Spokane, WA — On a rainy day in Spokane, Velocity FC defeated Las Vegas 1-0 to record its first USL Cup win of the season and stay undefeated at home in 2026.
Spokane’s head coach Leigh Veidman reflected on Sunday’s rainy match.
“Really happy for the fans who showed up on a wet and cold afternoon.They made the atmosphere really fun for the guys,” said Veidman. “It was a scrappy performance.. Full credit to the guys and fans, they were excellent.”
Las Vegas wasted no time testing Spokane, with forward Nighte Pickering sending a straight shot outside the box towards goalkeeper Sean Lewis, who saved it easily.
Spokane responded minutes later, with midfielder Nil Vinyals scoring off a free kick outside the penalty area to give his side a 1-0 lead. Vinyals struck the ball low, bouncing it into the back left of the net to score his first goal of the season.
Vinyals spoke on the effort by Spokane tonight to notch its first cup win of the season.
“We have a tough squad, where anyone can come compete and make a difference,” said Vinyals. “Today was a total team performance even though we were missing some guys.”
One of Lights FC’s best attacking moments of the first half came in the 26th minute when defender Blake Pope sent in a dangerous crosser off the strong side into the box that barely missed two Las Vegas players before sailing out of bounds.
Vinyals tried for another goal in the 31st minute, launching another attempt outside the box that was blocked out by Vega’s goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar. Minutes later, Lights FC forward Manuel Arteaga sent in a free kick off the far side that Lewis had to punch out of bounds.
Las Vegas came out aggressive in the second half, with Arteaga taking a free kick off the strong side that sailed wide left of the goal. Moments later, Lights FC midfielder Kyle Scott sent an attempt near the top of the penalty area just wide of goal.
Spokane defender Gagi Margvelashvili spoke on the challenges his team faced on Sunday, including a red card against Medgy Alexandre that left Velocity FC down a man for most of the second half.
“It was a hard game against a championship team, but we had a really good plan before the game,” said Margvelashvili. “The second half was difficult because of a red card, playing eleven versus ten.”
Lights FC midfielder Marc Ybarra had a solid opportunity in the 77th minute, dribbling into the box and getting feet away from the net before having a potential shot deflected by Lewis. Las Vegas was unable to find its equalizer throughout the second half, sealing the 1-0 win for Spokane.
Coach Veidman spoke on the importance of playing talented teams in higher divisions and how it can challenge a group.
“You always want to test yourselves against better teams, whether that’s higher leagues or whatever that may be,” said Veidman. “It’s another experience in our back pocket that I’m sure we’ll need at some point in the season.”
Following Sunday’ cup win, the team will continue their home stand at ONE Spokane Stadium with a regular season match against inaugural side Sarasota Paradise on May 24. The game is set to kickoff at 4:00 PM PT and can be streamed on ESPN+. For tickets, please visit Velocity FC Tickets – USL Spokane.
