By: Henry Krueger, Gonzaga University ‘25
Following dramatic finishes in the first two rounds, Spokane Velocity FC will encounter its first USL Championship opponent in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Cashman Field, Las Vegas, NV.
Velocity (2-2-1) is set to visit Las Vegas Lights FC (3-3), which is making its debut in this year’s tournament as one of 16 USL Championship teams paired against the second-round victors.
A few days before its trip to Las Vegas, Velocity’s USL League One match against Lexington SC ended in a 2-2 draw after both teams went scoreless in the final 61 minutes on Sunday.
“Each game is an opportunity to learn and grow and today was no different,” said head coach Leigh Veidman after the game in Georgetown, Kentucky. “Now all of our attention is on the Open Cup vs. Las Vegas on Wednesday.”
Lights FC is coming off a 3-1 loss against Monterey Bay F.C. on Saturday, snapping the club’s previous three-game winning streak. Las Vegas is fifth in the USL Championship’s Western Conference.
While it’s still early in the season, Lights FC is off to a promising start after finishing 2023 in last place with a 3-21-10 record. Las Vegas revamped its roster this offseason by bringing in a collection of newcomers, including left back Gaoussou Samake and central midfielder Valentin Noel.
Samake and Noel lead the team in scoring with two goals each, which has helped propel the club into the top half of the league in goals per game after finishing third-to-last last season. Samake is also first on Lights FC with two big chances created, while Noel has the club’s best FotMob rating at 7.67.
Another impactful newcomer has been central/defensive midfielder J.C. Ngando, who’s currently on a loan from the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS. Ngando has created a team-high 11 chances and has the second-best FotMob rating at 7.64.
Velocity, on the other hand, is a team full of newcomers who were assembled prior to the club’s inaugural 2024 season. Their most productive player has been Luis Gil, who has two goals and two assists in USL League One play.
In Sunday’s draw, Gil launched a shot from nearly 40 yards out that bounced past the goalkeeper to even up the score at 2-2. Earlier in the match, he delivered a corner kick that found Ahmed Longmire, who headed the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.
As Velocity battles Lights FC, the stakes will be sky-high as the eventual winner of the U.S. Open Cup earns $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2025 Concacaf Champions League and its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy.
Veidman’s club will resume USL League One action on April 20 at the Richmond Kickers, who Velocity previously defeated 2-1 in its first-ever home opener at ONE Spokane Stadium.
Velocity will return home on April 27 to host Central Valley Fuego in the first match of USL League One’s inaugural in-season cup competition. Known as the USL Jägermeister Cup, the tournament includes a group stage and a knockout round that creates additional matches of consequence in the annual calendar.
Watch this match and other Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches at ussoccer.com