Spring means pro soccer is back at ONE Spokane Stadium. Both USL Spokane clubs—the Zephyr women and the Velocity men—host their spring openers this weekend, rain or shine.
The Zephyr is in the middle of its season, which started in the fall and aligns with international play. The team spent the winter playing in warmer weather down south, but it’s back home for its spring opener this Saturday evening.
The team is currently in the middle of the league’s standings. Players have struggled on attack, both taking shots and converting those shots to goals, especially in the first half of the season.
Head coach Nicole Lukic joined the team last October in the middle of their fall schedule. She says fans might feel like they're seeing a new team this spring.
"I do think the fans will see a difference," she said. "They'll see our improvement. So definitely see more numbers in our attacking box, more organized on defense, more shots. Hopefully that will lead to more goals...I'm confident fans will see a difference in the team and the work that they've put in over the last couple of months."
This season, the Zephyr signed their first academy player in addition to their 26 person roster.
Goalkeeper Hope Hisey is currently second in the league for clean sheets. Forward Lena Silano leads the team with six goals since August.
The Zephyr is also the only team in the United Soccer League (USL) to have an all-women leadership and coaching staff, thanks to new assistant coach Gaby Alfaro and goalkeeper coach Cris Lewis.
Lukic thinks the squad is finally finding its rhythm.
"We're starting to have a team identity in the way that we want to play," she said. "We're still in a great spot to chase a playoff spot."
Team identity is as important for fans as it is for the team, Lukic says. She wants to win, but she also wants to put on a good show.
"Because at the end of the day, players love scoring goals," she said. "That's why we play, to score goals and win games. And fans would, I would bet, would rather see a five to two match than a one to zero match because they're being entertained."
The Zephyr host Brooklyn FC in Spokane on Saturday at 6 pm. Anyone wary of the weather can stream the game on Peacock.
Spokane Velocity get ready to hit the pitch
Sunday is the first game of the season for the Velocity.
The Velocity made it to the League One final in both of its first two seasons, but fell just short of hoisting the trophy each time.
So, is head coach Leigh Veidman feeling the pressure to make this third year the charm?
"I wouldn't say pressure," he said. "I want it. I think the guys want it. But we know just to get to a final alone is incredibly difficult. The fact that we got to two finals in two years is anomaly in itself. But I think the big thing for us this year is, how do we go another level in the league specifically? Last year we finished third. We were in first for a while…So for us, a big focus of ours is finishing in that number one spot this year to see if we can get ourselves on a home play-off run and hopefully it helps us do a championship."
The club lost a few key players during the off-season. Fan favorites Pierre Reedy and David Garcia moved up a tier to the USL Championship. A handful of other contracts weren’t renewed. Yet Veidman and his team have been slow to refill the roster.
"The market has been rather inflated in terms of finances around players. We're trying to build a club that is sustainable for the future. And a large portion of being sustainable is making good financial choices. So not just with that, I'm trying to find the right people to fit our culture and the right players that are going to take us to another level.
In the week leading up to its first game, the Velocity signed three defenders—American Nick Spielman, Ghanaian Moses Mensah, and Georgian Gagi Margvelashvili. Both Mensah and Margvelashvili have experience in the USL Championship.
The team most recently signed goalkeeper Sean Lewis. Lewis was Goalkeeper of the Year for the past two seasons and previously played for ONE Knoxville, who beat the Velocity in the championship last year.
Lewis was also one of two USL League One goalkeepers to record more clean sheets than current Velocity first string goalkeeper Carlos Merancio. Merancio did record 13 more saves than Lewis.
Lewis had originally signed to play for South Georgia Tormenta FC this season, but that club folded just days before their season started.
According to Our Sports Central, Veidman says Spokane can expect a couple more roster additions in the first few weeks of the season.
"The biggest thing for me is, how do we just go that 1% more and find guys who are bringing in valuable, quality, winning experiences from their career?" he said to SPR. "To have that across the board from No.1 to No. 22 on the roster is incredibly helpful when you get into that back end of the season, when the pressure's on to get into a playoff spot to stay or hold that first place position to get into playoffs, win games on playoffs, to get in a final and win a final."
The Velocity face Union Omaha—the first team to wrest the championship trophy away from them—on Sunday at 3 pm.
