November 27, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Spokane Velocity FC News Release
With Spokane’s first season in USL League One having come to a close, fans can turn their attention to how the 2025 club roster is shaping up.
With 13 players returning (pending league and federation approval) from a roster that made a historic playoff run League One won’t soon forget, there is plenty to be excited about next season. Nine of these players were a part of the starting 11 from the final match against Union Omaha.
This continuity should allow for the team to grow an identity, something head coach Leigh Veidman has said the team needs to develop to become a championship-caliber club.
“Do we have an identity?” Veidman asked rhetorically in a press conference just days before the finale against Omaha. “Yes we do, [but] we still need to develop it… that’s what is going to help us win these types of games.”
Captain Luis Gil, one of the biggest keys to this identity, returns after leading the club in total goal involvements. Gil was the straw that stirred the drink for Spokane, operating as a midfielder that pushed the tempo and capitalized on the opponents’ defensive mishaps. One of these key moments happened in a match against Omaha in ONE Spokane Stadium on Sept. 4, when Gil intercepted a poor backpass in Velocity’s attacking third, dribbling his way to the goal before gliding past the keeper to score.
Gil had multiple huge moments this past season, but this match in particular gave hope to another midfield playmaker that returns to Spokane in 2025.
“That’s the game where I started to think like, ‘Yeah we can put something together here,'” said midfielder Andre Lewis.
Lewis put back four goals for Velocity in regular season play, earning Week 16 Player of the Week honors after three goal contributions in a single week. Lewis’ playmaking in the midfield was explosive, and his thunderous shots from outside the box provided ONE Spokane Stadium with plenty of memorable moments.
Jack Denton, Pierre Reedy and Collin Fernandez are the remaining midfielders who will be back in a Velocity uniform next season.
Fans likely still remember Denton’s first professional goal, as it came in Velocity’s 3-0 shelling over No. 2 seed Northern Colorado Hail Storm FC in the League One playoff’s opening round. The goal came off a cross to the deep middle of the box, where Denton needed just one touch to put the ball away from the keeper’s reach. His goal was the final of the game, and truly…