Spokane Velocity were victorious in their first-ever match in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and they did it in dramatic fashion. Andre Lewis scored the game’s only goal deep into second half stoppage time to give the USL League One expansion team a 1-0 win over Ballard FC, the reigning champions of USL League Two.
“That was a real Open Cup game. Let’s just say it was a difficult environment with the fans they had here and a difficult surface to play on,” said Spokane head coach Leigh Veidman. “Really scrappy, really direct, big game about duels and defending and ultimately, just finding a way to win. And that’s what we did tonight.”
The game was played at Memorial Stadium in Seattle in front of nearly 2,500 fans. It was just the third time in the Modern Era (1995-present) that the venue has hosted a US Open Cup game. The first involved a team from Spokane when in 1999 the Seattle Sounders’ USL team defeated the PDL’s Spokane Shadow 3-1.
In the opening 30 minutes of the game, Ballard FC, the amateur side, appeared to be the favorite with backheel flicks, bombing runs, give-and-goes and twice as many shots gave the home crowd a lot to be excited about. Despite having the early momentum, neither team was able to find the back of the net. Both teams made two substitutions around the 60th minute, but the changes in tactics didn’t break the deadlock.
For most of the game Spokane couldn’t get out of their own half except for a few breakaways. When they did, it would be on the opposite side of the pitch from Khai Briscoe who, playing as an inverted wing back for Ballard, saw a lot of the ball and kept a lot of Spokane’s attack at bay.
The match appeared headed to extra time but referee announced there was at least four minutes of stoppage time left in regulation. Additional stoppages led to even more time to be added and Spokane needed every second. In the seventh minute of stoppage time, the Velocity received a throw in from the right wing deep in Ballard FC territory. The long throw came made its way to the penalty area and found the head of a player inside the six and skipped out toward the top of the box where Smith ran onto it and volleyed it into the back of the net.
The game-winning goal silenced an otherwise enthusiastic home crowd and sent Spokane into the Second Round, which is scheduled for the week of April 2-3.
With the win, the Spokane Velocity become the first professional team from Spokane to win a US Open Cup game, and are the first team of any level to win a game since 1999 when the Spokane Shadow (PDL, now USL League Two) beat the Chico Rooks of the D-3 Pro League in the opening round.
