Spokane Velocity FC bounced back from the Omaha loss with a 1-1 draw against Lexington SC

23 June 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Spokane Velocity FC Press Release

Despite creating five big chances, Spokane Velocity FC had just one goal in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Lexington SC at ONE Spokane Stadium.

Velocity (3-2-3), who had not faced a USL League One opponent since May 19, remain eighth in the table. The result keeps Lexington (1-4-3) in 11th place, ahead of only Central Valley Fuego FC.

While Velocity controlled much of the early possession, Lexington struck first with a goal from Nico Brown in the 27th minute. The scoring sequence began with Ates Diouf sending a pass to Brown who dribbled down the left side of the box before forcing a shot that bounced off the crossbar and into the net to give Lexington a 1-0 lead.

Spokane had numerous opportunities to get on the board in the first half, including a missed header by Luis Gil in the 45th minute. As the half wound down, Javier Martín Gil sent a long cross to Luis Gil, whose shot the near header deflected off the bar and wide of the goal.

In the second half, Velocity kept the pressure on Lexington’s back line. The persistent effort paid off when Masango Akale set up a one-touch goal for Josh Dolling in the 48th minute. Akale dribbled past several defenders before delivering a pinpoint cut to Dolling.

“It was a great individual play from (Masango),” Dolling said. “He put the ball in and I was very happy to see it roll on the grass. That’s what I’ve been waiting for, services like this.”

Lexington almost regained the lead minutes later when Alassane Diouf broke through the defense, but Velocity defender Ahmed Longmire broke up the play with a sliding tackle. In the 64th minute, Longmire made another slide to break a critical possession for Lexington.

Longmire finished the game with seven rebounds and four shutouts, earning a team-best 7.8 FotMob rating along with Dolling. The club named the 24-year-old centre-back ‘Goat of the Match’ for his performance.

“I just want to make sure I’m doing my job as well, especially when these guys up front are doing so much work trying to score for us,” Longmire said. “I want to make sure I do my job by putting their bodies on their nine feet, on their wings and just making it known that you’re going to have to work to score.”

As the second half drew to a close, both teams looked aggressively for a goal. Velocity midfielder Ariel Mbumba, who came off the bench late in the match, fired a pair of shots on goal that Lexington goalkeeper Amal Knight stopped.

Mbumba’s tries were Velocity’s sixth and seventh shots on goal, while Lexington had just four. The difference was even more pronounced in big chances created, with Spokane tallying five and Lexington none.

“The score didn’t go our way,” Velocity head coach Leigh Veidman said. “We can’t control that. Well, we can control our performance, our attitude, our effort, everything we give.”

Regardless of the final result, confidence is high for the club. After a 4-1 loss to Union Omaha, Velocity looked improved and focused.

“The big challenge for us was to respond to our worst performance of the season, which was our last game against Omaha,” Veidman said. “I think you’ve just seen our best performance of the season, that’s the answer we needed as a team.”

Outside of the match itself, there was another reason to cheer on Sunday as Velocity celebrated Pride Night and welcomed 4,004 fans. The first 750 fans through the gate received rainbow team lanyards, and Velocity unveiled new Pride-themed merchandise in the team store.

Velocity will visit Windsor, Colorado on Saturday, June 29 to take on Northern Colorado FC in the Jägermeister Cup before returning home on Saturday, July 6 to host Chattanooga Red Wolves SC in the regular season.

USL Spokane has launched two professional soccer teams and will also field a pre-pro team in Spokane. Spokane Zephyr FC, a professional women’s team, plays in the USL Super League, which is sanctioned as Division 1 by the US Soccer Federation beginning in August 2024. The men’s team, Spokane Velocity FC, plays as a Division III team in USL League One. . A pre-professional women’s team made up of elite collegians will play in the USL W League in 2025.

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League One message board…

The views expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.