Luis Alvarez strikes late as Charlotte beats Spokane Velocity 2-1

From staff reports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Spokane Velocity had two scoring opportunities in a chaotic final few minutes but were unable to capitalize, falling to the Charlotte Independence 2-1 on Thursday night.

Spokane (2-2-0) looked strong out of the gates and controlled possession for the majority of the first half, but Charlotte (1-1-0) created chances off counterattacks.

Neither team could find the back of the net, and the clubs went into halftime scoreless.

The Independence stormed out of halftime with force, with midfielder Joel Johnson scoring off a rebound to take a 1-0 lead.

After nearly 30 minutes of back-and-forth play, the Velocity knotted the match at 1 off a Javier Martin Gil goal, thanks to a nifty pass from midfielder Pierre Reedy in the box.

As time winded down, both teams were attacking with pace looking for the win. In the 95th minute, Reedy again worked his way into the box and appeared to be tripped up, but no foul was called. The Velocity sideline was outraged at the no-call.

Just a minute later, Independence midfielder Luis Alvarez eked a shot past Spokane goalkeeper Carlos Merancio to take a 2-1 lead.

Before the final whistle was blown, Spokane again found space on the attack. Velocity defender Ahmed Longmire had a look from inside the box, but Independence goalkeeper Austin Pack made a tough save to seal the win.

The Velocity will play Wednesday at ONE Spokane Stadium against the Los Angeles Force, a member of the National Independent Soccer Association, in the second round of the Open Cup.