South Georgia Tormenta let a golden opportunity to pick up a crucial three points slip away as Spokane Velocity scored a late equalizer as the two teams played to a 3-3 draw in the first matchup between the teams. 

The game, played Sunday morning due to inclement weather Saturday night when the game was originally scheduled, is one that both teams needed as they both are battling for a playoff spot. Tormenta has 16 points through 15 games while 2024 expansion side Spokane has 15 points through 11 games. Currently, Tormenta sits in the final playoff spot but their grasp is tenuous as South Georgia has played more games than any other team in the league so far.

“What becomes really hard is the last two games we’ve taken the lead and if you’re a team that has been thriving all season then you have the inner confidence to keep driving and keep pushing and get all the fine margins right,” said Tormenta Manager Ian Cameron. “But when you’re a team that’s a wee bit shy in confidence and don’t have that order about them, then it’s regretful, but understandable, that they take their foot off the pedal.” 

“It’s frustrating that we’ve been in a position to take six points in the last two games,” he said. “We’ve scored enough goals, but we’ve been showing frailties against the ball so we’ve got to keep working on that.” 

Tormenta came out firing early as Pedro Fonseca’s shot in the seventh minute from 20 yards out hit off the outside of the post. Minutes later, Ajmeer Spengler’s pass up the middle found Sebastian Vivas in stride, but Spokane goalkeeper Brooks Thompson was able to deflect it away.

In the 13th minute, Tormenta earned a corner kick that was headed away by the Velocity defense right to Aaron Walker, who joined Tormenta less than two weeks ago. Walker settled the ball and fired a low hard shot from about 30 yards out that found its way to the back of the net to put Tormenta ahead 1-0.

“I was just supposed to be at the top of the box and then the ball pops out,” Walker said. “I was able to put it on frame and it felt good to help the team,” he said. 

It appeared Spokane might tie the up at one in the 19th minute when a poor pass back to goalkeeper Drew Romig from Jake Dengler allowed Spokane to create some pressure when Romig was out of position. He was able to delay Spokane getting a shot off until reinforcements arrived and cleared the ball. Tormenta would take that clearance upfield and eventually Fonseca took a pass near the top of the box and found Vivas on the left with a pass. Fonseca continued his run and Vivas placed a perfect pass that Fonseca was able to head past Thompson to turn what could have been a 1-1 game into a 2-0 lead.

Following Tormenta’s second goal, Spokane seemed to take control of the first half where they had long stretches on the attack and were able to create opportunities but couldn’t find the finishing touch they needed.

“We started off following the game plan and then we went up 2-0 and as soon as that happened, we started going off script,” said defender and team captain Jake Dengler. “We started making dumb turnovers and bad clearances and we didn’t take control as a leadership group to keep it going and get that third goal. Like Aaron (Walker) said, if we get that third goal and go up 3-0, that kills the game off.” 

Two minutes into first half stoppage time, Spokane would pull within one on a Luis Gil goal set up by some excellent passing around the Tormenta penalty area.

Spokane would tie it up at two early in the second half when Josh Dolling got in behind the Tormenta defense and was able to beat Romig at the near post in the 56th minute. 

Tormenta wouldn’t take long to respond. In the 60th minute they earned a corner kick and Daniel Steedman’s cross found the head of Jake Dengler eight yards out. Dengler’s header would beat Thompson as Tormenta regained the lead at 3-2.

“We’ve been working on it all year with different set pieces and it’s good to pay back all the good deliveries we’ve had and to get the lead with it was big time,” Dengler said of his goal. “But like we said, we need to close out the game.” 

Tormenta looked to extend their lead 10 minutes later on another corner kick. This one found the head of Preston Kilwien who directed it towards the back post where Vivas was waiting for a diving header. Thompson stuck his leg out and somehow got just enough on it to keep the ball out of the net and keep the Velocity down just one. 

Spokane would look to rally late. In the 78th minute, Romig was able to make a lightning quick save on a shot from 15 yards out to keep Tormenta ahead. Five minutes later, Spokane was able to get a shot from 18 yards out but it went just wide of the net.

Finally, in the 85th minute, Spokane’s Dolling had a nifty cut back on the right side and played a pass towards the middle that found an oncoming Andre Lewis who would hit a shot that deflected off a Tormenta player and into the net to tie the score again at three.

“If you score three you should win the game,” Walker said following the match. “We’re obviously disappointed and we know games are at a premium now. We have to get three (points) at home and start working our way up the table. It’s frustrating, but we know what we need to fix and we can fix it this week in training.”

Tormenta returns to action on Saturday when they travel to face Richmond in a Jagermeister Cup contest. Tormenta can’t win their group, but can still claim the wild card and advance to the knockout round if they are the team with the most goals scored among the teams not winning their group. Tormenta has scored seven goals in the competition while Omaha is currently leading the wild card race with 12 goals scored so far.

Kickoff in Richmond is set for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.