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USL1 Spokane Velocity FC

Spokane Velocity FC Rebounds From Omaha Loss With 1-1 Draw Against Lexington SC

June 23, 2024 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Spokane Velocity FC News Release


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

Velocity (3-2-3), which had not faced a USL League One opponent since May 19, remains in eighth place on 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 drilling a shot that bounced off the crossbar and into the goal, putting Lexington ahead 1-0.

Spokane had numerous chances to get on the board in the first half, including a missed header from Luis Gil in the 45th minute. As the half was winding down, Javier Martín Gil drove a long cross to Luis Gil, whose close-range header deflected off the crossbar and away from the goal.

In the second half, Velocity maintained 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 multiple defenders before delivering a precise cutback to Dolling.

"It was a great individual play from [Masango]," Dolling said. "He got the ball in and I was very happy to see it just roll across the grass. That's what I've been waiting for, those kinds of services."

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

Longmire ended the match with seven recoveries and four clearances, earning a team-best 7.8 FotMob rating alongside Dolling. The club named the 24-year-old center back "Goat of the Match" for his performance.

"I just want to make sure that 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 that I'm doing my job putting bodies on their nines, their wingers and just making it known that you're gonna have to work to score."

As the second half was nearing a close, both teams aggressively hunted for a go-ahead goal. Velocity midfielder Ariel Mbumba, who came off the bench late in the match, took a pair of shots on target that Lexington goalkeeper Amal Knight stopped.

Mbumba's attempts accounted for Velocity's sixth and seventh shots on target, while Lexington had only four. The disparity was even more pronounced in big chances created, with Spokane tallying five and Lexington none.

"The result didn't go our way," said Velocity head coach Leigh Veidman. "We can't control that. Well, we can control our performance, the attitude, the effort, everything that we give."

Regardless of the end result, confidence is up for the club. Coming off a 4-1 loss to Union Omaha, Velocity looked improved and focused.

"The big challenge for us was responding 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 response we needed as a team."

Outside of the match itself, there was still a 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 face Northern Colorado FC in the Jägermeister Cup before returning home on Saturday, July 6, to host the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC in regular season action.

USL Spokane has launched two professional soccer teams and will also field one pre-professional team in Spokane. Spokane Zephyr FC, a women's professional team, plays in the USL Super League that is sanctioned as Division One by the U.S. Soccer Federation, starting 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 college players will play in the USL W League in 2025.

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