The Spokane Velocity is on another playoff spree. The team is on to the semi-finals for the second year in a row after they beat Tormenta FC yesterday in an overtime shootout.
The scoreless game went into a 30 minute overtime, when a questionable call gave Tormenta's Mason Tunbridge a penalty kick. It found the back of the net and put Spokane’s opponents up one-nothing.
That’s until Velocity forward Anuar Peláez was fouled in the box moments before the end of the game. His free kick skid past the goalie, saved Spokane’s chances and sent the game into a shootout.
Both teams scored their first three kicks. Then, Velocity goalkeeper Carlos Merancio stopped Tormenta's fourth free kick attempt by Tunbridge—by staying in the middle of the goal and catching a ball aimed straight at his chest.
"I did my research," Merancio said. "I watched a lot of PK's from him since he was in college...It's hard to hold the position there and try to to guess that he was going to the middle. He's a really good player and I'm so happy that I saved it."
Tormenta's Gabriel Cabral missed the final kick, which meant that shootout goals from Velocity players Nil Vinyals, Marky Hernández, Davíd Garcia, and Peláez were enough to seal Spokane's spot in the semi-finals.
"En ningún momento perdimos la fe," Peláez said.
"He’s saying that we never lost the faith that we were winning this game," Merancio translated for the Colombian. "We only needed one opportunity to do it. In this case, he took the penalty, that was the moment to show up and he did it."
Velocity played Tormenta twice during the regular season. Spokane won the first game and the teams drew the second. But Velocity's head coach Leigh Veidman said this game was far from what they expected.
"You saw playoff football tonight. It's chaos," Veidman said. "First half in general, we didn't scout what they did. They went in with a completely different game plan. On that 18 man roster that travel today, I'd say probably 15 of them are about 6'2'' tall and over. They went very direct and very aerial."
Fans in the stands were shocked at times by calls the referees made—even more than home fans typically are. That frustration was shared by staff on the field, too.
"A little bit disappointed with the refereeing, to be honest with you," Veidman said. "I didn't think the consistency was there. I thought the penalty was very harsh. So that was a frustration of mine. But I think that the character to come back in the second overtime was fantastic."
The Velocity now gets to host the Portland Hearts of Pines for a semi-final game at home. That will be next Sunday at 6 pm at ONE Spokane Stadium.
