Velocity FC Starts Strong in First-Ever Match vs. Greenville Triumph

Velocity FC Starts Strong in First-Ever Match vs. Greenville Triumph FC

Back Home, Standing-Room Only Crowd at Brick West Brewing Co. Cheers on the Club

It took 13 minutes for Spokane Velocity FC to open their scoring account in the USL. Javier Martin Gil drew a foul a few feet inside the box which gave Josh Dolling an opportunity to strike first from the penalty spot. Triumph keeper Christian Garner correctly dove to his right but Dolling’s shot had too much power and found the back of the net.

In Spokane, the energy was palpable at a standing-room only crowd at Brick West Brewing Co. that packed the house starting 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Fans erupted to a fever pitch when Dolling sent home that first-ever goal with much cheering, hugging, and even a few tears.

Back in Greenville, a miscue five minutes later helped Greenville equalize. Velazquez took possession of a switch on the right flank and played the ball across the box, pulling Merancio off his line and catching defender Marcelo Lage in two minds. Ahmed Longmire attempted to clear the ball off the line but his touch was sent into the net for an own goal and Greenville leveled the game 1-1.

Halftime in Spokane at Brick West featured giveaways of VIP experience tickets and a merchandise gift package. Many took advantage of the merchandise booth to get their attire match-ready for the home opener.

Greenville started the second half on the front foot and found a go-ahead goal three minutes after the restart. Carlos Merancio saved a shot in the center of the goal from Leonardo Castro but the ball deflected to a trailing midfielder, Evan Lee, who slotted the ball past Merancio to put the Triumph ahead, 2-1.

In the 60th minute, Greenville put the game out of reach following a bit of clever play from winger Lyam Mackinnon, whose streaking pass across the goal was backheeled beyond the reach of Merancio by Castro.

It was a promising start to life in USL League One for Velocity FC. Despite enjoying the majority of possession, shots on goal, and shots on target, Spokane was second best in the finishing department.

Leigh Veidman described the outcome with mixed feelings. “The performance didn’t match the result. We are of course not happy with the result but we played really well against a tough opponent on the road in our first game as a club.” Veidman said. “We created a lot of chances and the game could have easily flipped in our favor but we know the game is won inside the 18 yards boxes and they edged us in those areas today.”

The 509 Syndicate and fans back home reveled in the excitement of the first match. The Supporters Group showed up in full force debuting chants throughout the night.

In their inaugural season of many firsts, next up for Velocity FC is the most exciting, a home opener against the Richmond Kickers at ONE Stadium in Spokane Saturday, March 16.

Josh Dolling

“Obviously we’re not happy with the result. We felt like we had the upper hand and the better chances throughout the game but we have to take advantage of those moments or you can get punished. We’re going to work hard this week to correct the mistakes we made and put everything into getting 3 points in the home opener.”

Pierre Reedy

“Obviously we didn’t get the result we wanted tonight but I think given the short amount of time we’ve been together there’s a lot of positives we can take. Now it’s all about putting this one behind us and preparing for next week.”

Jack Denton

“I feel that first I am really honored to be given the opportunity to play my first professional match for a really good organization and with regards to the game I felt that it was a learning experience for us as we are a new team and there were some very positive moments to build on and that it came down to them just being more clinical in the important areas but we have a good foundation to go back to Spokane and build on ready for next weeks home opener.”

Coach Veidman

“The performance didn’t match the result. We are of course not happy with the result but we played really well against a tough opponent on the road in our first game as a club.”

“We created a lot of chances and the game could have easily flipped in our favor but we know the game is won inside the 18 yard boxes and they edged us in those areas today.”

“We learn from it but we also take the positives from it too. Now we look forward and all of our focus is on preparing for our home opener next week at ONE Spokane stadium.”