December 19, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Spokane Velocity FC News Release
Spokane Velocity FC will have a long wait to get a rematch against Union Omaha, the club that ended Velocity’s fairy tale run to the USL League One Final in 2024.
It will be nearly five months, in fact, from the start of league play on March 16 – a home match against One Knoxville – until Aug. 2, when Velocity hosts the Owls. In between, there will be matches against five expansion teams in League One and an expanded USL Jägermeister Cup series that for the first time will include teams from both League One and USL Championship.
“First and foremost, we’re excited to build and grow from an incredible season last year,” said Phil Harrison, Vice President of Spokane Velocity FC. “With our playoff run last season, we saw tremendous support from the community. It was exhilarating and inspiring, and we can’t wait to build on that energy in year two.”
League One continues in expansion mode, adding five clubs in 2025: FC Naples of Florida, Maine’s Portland Hearts of Pine SC, AV Alta FC from Los Angeles County, Westchester SC from New York, and Texoma FC, based in Sherman, Texas.
Velocity will get an early look at the new league additions, hosting Naples at ONE Spokane Stadium in the second match of the season on March 22. After an away game the following weekend against Greenville Triumph SC, Heart of Pine and Texoma will trek to Spokane for matches on April 5 and April 13.
“The continued growth really reflects the success of the league,” Harrison said. “It’s really exciting and we’re looking forward to having new competition. It’s also going to be really beneficial not just to the club but to the community as a whole as we begin to expand Spokane’s exposure to these new markets.”
After an away trip to Southern California to face AV Alta on April 19, Velocity will begin Jägermeister Cup play, with matches April 27 against Oakland Roots of USL Championship and July 26 against Championship’s Sacramento Republic.
Spokane Velocity finds itself playing in Group 1, facing Oakland Roots, Sacramento FC, and Monterey Bay FC. The team will also have an opportunity for a rematch against the Las Vegas Lights, who defeated Spokane in the U.S. Open Cup during the 2024 tournament.
The opportunity to compete against Championship teams is “really cool,” Harrison said.
“Having a higher level of competition, from a division standpoint, is really fantastic,” Harrison said. “We see this as a tremendous…