Kaya Crawford, Gonzaga University ‘26
Spokane Zephyr FC is headed to the Lone Star State to take on Dallas Trinity FC at 5 p.m. PST at the Cotton Bowl.
Spokane is on the hunt for their next win as they sit sixth in the USL Super League standings with a 2-4-5 record. Dallas is third in the standings with a 4-1-4 record.
Zephyr fell 2-1 to Dallas in their first meeting on Oct. 6 at ONE Spokane Stadium. Hannah Davison and Jenny-Julia Danielsson scored for Dallas. Taylor Aylmer scored the lone goal for Spokane in the 72nd minute when a corner kick from Marley Canales found McKenzie Wienert, whose shot deflected into open space, allowing Aylmer a one-touch goal.
In their most recent match, Spokane played Lexington Sporting Club to a 1-1 draw on Nov. 13. Emina Ekić converted a penalty in the 25th minute to put Zephyr ahead early.
Lexington outshot Spokane 16-14 with three shots on target. Zephyr was unable to capitalize on chances created, which haunted them late when Spokane conceded a goal in the 86th minute resulting in a draw. The goal was scored by Marykate McGuire and marked the 100th USL Super League goal.
“I think we’re all a little disappointed not to walk away with more points,” Ekić said following the match. “We’ve had a lot of growth over the last two games and we’re going to look to keep building heading into Dallas.”
Dallas will have had an 11 day break between matches when they face Spokane on Wednesday. They defeated Lexington SC 3-2 in their last match on Nov. 9. All of Dallas’ goals came late with an 81st minute goal from Cyera Hintzen, an 89th minute goal from Danielsson and a 90th minute goal from Gracie Brian.
Dallas is second in the league in goals with 16. Allie Thornton is tied for third most goals in the league with four.
While Dallas will be more rested, Spokane has the advantage in that they have played more matches. Dallas has only played nine matches compared to Spokane’s 11. They will need to rely on their experience and focus on scoring to come away with the win.
There is some player familiarity between the two sides as Spokane’s Wayny Balata (2019-2023) overlapped with Dallas players Sam Estrada (2018-2023) and Allie Thorton (2016-2019) during their time playing collegiately at Southern Methodist University.
The match kicks off at 5 p.m. PST and is available to stream live on Peacock.
Zephyr will continue their road trip as they will face Fort Lauderdale United FC (Dec. 7) and Tampa Bay Sun FC (Dec. 14) prior to a winter break in the season.
