SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Velocity F.C. won its first match since August 7 on Wednesday night defeating second place Union Omaha 2-1 at One Spokane Stadium.
After a stale first half, the Velocity would open the scoring at the beginning of the second half. In the 47th minute, Omaha defender Blake Malone was closed down by Luis Gil and played a soft back pass to the goalkeeper, which Gil picked off before dancing around the goalie and slotting home to make it 1-0 Spokane.
"It was just a goal that we needed in the moment. The first half wasn't the greatest, so I wanted to bring that energy and put a little bit of pressure on their back line to see what they were made of and they coughed up that opportunity and I was fortunate enough to be calm and not rush it and put the ball in the back of the net," Gil said.
Gil was instrumental in the second Spokane goal as well as in the 74th minute, he tore down the sideline before being hacked down outside the box by Luca Mastrantonio.
That foul set up a free kick which Velocity defender Derek Waldeck hit supremely into the middle of the box to the waiting head of defender Camron Miller for the goal and a 2-0 Velocity lead.
"(The ball was) perfect. Any big guy in the back or any big player in general just dreams about that ball. We are practicing it a lot and it pays off in the games, so we love to see it," Miller said.
Omaha would score a header off a corner kick at the death, but Spokane hung on for a 2-1 victory.
"At halftime, we had to make some adjustments and this group is incredibly coachable. What I mean by that is they take feedback and apply it. The application part is not often done, they take the information, they go out and they execute it. The adjustments in the second half really helped us and the guys deserve a lot of credit for that performance tonight," Velocity head coach Leigh Veidman said postgame.
The Velocity now have a quick turnaround ahead of a matchup with the Central Valley Fuego on Saturday at One Spokane Stadium. Kick off is set for 6 pm.
