By Cam McCann, Gonzaga University ‘25
A chippy affair led to a 0-0 draw between Spokane Velocity FC (7-4-5) and South Georgia Tormenta FC (4-7-6) Saturday night at ONE Spokane Stadium.
It is the first scoreless regular-season match for the Velocity but, despite the lack of a goal, fans were treated to a match chock-full of exciting moments, including a match-altering scuffle that resulted in the ejection of Ahmed Longmire.
Collin Fernandez was named GOAT of the Match for his scrappy, high-energy play. He was the spark to Velocity’s offensive approach and hasn’t missed a beat since coming back from injury.
“I just want to be as helpful to the guys around me as I can,” said Fernandez. “That’s what I’m here for, I want to win balls and give it to the guys in front of me.”
Velocity’s offensive attack produced a bevy of first-half chances that brought life to ONE Spokane Stadium, but were unable to register a score. Chances came from a variety of players, including a deep, powerful on-target shot from Andre Lewis, an unmarked header in the box from Ish Jome that fell outside the left post and Luis Gil after stealing a ball from the feet of South Georgia goalkeeper Ford Parker.
One of the biggest chances of the match came in the ninth minute, and was reminiscent of week 19’s League One Goal of the Week. The setup for the shot was a mirror image, as Azriel Gonzalez received a beautifully placed pass near the left side of the box from Lewis on a fast break, but unlike last week’s score, Gonzalez’s shot fell just outside of the far post.
On the flip side, the defensive positioning of Velocity kept Tormenta from finding a path to the box or a clean shooting angle. The club’s first shot was registered all the way in the 37th minute, an on-target look that was saved by Brooks Thompson, who recorded four saves on the day.
In the second half, the match script appeared to be more of the same, with Velocity making consistent deep runs at the Tormenta backline, but the script suddenly flew out the window in the 54th minute, as Velocity lined up for a corner kick.
As Derek Waldeck lined up to send the lob, a tie-up involving Marcelo Lage took place, and before long there were multiple players from each team pulling others away from the tussle, but the damage was done. Ahmed Longmire was the only player involved to receive a red card, while Lage and Aaron Lombardi for Tormenta received yellow cards.
“I did see one Tormenta player with very high arms, so the fact that we got a guy sent off and they got basically nothing doesn’t make much sense to me, but we’ll review the footage and anything that was missed,” said Velocity head coach Leigh Veidman.
Velocity played the rest of the match a man down, but were still able to keep their formation and shut down the Tormenta attack.
“We did a really good job in the box defending, all their chances in the second half were shots outside the box or contested headers,” Thompson said. “Super happy with the back line, and they helped me a lot.”
As the match came to a close, Velocity increased its undefeated streak to six matches and lost just one match in its last nine. Velocity remains in the top half in the League One table, and are within striking distance of Greenville Triumph SC, Forward Madison FC, One Knoxville SC and Charlotte Independence, with a game in hand over both Greenville and Charlotte.
After a successful three-match homestand, Velocity will now go on a three-match road trip, with their first contest coming against Forward Madison FC on Sept 21 at 3 p.m. PST. If Velocity were to win, they would leapfrog the Flamingos on the table.
“The fact that we’ve used this three-game home stretch positively to get points out of every single game was absolutely huge for us to get kind of out of that little up-and-down dip we were in,” Veidman said. “… We’ve now got to use the lessons we’ve learned from the three games we played at home, and then take that on the road.”