This past weekend in USL League One saw five teams earn their postseason berths – with some gaining momentum in the process – and the battle around the playoff line see one side come away the biggest winner, even if they didn’t pick up all three points.

Here’s the big storyline we took away from Week 22’s action, our picks for who’s up and who’s down coming out of the weekend, and thoughts on everything else we saw around the league.

ONE BIG THING – THE HAILSTORM ARE RISING

When you earned a top-three finish a season ago and are coming off a weekend in which you earned the first silverware in club history, just getting back to the USL League One Playoffs is never going to be the ultimate goal.

Just ask Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Head Coach Éamon Zayed.

“We’re into the playoffs but that’s not our goal,” said Zayed on Saturday night after the Hailstorm had booked their postseason spot. “It’s a nice achievement, a box ticked off, but our goal isn’t just to make the playoffs.”

How Northern Colorado earned its spot in a 4-0 victory against South Georgia Tormenta FC, however, was impressive.

• CREATE A PERIMETER: With the Hailstorm coming off a midweek outing in California, South Georgia made a fast start to try and put their hosts on their heels. It worked to an extent – Tormenta outshot NoCo 9-4 in the first half – but the Hailstorm were outstanding in making sure Tormenta couldn’t create clear-cut opportunities. South Georgia recorded only five touches in NoCo’s penalty area in the first half despite carrying much more of the play overall.

• PICK YOUR SPOTS: By contrast, when the Hailstorm gained momentum early in the second half, it made its chances count. While Marky Hernandez had staked the hosts to a halftime lead with a fine long-range strike, NoCo was incisive in the second half to create the chances that took the game away from its visitors. Hernandez’s second was followed by finishes by Danny Robles and Noah Powder, all of which came via well-conceived moves that created high quality chances.

Hailstorm’s 22 touches inside the penalty area in the second half doubled Tormenta’s total for the full 90 minutes. While goalkeeper Lalo Delgado had to make seven saves to earn his seventh shutout in league play, Tormenta was limited to a cumulative Expected Goals mark of 1.00xG and only an 0.68 Expected Goals on Target mark, a testament to the defensive work the side put in.

“We’re getting to our standard,” said Delgado. “Credit to the defense, we’ve been working really hard for it.”

It’s going to be a big ask for Hailstorm to catch Union Omaha in first place with three games to go in the regular season and a seven-point gap to bridge, but this week’s two wins have set NoCo up for a big potential postseason.

Three Up

James Sneddon: The Richmond Kickers’ 18-year-old goalkeeper earned his third consecutive shutout – with a little help from the woodwork and a goal line clearance from Simon Fitch – in the Kickers’ 0-0 draw with Union Omaha, making him the third goalkeeper in League One history to record shutouts in his first three starts.

Matt Glaeser’s Squad Management: The Flamingos put up four goals on Friday night to move closer to sealing a top-two finish by defeating the Charlotte Independence as Head Coach Matt Glaeser’s rotations through a seven-day, three-game road trip paid off impressively in the final game of the stretch.

• READ MORE: Three Things we learned as Forward Madison took victory in Charlotte

Sebastian Velasquez: The veteran playmaker’s strike to send Greenville Triumph SC into the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season with victory against Lexington SC was as pure as you’ll see anywhere.

Three Down

Chattanooga’s Late-Game Defense: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC was above the playoff line before One Knoxville SC’s stoppage-time equalizer at CHI Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. That was the 10th goal the Red Wolves have conceded in the final 15 minutes or stoppage time this season, second-most in the league.

Lexington SC as Front Runners: Lexington SC had the lead against Greenville Triumph SC before falling 2-1, once again stilting the side’s playoff push. LSC has now dropped 15 points from winning positions this season, the most in the regular season.

Charlotte Independence’s momentum: The Independence are winless in four games after their loss to Forward Madison on Friday night. That’s dropped the side to fifth when it was looking like a contender for first a short time ago.

THE REST OF THE ACTION

#CLTvMAD: Forward Madison’s four-goal outburst carried it to an impressive road victory against the Independence. The Flamingos don’t have a player in the top five in the League One season in scoring – Juan Galindrez is tied for ninth on six goals – but they might not need one to make a playoff run.

#GVLvLEX: Greenville’s 2-1 victory was only the third time in league history both teams recorded an own goal. One of the other two was earlier this season when Lexington SC lost 4-2 to Union Omaha, which somewhat sums up how its season is trending right now.

#RICvOMA: Omaha is still looking good for the Players’ Shield despite this scoreless draw – Los Buhos have three games against teams below the playoff line to close the season – but this point could be gold dust for the Kickers and a nice boost in confidence if they do end up facing Omaha in the Quarterfinals a month from now.

#CHAvKNX: Dani Fernandez has scored two goals this season in League One, both against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. His late equalizer in the Smokey Mountain Smackdown delivered a serious blow to the Red Wolves’ playoff chances.