Spokane Velocity earn fourth straight win with second-half rally against Fort Wayne

After losing consecutive games at the beginning of the month, the Spokane Velocity have rediscovered their stride, going unbeaten in their last four matches following a 3-1 USL League One victory Saturday against Fort Wayne at ONE Spokane Stadium.

Fort Wayne’s offense dominated possession early on, forcing Spokane to play on its backfoot for much of the first 20 minutes. And in the 15th minute, the Velocity found themselves trailing for the first time since July 11 after giving up a Jack Thomas goal. Spokane keeper Sean Lewis – who finished with six saves – deflected Thomas’s initial attempt and punched it away, but Thomas immediately volleyed it past Lewis on the rebound.  

Spokane’s offense, which has scored 11 goals in its last four matches, struggled to muster any scoring opportunities with only three first-half shots and none on target, despite eight touches in Fort Wayne’s box. Fort Wayne, meanwhile, put up four of seven shots on target in the first 45 minutes. 

Fort Wayne outshot Spokane 15-8 and controlled possession with a 53% rate. 

Still, the Velocity’s depth shined Saturday as substitutions played a pivotal role in a second-half rally, scoring all three of Spokane’s goals – two from Shavon John-Brown, and one from Luis Gil – to earn its fourth straight win. 

After Lewis denied Lilian Riccol in the 48th minute, Neco Brett broke free on a fast break in the 52nd, and received a ground pass from Vinyals. Brett dribbled to a open spot in the penalty box, and curled an attempt around Fort Wayne keeper Bernd Schipmann. But the Velocity’s first second-half attempt  ricocheted off the bottom of the cross bar and was saved by Schipmann. 

In the 58th minute, John-Brown replaced Medgy Alexandre and eight minutes later, drew Spokane level. 

Rocky Wells, who subbed in for Brett with John-Brown, attempted Spokane’s first on-target shot in the 64th minute. Just a couple minutes later, John-Brown muscled a close-range shot between Schipmann’s legs after receiving a lobbed pass from Vinyals. 

Then, in the 81st minute, John-Brown scored his team-leading fifth goal in similar fashion to his equalizer to give Spokane the lead. 

Three minutes later, John-Brown crossed to Gil – who replaced Vinyals in the 77th minute – in the center of the penalty box, and Gil scored his second goal in back-to-back matches.  

Spokane (10-6-2, 32 points) will face No. 8 Chattanooga Red Wolves (9-5-1, 28 points) next Saturday at CHI Memorial Stadium at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.