By Cam McCann, Gonzaga ‘25
After going 2-1-2 in its past five league matches, Spokane Velocity FC buckles up for a ride at Regal Stadium against One Knoxville SC, a club that has won three of its last four regular season matches, on Friday at 4 p.m.
One Knoxville will be Velocity’s final first-time matchup during its inaugural season in USL League One. Leigh Veidman’s squad has a record of 4-3-3 when playing a USL club for the first time, and has been able to get surprise victories over high-level teams like Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (March 23, 1-0) and Union Omaha (May 11, 3-2).
The trouble with Knoxville resides in a stingy defense, in big part due to tremendous play from keeper Sean Lewis and a backline that has two members in League One’s top 10 clearances. Lewis is tied for the most clean sheets in the league and Knoxville as a whole has conceded the fewest number of goals in the league.
While Knoxville’s defense is one of USL League One’s finest, their offense has kept them from emerging as a top level club. Their 16 goals in 13 matches and 12% conversion rate has forced the team to fight through multiple lone-score matches. This recipe for close contests creates an opportunity for Velocity to steal another initial meeting win against a top club.
While Knoxville is coming off of a 4-1 win against Chattanooga Red Wolves FC, it has failed to score multiple goals in its previous six regular season matches. On the season, One Knoxville has only scored multiple goals in four matches.
The four-goal win (the only one in Knoxville’s USL League One history) could have been spurred on by their change of head coach. The club recently parted ways with Mark McKeever, who has been with Knoxville since its inception in 2021. The team is now led by interim head coach Ilja Ilić, who played for the team as a forward less than a year ago in his final season as an athlete.
Spokane Velocity FC will look to continue its newfound offensive surge against its opponent’s tenacious defense. The surge in part has been due to the uptick in play from striker Josh Dolling, who has three goals and two assists in his past five matches. Dolling’s best match of the season came against South Georgia Tormenta FC, where he contributed to two second-half goals to equalize the score and give Velocity a hard-earned road point.
He hasn’t been the only one stepping up in Velocity’s attack. The quick-footed midseason pickup Masango Akale, the booming outside-the-box scorer Andre Lewis and the savvy veteran captain Luis Gil have all joined Dolling to take on the scoring load. This group’s output has propelled the team in their recent matches, with three of their last four matches resulting in multi-score efforts.
Even without a match played between them, the clubs have an air of familiarity to them. Velocity defender Derek Waldeck was a key member of Knoxville’s 2023 unit and among the team leaders in minutes played, interceptions, tackles won and duels won. It remains to be seen how his play will fare against his former team coached by a former teammate, but his play this year has brought a plethora of positive results for the Velocity backline.
Velocity FC continues to be in the mix of teams around the middle of the League One pack, just one point behind Northern Colorado at sixth while just two points ahead of ninth-ranked Chattanooga, sitting one spot outside of the current playoff picture.
Velocity’s next match will be a Jägermeister Cup match against the Richmond Kickers at City Stadium on Aug. 29. The next Velocity contest at ONE Spokane Stadium will be Sept. 4 vs. Union Omaha for Back-to-School Night. The match will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
