An energized crowd of more than 1,000 strong showed up to Lampson Stadium in Kennewick on a cold, blustery afternoon for a unique opportunity to view professional soccer in the Tri-Cities. They were fortified by a bus load of 509 Syndicate members trying out newly created chants and pounding their drums, as well as local fans rooting for Christopher Aquino, a Pasco native and former Three Rivers Soccer Club member playing for the Tacoma Defiance.
In an outing serving as Velocity head coach Leigh Veidman’s final opportunity to assess his squad ahead of the club’s first game in their inaugural season, the club was defeated 3-1 by the Tacoma Defiance – an MLS Next Pro club of the Seattle Sounders.
“It was a good day to see where we are as a group, as a team, how our identity is evolving,” Veidman said after the game. “It’s just an opportunity to see how we react to certain situations within a game. 2-1 down, you know, the free kick that we gave away that they scored off with 30 seconds left in the first half. Can we manage that situation a little bit differently? So, yeah, it was a lot of lessons learned today.”
Veidman also noted the inclusion of two players who only joined the club for training in recent days. “It also gave us a good opportunity to see some new guys we’ve now got in market. You can see Javier Martin Gil’s quality, you can see Andre Lewis’s quality and they’ve not trained with us yet. Andre’s had one training session, so both of them still really need to train and understand how we want to play, but individually, you can see their quality.”
The Defiance enjoyed the majority of clear chances in the game, including two goals from set pieces. The first was from a corner in the 28th minute and they added a third 10 minutes into the second half from the run of play.
Despite the result and the cold weather, a bus carrying more than 40 members of the Velocity FC supporters group, the 509 Syndicate, traveled from Spokane to Kennewick to see their team play for the first time. This first public preseason match for Velocity was hosted by the Three Rivers Soccer Club of Pasco.
Midfielder Luis Gil, a veteran player who started and played all 90 minutes for Velocity FC, took a positive view about the opportunities to improve from the performance.
“You know, considering the conditions and stuff like that,” Gil said. “You can tell that there’s moments where we looked really good and then some moments where we showed some weaknesses, but that’s all part of the preseason as well. This is our first season together with a lot of guys getting mixed in late in the preseason. It’s gonna take us some time, but some of the things look really good out there.”
Before the game, the 509 Syndicate practiced a chant in the event Velocity FC earned a penalty. In the 38th minute, they had their chance. Gil first drew and then converted a penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way to level the game at 1-1. It was 45 degrees with a 15-20 mile per hour wind most of the game, making life difficult for a Spokane team who looked to send in crosses to their striker, Josh Dolling.
Following the match, there was opportunity for fans to meet players and get autographs. Defender Ahmed Longmire, goalkeeper Carlos Merancio and others greeted smiling local kids and signed their jerseys and other items. Despite the weather, the 509 also kept their spirits high with cheers and chants going on until their bus left back to Spokane.
Next up for Spokane Velocity FC will be their first-ever game in USL League One as they travel to South Carolina to take on the Greenville Triumph this Saturday, March 9.
Don’t miss the watch party for Velocity FC’s first-ever regular season match at Brick West Brewing Co.