Colorado Springs, CO — Spokane Velocity FC lost to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in penalties 4-2 in a U.S. Open Cup second round match on Wednesday. The team rallied from an 0-1 deficit in the 87th minute to force extra time and penalties.
Velocity FC head coach Leigh Veidman reflected on the match and the fight his players showed against USL Championship side Colorado.
“Always a tough way to lose a game, but the biggest thing we need to take away from this is that it was important we responded in a positive way from the last game,” said Veidman. “Our mentality certainly shone tonight, so I’m proud of the players.”
Spokane handled consistent pressure from Colorado, with Switchbacks FC holding possession for just over 67% of the first half. The home side got its first shot on goal in the 25th minute when midfielder Frank Daroma made a run inside the box, firing a shot towards the net that goalkeeper Sean Lewis blocked out.
Moments later, Switchbacks FC midfielder Adrien Perez had a set piece just outside the box in the 38th minute, launching a shot that just missed the top left corner of the net. Minutes later, Spokane defender Lucky Opara gave his side its best offensive opportunity of the half, getting two crossers off near the box in the 41st minute that Colorado deflected out.
Switchbacks FC cashed in a goal in the 45th minute, with defender Talen Maples threading a shot inside the box through multiple players and into the net to give Colorado a 1-0 lead at halftime.
Spokane had its first shot in the 60th minute when midfielder Nil Vinyals found an opening to attack in Colorado’s box, firing a shot that was deflected by goalkeeper Christian Herrera.
“Good response from the team. It’s disappointing not to advance, particularly in a game where we put in a lot of effort out of possession,” Vinyals said after the match.
Colorado had its chances at a commanding second goal but was unable to convert, with Lewis making several saves, including a diving deflection off a shot by defender Patrick Burner in the 78th minute to keep the match at 1-0.
Lewis reflected on the team’s defense and level of belief in each other while being down one goal.
“The most important thing for me was the mentality of the group. We had to defend for long spells tonight, and when that happens it’s important that everyone is working for each other,” said Lewis. “Even after going a goal down, nobody panicked, and it felt like there was a collective belief we would get an equalizer.”
Velocity FC’s late match magic from last season came alive in the 87th minute when Joe Gallardo sent a set piece into the box that found freshly signed midfielder Andrew Booth, who headed in the equalizer to force extra time.
Booth, who just joined the team on a 25-day contract this week, spoke on how important set pieces are.
“Set pieces are a really important part of the game. I think about ⅓ of goals come from set pieces, so they really make a difference,” said Booth. “Today, we were under a lot of pressure and didn’t have a lot of set piece opportunities, but the service was really good when we had them and we were able to score off one.”
Extra time played similarly to the rest of the match, with Colorado controlling possession and getting nine shots off in the extra 30 minutes. Spokane, led by Lewis’s goalkeeping, was able to keep Switchbacks FC out of the net to force a penalty shootout.
Colorado was sharp in penalties, knocking in three of its four PKs to advance them to the Open Cup’s round of 32. Midfielder Andre Lewis and forward Marky Hernández scored Spokane’s two PKs.
Coach Veidman is excited to continue building chemistry with his team, who are still learning how to play together with the multiple new signings that have joined the roster in the past few weeks.
“It’s always good to test yourself against teams from higher levels, but we’ve had little to no training as a team,” said Veidman. “It’s difficult to gauge where we are at, but we saw a lot of positives tonight.”
Next up, Velocity FC will travel to Idaho for a USL Cup match against expansion side AC Boise on Saturday, April 4. The match is set to kickoff at 6:00 PM PT and can be watched live on ESPN+. For tickets to Velocity FC’s next home match on April 7 against AV Alta FC, visit Velocity FC Tickets – USL Spokane.
