Continuing to defy expectations, first-year expansion side Spokane Velocity FC is gearing up to play in the 2024 USL League One Final on Sunday and are just one win shy of becoming the first expansion team in league history to win the League One Final in their inaugural season.

A key component to Velocity FC's remarkable success this year has been captain Luis Gil, who arrived from Union Omaha over the offseason. The former United States Men's National Team midfielder spent two years in Omaha and helped the club win its second USL League One Players' Shield just a season ago. The 31-year-old has enjoyed great success across the continent, helping Real Salt Lake to a runner-up finish in MLS Cup 2013, winning Copa MX in Apertura 2016 with Querétaro FC and lifting the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2018 with Houston Dynamo FC.

When it came time to take on a new challenge, Gil wasn't shy about moving across the country to help jumpstart an expansion club in its first season.

"It was, an opportunity I couldn't have passed up on," Gil said of his move to Spokane. "Being a part of an Omaha team that's been successful every year was great, but Spokane just seemed like a really good option, whether it related to contract factors or family things - I have a son now, so that also changed things.

"It was more of a decision that was for my family. With Spokane being an expansion team, it allows you to grow with them as well. I had conversations with coach [Leigh Veidman] about it before signing the contract, and he wanted to pick my brain to see what I was thinking about as well. My ideals aligned with his, and I think it worked out for the best. I feel like I've had somewhat of a decent season, better than my normal career, so it's definitely worked out."

Gil was named Spokane's inaugural captain ahead of the club's first season, and in that role he's appeared in 32 of Spokane's 35 matches across all competitions this season, scoring 11 goals and grabbing five assists along the way. Although a figurehead for the team's leadership, Gil gives plenty of credit to his teammates. 

"We have a really good cast, and there's a few players who I keep close to me in sort of a leadership group where we can guide the younger players throughout the season," Gil shared. "It's a long season, you're going to have lots of ups and downs, but you've got to find a way to balance it out and keep every single player with their head on right so we can keep moving forward."

The veteran midfielder, who will participate in his first final since falling to Sporting Kansas City on penalties in MLS Cup 2013, has enjoyed a career that has now spanned 15 seasons. Over this time, the midfielder has yet to claim a league title but will now have the opportunity to do so in a stadium he lifted a trophy in just over a year ago.

"That doesn't happen very often," Gil said about facing his former team. "I've been in quite a few finals, but it's never been something like this, but I'm just excited to be in the final. As a player, your end goal is to make it to the end and hopefully lift up a trophy."

Velocity FC has had about as tricky of a path imaginable to reach the final. Originally drawn against No. 2 Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, they earned an away win by a scoreline of 3-0 in one of the league's biggest postseason upsets. They then traveled to Breese Stevens Field in Wisconsin, a stadium with a reputation for being a fortress for No. 3 Forward Madison FC. Spokane battled out a scoreless draw over both regular and extra time before claiming a penalty kick shootout victory, 5-4, to advance to the League One Final. The first-year side will now head to Werner Park for the third time this season in what will be their third consecutive postseason match away from home and against a higher-seeded opponent.

“We've had, Northern Colorado, and to go there and beat them, 3-0, was a huge plus for us," Gil said. "Then, to go against Madison away, who are a great defensive team and who smacked us all season long, getting the result over there, it shows what we're capable of. We just got to keep that momentum going into this final match."

Omaha and Spokane have played four times this season across their one-year shared history, with each team earning two wins against each other across both regular season and USL Jägermeister Cup play. In their most recent matchup, Omaha beat Spokane 4-0 at Werner Park, later claiming the 2024 USL League One Players' Shield - the Owls' third in club history. Gil played in three of those four matches against Omaha this season and notably scored a goal in each of those matchups.

"I don't know if I get a little bit more energy wanting to get that win against a former team, but I just kind of do my thing," said Gil. "I stick to what I know and try not to do anything different and exploit certain situations during the game. I've been fortunate that I've been a killer when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net against them this season, so that's something that hopefully I can look forward to doing again this weekend."

Despite Spokane's postseason Cinderella run and shared spoils with their future opponents, the team finished the regular season in seventh place with a 7-9-6 record and were just one of two playoff teams to end the season with a losing record and negative goal differential.

"We had this roller coaster season where we've had to deal with quite a bit of injuries in the beginning of the season which kept players out for a long time," Gil added. "Figuring out our identity was tough at first. I think we had a good point midway through the season where we had quite a few wins and some ties and that put us in a comfortable position. Obviously, you don't want to lose, so that winless stretch to end the season was difficult."

Entering the postseason, Spokane totally reversed its form and has not looked back since. Gil believes that the combination of potentially winning the final given the hardships the team endured this season sets a good foundation for the club's future.

"I think it would be a big accomplishment, especially doing it as an expansion team," Gil said of potentially winning the title. "The odds were probably against us, and people probably doubted us from the beginning, so to be able to come out of what we had to deal with throughout the whole season and lift up the trophy would be worth it even that much more, especially for the fans of Spokane."

Another major contributor to the club's success in its first season has been the fan support. Even though the team plays in a smaller market, the Velocity FC faithful have shown an immense passion for the both club and the sport itself.

"They've been behind us since the beginning, and they showed that Spokane is on the map for soccer," Gil said of Spokane's soccer supporters. "Even though we're not hosting postseason matches, the fans are doing watch parties, where hundreds and hundreds of fans are showing up and cheering us on from afar. They're always behind us and supporting us, so to be able to win a trophy for the city would be a wonderful thing."

Ahead of the match this weekend, Gil sees no reason why Spokane can't be the one to lift the trophy at full time.

"Anything can happen," Gil expressed. "I feel like I've been behind the guys and we've all thought, 'This is a fresh start for us, and it's not going to be easy, but if we do this together, if we dig deep, we can do this together.'

"We know it's going to be a difficult game. It's on the big stage now, so it makes it more interesting, but like I said, as long as we keep playing our game and focus on us like we've been doing all season, I think we have a real shot at this."

No. 1 Union Omaha will host No. 7 Spokane Velocity FC in the 2024 USL League One Final on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Golazo Network and SiriusXM.