TAMPA, Fla. – USL League One today announced that Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC forward Ethan Hoard has been voted USL League One Player of the Month presented by Konami eFootball after tallying three goal contributions in August.

After amassing two goals and one assist through 269 minutes of play in August, Northern Colorado's first-year professional is up to 18 goal contributions across all competitions this season. The 23-year-old registered one penalty won, 12 duels won, eight recoveries, five shots on target, four chances created and four fouls won in the Hailstorm's unbeaten 2-0-1 month. Hoard led all players in August with his 1.39 goals added, according to American Soccer Analysis.

The Racine, Wis. native helped the Hailstorm move from eighth place to sixth place through contributions in all three matches; Hoard scored the winning goal against Richmond on Aug. 3, won the penalty kick which resulted in the Hailstorm's lone goal against South Georgia on Aug. 17 and registered an assist and a goal in a 3-0 victory against Greenville on Aug. 25.

Hoard joined the Hailstorm as a trialist at the beginning of the preseason and scored five goals in the club's first two preseason matches, earning a spot on the roster for the season. Prior to joining Northern Colorado, Hoard played collegiately at Green Bay (2019-21) and UC Davis (2022-23) and totaled seven goals and three assists across 66 combined matches for the Phoenix and Aggies. Hoard also had success in USL League Two, scoring 12 goals in 11 matches for RKC Third Coast in 2023, helping lead the club to the USL League Two Playoffs in its inaugural season.

"It's not just an individual performance, my teammates make me look good," Hoard said. "I think I've grown a lot this season because coming in, training was really hard, but now I'm getting used to playing with better players."

"It's not just his goal contributions," said Hailstorm Head Coach Éamon Zayed. "First and foremost, you challenge a striker to get goals and assists, but it's the rest of it for me. He works his socks off for the team, he makes it really difficult for opposing defenders."

Hoard received 43.2% of a weighted poll that included the USL League One Technical Committee and an online fan vote - in which he received a league-record 72% of the vote - held at USLLeagueOne.com. One Knoxville SC forward Kempes Tekiela finished second on 32% with his three goals and one assist, while Lexington SC midfielder Ates Diouf finished third on 21.2% with two goals and one assist.