‘Iron sharpens Iron’: Spokane Zephyr rely on improved chemistry and confidence to turn around season in second half

No other team in the inaugural season of the USL Super League has experienced as stark of a shift in synergy as the Spokane Zephyr.

They ended the first half of the season in December with a 2-6-6 record, surrendering just over a goal per game while also only averaging one themselves.

So far this spring, Spokane boasts a 7-2-1 record, scoring 17 goals in its past 10 matches and conceding one per match. The Zephyr have earned 19 points in that span and have fought their way into the playoff contention.

Team chemistry is built, not born. It is constructed on and off the field, in training, and throughout the course of a season. It takes time for players and coaches to learn each other’s tendencies, strengths and weaknesses, and how to link them into one operating machine.

It makes sense that a new team in a new league would take time to come together.

When a team plays like one unit, it can become nearly unstoppable.

But when a group of players is not on the same page, winning becomes much more difficult.

It’s understandable that a team such as the Spokane Zephyr needed four months of games and practice – and a two-month break – to find its chemistry.

Zephyr head coach Jo Johnson knows as much.

“Everyone’s coming from different environments. Everyone has different ideas. There are so many different ways to play the game,” Johnson said.

Entering the start of the second half of the season in February, Spokane sat in seventh place with 15 points. The top four teams make the playoffs.

Entering its final four games of the regular season, Spokane (9-8-7) is in sixth place, tied with fifth-ranked Brooklyn (9-9-7), and fourth-place Fort Lauderdale (9-7-7) with 34 points.

“I think coming into this spring, we know we kind of dug ourselves a hole in the fall,” Zephyr defender Sarah Clark said. “I think the whole team has brought a lot of bite this spring season.”

The Zephyr’s revamped effort was met with new strategy.

“As a staff, we came into this part of the season really trying to clarify game plans and what we want from players in positional profiles,” Johnson said. “I think it’s really getting our forwards into positions where they’re going toward goal and their first touch break in that back line.

“We really worked on that a lot, and you can see it develop as a chemistry with that front three.”

That front three includes Emina Ekic, the team leader in goals (seven) and assists (six), McKenzie Weinert and Ally Cook, who joined the team in January after a one-year stint with the Chicago Red Stars (NWSL).

With Cook, Ekic and Weinert have had more space to be creative, which has resulted in more efficient scoring, and in turn, a rising confidence that has invigorated the team.

At one point, Weinert led the league in shots attempted but had not scored a goal until she tallied three in April. She scored two goals in Spokane’s 3-2 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday, and scored a goal in its 1-0 win over Brooklyn at the beginning of the month.

This spring, Ekic has scored four goals and recorded two assists.

Since joining the team, Cook has contributed three goals and an assist.

“Adding Ally Cook to pin the center back to isolate Mina and Ken in those wide areas so that they can do what they do … and when the two center backs are pinned, it opens up space for them to run … then to receive and hit that,” Johnson said. “I feel like once you see the ball on the back of the net a few times, you get that confidence and knowing your teammate will give you the ball into those spaces.”

The improved chemistry and confidence have not only led to more scoring from the attackers but have also fortified the midfield and backline, making it more difficult for opposing teams to score. It also helps to have one of the league’s best goalkeepers .

Hope Hisey, the 46th pick of the 2024 NWSL draft out of the University of Arizona, leads the league in saves (60), is second in clean sheets (eight), and has a 77.9% saves success rate.

Hisey deflected the praise to her teammates.

“I have a great group in front of me. They make my job easy … we prepare really well in training to give ourselves the best opportunity to get a result,” Hisey said. “I just try my best in training every week and then go out there and just try to do what I can to help the team. I think everyone has that commitment to each other, so that’s why you’re seeing us be successful.”

“Whenever one of us makes a mistake or gets beat, there’s always somebody right there to pick up whatever mess was made,” said Clark, who leads the team in clearances with 129. “I feel like we’ve recovered really well. We’re working really hard for one another … we always say iron sharpens iron. I feel like in training, our forwards are really making the defenders better, and defenders are making the forwards better.”

“No one’s really left isolated. So, I think as a collective unit, we’ve done really well this spring to band together in complete 90-minute games,” team captain and midfielder Taylor Aylmer said. “We’ve all kind of felt it, especially the second half of the season, our chemistry on the field and understanding each other as players was super important for us … I think we feel confident in ourselves, and our teammates feel confident in the style we want to play.”

While they understand the playoffs are a possibility, Aylmer, who ranks second on the team in goals scored (four), noted the importance of not looking too far ahead, focusing on each opponent on a week-to-week basis.

“You can’t make playoffs until you check off the little boxes of all the steps before,” Aylmer said. “It’s keeping in mind our goal of playoffs, but also, it’s just focusing on the task at hand. And that’s one game at a time.

“How do we walk away with three points? The only three points that matter are those next three points. So, just continuing to focus on ourselves on the little steps, the little goals to ultimately achieve the end.”

Spokane has a chance to jump into fourth place with a win against last-place Lexington (4-15-5) at ONE Spokane Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will broadcast on Peacock.