August 23, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Spokane Velocity FC News Release
Spokane Velocity FC goalkeeper Brooks Thompson held up under heavy pressure and Ahmed Longmire scored the second-half equalizer with a header to help the club secure a 1-1 draw against One Knoxville SC Friday night at the University of Tennessee’s Regal Stadium.
The match came down to final seconds of stoppage time, when Knoxville’s Callum Johnson sent a corner kick to Jordan Skelton, who attempted a close-range header that was caught by Thompson just before the final whistle.
“Really proud of the players and staff,” said Velocity head coach Leigh Veidman. “Knoxville is such a difficult team to break down so it was always going to be a tight contest. The guys stuck with it, kept fighting and showed incredible character and togetherness to get a positive result on the road at a very difficult place to play.”
Both teams received one point for the draw, but Knoxville moves up to third on the table while Spokane remains in seventh place.
While it marked the first-ever meeting between the two clubs, there was still some familiarity for Velocity’s Derek Waldeck, who tallied six assists in 31 matches for Knoxville last season.
“Any time you get to play against a former club, there’s a little bit of added excitement leading into the game, but once the whistle blows the focus is solely on finding a way to get a result,” Waldeck said. “We were resilient tonight after going down a goal and the response in the second half was excellent.”
The first half saw Knoxville as the aggressor, building up repeated attacks that Thompson and Velocity’s back line had to fend off.
The breakthrough for Knoxville came in the 28th minute when Kempes Tekiela followed up a series of blocked shots by burying a goal from close range to give his club a 1-0 lead.
Aside from Tekiela’s goal, Thompson was instrumental in limiting Knoxville’s scoring efficiency in the first half. The 22-year-old handled constant attacks from the home club, which created two big chances and had five shots on target through 45 minutes of play.
“Thought it was a tough first half and we got frustrated, but we hung in there,” Thompson said.
Spokane had a few close opportunities late in the first half, but neither a long-range shot by Andre Lewis nor a header from Luis Gil found its way past Knoxville goalkeeper Sean Lewis.
Velocity continued hunting for quality shots early in the second half, but their pace during build-ups was…