By Henry Krueger, Gonzaga University ’25
Forwards Masango Akale and Josh Dolling put goals on the board for Spokane Velocity FC, but Charlotte’s scoring efficiency proved insurmountable, resulting in a 4-2 victory for the Independence Saturday night at ONE Spokane Stadium.
Two of Charlotte’s goals came from forward Juan Carlos Obregon, who scored in the 18th and 43rd minutes of the match. His second score marked his ninth goal of the season, placing him atop USL League One’s leaderboard.
The win moves the Independence (7-3-2) into second place on the table, with Velocity (4-4-2) falling to ninth.
While Spokane controlled 63% of the possession, it was the Independence who struck first. Left back Fabrice Ngah sent a long pass up the pitch to midfielder Gabriel Obertan, who delivered a short cross that set up a one-touch goal from Obregon.
Velocity responded in the 31st minute when forward Akale dribbled near the left end line before crossing the ball to Dolling, who scored from close range.
Charlotte pulled back ahead just before the half, with Obregon sinking a penalty kick over the outstretched arms of Velocity goalkeeper Brooks Thompson. The opportunity arose after Velocity center back Ahmed Longmire was called for a hand ball near the penalty area.
Spokane came out aggressive in the second half, wearing down Charlotte’s defense until Akale had a clean look at the goal and buried a shot from outside the 18-yard box to even things up at 2-2 in the 60th minute.
“It was just the space,” Akale said about the goal. “Just the way the game was going in the first half, we saw spaces that we could take advantage of, so that’s all it was.”
However, just as Velocity had evened up the match, Charlotte pulled back in front three minutes later when Obertan blasted a shot into the top right corner after receiving a well-placed through ball from Joel Johnson.
The Independence added some cushion to their lead in the 72nd minute, with Johnson corralling a loose ball and drilling a shot into the net to increase his team’s lead to 4-2.
Velocity head coach Leigh Veidman said Charlotte’s two second-half goals were the deciding factor in the match.
“We obviously do our homework on every team, and we knew that Charlotte was an incredibly good counter-attacking team,” Veidman said. “So we worked on that and tried to prepare for them, but those two counter-attacking moments in the second half are what killed the game for us.”
Despite coming up short of the win, Velocity players are feeling positive about their two-goal outing after suffering a 1-0 shutout loss against Central Valley Fuego FC in a USL Jägermeister Cup on July 19.
“The more you play together, the more you start to understand each other, how people move, how they like to receive the ball, so yeah that just comes with time,” Dolling said. “And it’s a positive thing to take away, you know, scoring two goals is nice.”
Velocity will embark on a two-match road trip, starting with South Georgia Tormenta FC on Aug. 3 and ending with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on Aug. 7. Both matches are part of USL League One regular season action.
Veidman and his club will return home for a rare Tuesday night match on Aug. 13 for a Jägermeister Cup match against Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC. The club will celebrate Hometown Heroes with a police helicopter flyover and a police vehicle for fans to explore.
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