Three Storyline Ahead of Portland Hearts of Pine v. Spokane Velocity
History and Revenge.
Portland Hearts of Pine are heading west to face Spokane Velocity on Sunday. The winner earns a trip to the USL League One Final.
Here are three storylines regarding the game.
League Leaders
While Players’ Shield winner One Knoxville led the way with four selections for the USL League One First and Second Teams, Spokane and Portland each had three.
Spokane is represented on the First Team by defender David Garcia, who anchored the backline with 192 clearances and an 81.8% tackle success rate, and midfielder Luis Gil, who had seven goals and three assists. Goalkeeper Carlos Merancio made the Second Team, accumulating a 72% save percentage.
Portland earned First Team recognition through Nathan Messer, who recorded six goals and four assists, and Masashi Wada, who created 30 chances while scoring nine goals. Ollie Wright’s nine goals and eight assists earned him a spot on the Second Team.
Hearts will be happy to welcome back Wada this weekend, who was suspended for the quarterfinal game after receiving two yellow cards in the regular season finale.
Revenge
Hearts and Velocity have only faced each other on two occasions.
The first was a scoreless draw on April 5 that occurred in Washington state during a busy stretch for Hearts. The single point was a positive early moment for the new team.
The second took place at the end of the season, a rescheduled date after Spokane had prior travel issues. The rare Tuesday night affair will go down in Hearts’ lore as they won 6-1 in front of a record-setting crowd.
You have to think that Spokane will be out for some revenge after being on the wrong end of a lopsided result during a congested week.
History Repeats
Hearts have made a lot of history during their inaugural season, and they hope to make more as they are one game away from playing for a championship.
But it won’t be easy, as Spokane finished third with a record of 14-7-9. That said, they only won two of their last ten games (2-3-5), advancing past South Georgia Tormenta FC on penalties.
History will repeat itself regardless of Sunday’s result, as Hearts advancing would put a first-year club in the final for a second straight year. A Spokane win would give them another chance to win the ultimate prize after losing 3-0 to Union Omaha last year in their inaugural season.
Hearts and Spokane play at 9 PM EST on Sunday. Hearts are hosting a watch party at State Theatre to celebrate the occasion. Tickets can be purchased here.