fight for and we didn’t put the game away so that was a disappointment. But I thought the first 65 minutes were very, very strong and definitely something to build upon.”

Tormenta (9-11-4, 31 points)) started out fast, nearly scoring in the first minute when Sterling was able to find defender Nick Akoto making a run along the right side. Akoto was able to get into the penalty area and get a shot off but it was deflected wide for a corner kick.

South Georgia would get on the board in the 21st minute with Sterling’s first penalty shot. It was set up by some excellent passing between Akoto and Tobias Otieno and eventually finding Arthur Bosua on the left side. Bosua was able to cut the ball back to Sterling who was fouled as he went to turn. 

Sterling stepped up and his shot to the right was saved by Delgado, but the rebound came back to Sterling who was able to keep the followup on frame for his 10th goal of the season. 

Northern Colorado (10-5-7, 37 points)  would answer in 10 minutes later when the Hailstorm earned a free kick from the left side in the attacking third. Arthur Rogers’ cross into the box found the head of Trevor Amann for his league-leading 17th goal to tie the score at one. 

Tormenta responded in the 42nd minute when Preston Kilwien played a perfect pass down the left side for Davey Mason to run on to. Mason’s first touch was a pass to Sterling in the box where he drew another foul, resulting in his second penalty kick of the night.

This time Sterling buried his kick down the middle as Delgado dove to his right, giving Tormenta a 2-1 halftime lead.

South Georgia continued to play well into the second half and with 20 minutes remaining Akoto found himself racing down the right side with space in front of him. A sliding tackle from a Northern Colorado defender drew the third penalty klick of the night.

“I’ve never had to do that before,” said Sterling of taking three penalty kicks in one game. “Unfortunately I couldn’t get the third one which was the most important one,” he said.

The two penalty misses were the first two of the season for Sterling, who up until Wednesday night, had converted each chance he had on the year.

“The execution wasn’t as good,” he said of his third attempt. “It was close but not as good as it needed to be.”

Following the third penalty, Tormenta seemed to retreat and play more defensively to try to preserve their lead, which created opportunities for the Hailstorm to attack and create more chances. 

“One of the problems was in transition and our counter attack,” Cameron said of the final portion of the game. “That potency that we usually have, like we did (on Saturday) against Madison, wasn’t quite there,” he said.

“So we absorbed for a bit too long tonight at the end and you’re holding on. It was the right tactics if we get the win and then you look back now and say ‘ok, could we have been a bit more aggressive at the end?’ and that’s for the coaching staff to review.” 

Midfielder Chris Heckenberg echoed Cameron’s thoughts on how the match played out.

“I think we started better than we have, but then at the end of the game, I’m not sure if it was fatigue or something, having played the second game of the week,” he said. “We sat off and let them come to us and it’s only a matter of time before they score.”

The tie gives Tormenta 31 points on the year and they currently sit five points behind Forward Madison and Greenville for the final playoff spot. 

“We’re in a situation where we need points every single game,” Heckenberg said. “It feels like we lost some points today but at the end of the day they’re a very good team that’s sitting towards the top of the table so you’ve got to take points where you can get them.”

Cameron credited his defense for playing well.

“I thought the back line tonight did an excellent job in terms of navigating the run of play,” he said. “It was just a couple of complacent moments of where we gave up free kicks, how we gave up corners. We just gave them too many looks at set pieces and they punished us for it.”

Tormenta outshot Northern Colorado 16-12 on the night, including having a six to three advantage of shots on target on the night. Both teams earned four corner kicks. 

Tormenta travels Saturday to face a Chattanooga Red Wolves team that is currently in 11th place and also played on Wednesday, losing to Greenville 2-1.. Kickoff for that game is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.