By Henry Krueger, Gonzaga University ’25
Roughly one month in as head coach of Zephyr FC, Jo Johnson’s vision is taking shape for Spokane’s first professional women’s soccer team.
A group of media members at ONE Spokane Stadium listened as Johnson outlined Zephyr’s strategy during a July 27 media availability session. Among a range of coaching philosophies mentioned, Johnson repeatedly used the term “aggressive possession.”
“We want to bring in players who have that tenacity and that competitiveness to win the ball,” she said. “We call it aggressive possession in the locker room. The quicker we can move the ball, the more numbers we can put around the ball, that is our identity.”
Johnson hasn’t had much time to implement her tactics, especially within a first-year club of players who have largely never played together — an obstacle shared across the USL Super League ahead of the inaugural 2024 season.
With the season opener just over two weeks away, Johnson remains optimistic, noting that her players are adapting to their new environment swiftly.
“I think the best part about it is the players’ growth mindset to be challenged. Everyone’s coming in from different environments, different experiences, different game models, different styles of play.
Zephyr’s roster of 22 and counting consists of players with experience in various settings, including the professional, collegiate and international ranks. Some have checked off all three boxes like midfielder Katie Murray, a former standout at the University of Illinois who joined Zephyr after competing for Dutch club PEC Zwolle and the Washington Spirit of the NWSL.
Murray’s signing was announced shortly after Johnson’s hiring in late June, and the 27-year-old has spent the past month getting acclimated to the new system.
“It’s been a pretty easy adjustment, but of course there’s going to be different things that Coach Johnson wants from us as far as keeping the ball, enjoying possession and attacking in the right moment with an aggressive mindset,” Murray said.
As Murray traveled across the country from her former club in Washington D.C., several of her new teammates are swapping college jerseys for professional kits for the first time in their careers.
Emma Jaskaniec, a 23-year-old midfielder, signed with Zephyr after her fifth and final season at the University of Wisconsin. In 2023, Jaskaniec was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region after helping the Badgers reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I think for me, it’s been a little bit more of an adjustment, coming straight out of college,” Jaskaniec said. “But now that I’m surrounded by players that also want to be on the ball, it kind of takes some pressure off me.”
Murray and Jaskaniec are part of an eight-player rotation in the midfield, a pivotal position in Johnson’s attacking approach. The club also has six forwards, six defenders and two goalkeepers listed on the roster.
Responsible for guarding Zephyr’s net are Hailey Coll and Izzy Nino, who have been training with Assistant Coach and Goalkeeping Coach Brian Periman.
A former goalkeeping coach at the University of Arizona, Periman entered his position already having some familiarity with both players.
“We’ve been working since I got here, and I coached against Hailey for the last three years and I studied a lot of film on Izzy, so I have a very good feel for both of them,” Periman said.
Coll hails from Eugene, Oregon, and finished her fourth and final season at Oregon State University in 2023. She amassed 200 saves in her collegiate career, the seventh-best mark in the program’s history.
Nino, originally from Northville, Michigan, registered two clean sheets and saved over 70% of shots on target last season for Newcastle Jets FC, in Newcastle, New South Wales. She played collegiately at the University of Michigan, where she secured three clean sheets and broke the five-save mark on seven occasions in 2023.
For Nino, signing with Zephyr offered the chance to compete at the highest level of women’s soccer in her home country.
“For me, moving abroad to play in Australia was such a big jump that I knew I wanted to come back to the U.S. when I found there would be more opportunities,” Nino said.
Since arriving in Spokane, Zephyr players and coaches have felt welcomed by the city, receiving praise from locals and seeing signs and banners around town.
“You can already tell the buy-in from the community,” Johnson said. “Walking down Riverside, you see light posts that have our graphics on them, so it’s really cool to see that the whole town is behind it.”
Spokane was first introduced to the Zephyr squad prior to Velocity’s match against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on July 6. Zephyr players led the Rumble Tradition, and garnered a standing ovation from fans at ONE Spokane Stadium.
While only the players participated, it was an encouraging sight for Johnson, who expressed confidence in the success of her club and the USL Super League.
“The USL brand, we’ve seen how well they’ve done on the men’s side and having that backing gave us a lot of confidence going into this,” Johnson said. “They have experience building leagues already, and then using that platform to expand it to the women’s game was huge.”
The first chance for fans to watch Zephyr play will come on Aug. 17 when the club hosts Fort Lauderdale United FC at 6 p.m. Zephyr will remain at home to face Brooklyn FC (Sept. 8), Carolina Ascent FC (Sept. 15) and DC Power FC (Sept. 22). The squad will play their first road match against DC Power FC on Sept. 29 at Audi Field.
Tickets are now on sale for this historic season!
