WINDSOR, Colo. – Ethan Vanacore-Decker, who led USL League One in assists in 2020 and was named to the All-League Second Team while helping lead Union Omaha to the League One championship game, has signed with Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC the club announced today. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

New Jersey native Vanacore-Decker, 27, has eight goals in 62 appearances in USL Championship and USL League One.

“I’m super excited to join the Hailstorm,” said Vanacore-Decker. “I want to thank Éamon for giving me the opportunity to join after a tough season last year. I’m excited to get to Colorado to meet my teammates and the fans and get the 2022 season started.”The forward started seven of Union Omaha’s first 13 matches in 2021 before picking up a season-ending injury against FC Tucson on July 25. Now fully healed, he brings a veteran presence to Northern Colorado’s USL League One expansion club.

“The most dangerous kind of player is a player who has a chip on his shoulder and a point to prove,” said Hailstorm FC head coach Éamon Zayed. “Ethan, by his own admission, did not have the greatest year last year in Omaha. But one thing I do know he has, and what I want from every player on the Hailstorm squad, is resilience. He is a tough New Jersey kid with a never-say-die attitude, which is a part of his New Jersey DNA.

“He has already proven himself to be one of the best players in USL League One. Everybody is aware of the talent he possesses. He’s already experienced the Championship with Swope Park Rangers. At 27 years of age, with all that experience behind him, I have zero doubt that he will go out this year and again prove himself to be one of the best players in USL League One.”

Vanacore-Decker’s abbreviated 2021 campaign followed a 2020 season in which he appeared in every match for Union Omaha, starting 15 of the 16 games and scoring three goals while adding six assists as Omaha advanced to the championship game. His goals came at key moments for Omaha: the matchwinner against FC Tucson on August 9, the point-saving goal in a 2-2 tie against North Texas SC on August 24, and the matchwinner against Fort Lauderdale on October 1.

Vanacore-Decker spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons with USL Championship side Swope Park Rangers, now known as Sporting Kansas City II in MLS Next Pro. He made 29 appearances in 2019, starting 11 matches and scoring four goals and one assist. His first goal came in his first start of the season, a loss against Bethlehem Steel; he also added goals against St. Louis FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies, and Louisville City. In 2018, one year out of college, he made five substitute appearances for Swope Park, registering an assist in a match against St. Louis FC.

Vanacore-Decker played collegiately for UConn, Louisville, and Rutgers. He appeared in nine matches and earned American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week honors as a freshman with the Huskies, before starting all 19 of their matches as a sophomore and finishing second on the team in goals. His six sophomore season goals included the matchwinner against South Florida that clinched the AAC regular season title for UConn.

Vanacore-Decker started five matches for Louisville as a junior, before returning home to New Jersey for his senior season. His year with the Scarlet Knights was cut short due to injury, but he managed two goals and an assist in a 5-3 win over Oral Roberts, and six shots with three on goal in a match against Michigan State.