Spokane Zephyr look to reach new heights after midseason coaching change

In the coach’s office at ONE Spokane Stadium, Spokane Zephyr head coach Nicole Lukic is vacuuming. With laptops open, and documents sprawled over a medium-size, foldable table, she had just finished leading practice on a wet and hazy January afternoon.

Lukic, 38, took over the Zephyr in early October when they were 2-2-4. Prior to her arrival to Spokane, she served as U.S. Soccer’s director of talent identification for the youth national teams. She also led USL Women’s League club Minnesota Aurora to two undefeated regular seasons, which earned her the league’s Coach of the Year honors in 2022.

Assuming leadership of a roster eight weeks into the team’s season is a difficult position – and Lukic knew that.

“It’s never easy coming in, feeling like you’re 10 weeks behind,” she said.

In her first game at the helm on Oct. 12, the Zephyr shut out Dallas Trinity 2-0. But then the crew fell into a losing streak until they closed out the first half of the season scoring the most it had all year in a victory over Fort Lauderdale.

“I don’t think adversity is ever a bad thing, and I think it’s what makes you,” said forward Lena Silano.

“As you can see, with some of the results this season … we know how to handle the hard things.”

The Spokane Zephyr, ranked fifth, are no strangers to adversity. They experienced plenty of it in their inaugural USL Super League season. In January 2024, they found themselves in a similar position under former head coach Jo Johnson. And in the spring, the women dug themselves out of a 2-6-6 hole , winning nearly every game to finish one victory away from a playoff position.

After a disappointing conclusion, Johnson left the team, and Josh McCallister, the Spokane Velocity’s technical director, served as the Zephyr’s interim head coach.

While no longer on the coaching staff, his temporary role was critical, as he constructed a selfless group of players over the summer – all capable of leading – and prepared them for their second season.

Becoming ‘malleable’

During the offseason, McCallister brought in veterans, and young players who have made immediate impacts. Players like Silano, a 25-year-old and 34th pick of the 2023 NWSL draft by the Washington Spirit.

She was the second Long Beach State University alumni ever to appear in an NWSL game, and in 2023-24, appeared in 27 matches and scored two goals for the Spirit.

Silano, who earned December’s Super League Team of the Month honors, has seemingly become Spokane’s leading striker while returning forward Ally Cook has been out with an undisclosed injury. Silano has started 12 of 16 games and played 949 minutes. Both have scored a team-high four goals with Silano holding the edge in assists (two) – Cook has one. Silano also leads the Zephyr in shots attempted with 25 – Cook has 21. Both lead the team with 11 shots on target.

“If you don’t shoot, you don’t score,” Silano quipped.

McCallister also signed defenders Kelsey Oyler, Shea Collins, Charley Boone, Ginger Fontenot, and Maggie Johnston; midfielders Aryssa Mahrt and Felicia Knox; and forwards Kaira Houser, Cameron Tucker, Madelyn Desiano, and Tori Waldeck Zierenberg.

Alongside returning defenders Reese Tappan, who leads the team in clearances (97), and blocks (17), and team captain Sarah McCoy, Oyler has been a ball hawk with a team-best 23 interceptions. She also has won the second-most tackles with 22.

Tucker has scored one time on 15 shots and is third on the team with 14 chances created.

Despite the rough start to the season, second-year veteran and 2024 Super League Goalkeeper of the Year Hope Hisey believes that McCallister did a “good job playing that interim role and making sure” they were “malleable,” ensuring the future coaching transition would be smooth.

Because they knew change was coming, Tappan said she and her teammates understood the importance of “working with who” they had at the time.

Still, it matters who you bring in the building. And the Zephyr feel like they had a good one in McCallister and have bought in to what Lukic is selling.

“The group was comfortable with him … a lot of us were brought in by him, so it was … a very trusting environment,” Silano said.

“I think it was great with Nicole coming in because she’s a trusting coach … same energy … they’re different, but it was a comfortable transition … she did a great job of how she approached it.”

“You could tell we’re bought in. That’s a testament to her character.”

Meshing identities

Hisey said the team’s core identity has always been “gritty,” which draws similarities to how Lukic envisions it.

“We’re looking to be an aggressive team … not only when we have the ball, but when we don’t have the ball. Being able to defend higher up on the field, get into the box with a lot of numbers, generate more shots … become goal -scoring machines,” Lukic said.

“A tough team to beat,” said Hisey.

The numbers certainly back both up. The Zephyr’s stalwart defense has allowed only 15 goals in 16 games – a .9 per match average – thanks in no small part to Hisey who has distinguished herself as the league’s best goalkeeper with 51 saves.

“Anytime we’re defending set pieces or crosses, I’m not worried,” Lukic said, chuckling.

She said in previous experiences, she would watch her goalkeepers on the sidelines, hold her breath, and “wait for the moment to be over.” But with Hisey, Lukic can “relax, and know … I’m thinking about what are we going to do once she catches it. I don’t have to worry about that moment.”

It also helps to have, as Lukic put it, an “in your face” type of leader in second-year midfielder Emma Jaskaniec. Jaskaniec, who was dependable for Johnson last year, has appeared in every game this season with 14 starts, and 1,272 minutes played. She leads the Zephyr in tackles (49), and has recorded 29 clearances, and 10 interceptions. She’s also a threat offensively with two goals and 13 shot attempts.

Tappan said, “throughout the fall, we were like ‘OK, we need to do our job as much as we can to help the forwards, and relieve some of the pressure, even off Hope … in the beginning of the fall, we were giving up a lot of shots … granted, they weren’t really going in because we have Hope.”

On offense, however, Spokane struggled to find the net, scoring just 15 goals in the fall. Its last five games, it shot the ball 82 times – with the most attempts coming in a 2-0 loss to Dallas on Nov. 19 when they recorded 19.

Then, on Dec. 20, the Zephyr, behind contributions from Silano, Tucker, and Knox, scored three goals on 15 shot attempts, and secured their first victory in six games. It was the type of complementary game Lukic, and the team needed, as their defense notched 28 clearances, conceding only one goal.

“It’s all clicking … I think this year has been filled with changes, movement, trying new things,” Silano said.

“It was … refreshing to feel the momentum … going our way. And I’m excited for spring,” she said with a grin.

‘The sky is the limit’

One thing Lukic appreciates about her players is that they “never get too high, or too low.”

“They’re pretty steady,” she said.

“Everybody leads in their own way … and I think that’s the great thing about this group. … They’re super accountable and super professional … they all show up every day.”

Silano agrees. “This group did a really good job of being even -keeled, and we didn’t get too high, and we didn’t get too low.”

Even through the loss period, Silano explained that the Zephyr never faltered in their consistent approach to practices, and never questioned their identity.

“Not once did the level drop in training, if anything it got more intense, and I think we held each other accountable.”

She and her teammates have “trusted the process,” and “had the hard conversations.”

“We know how to handle being down multiple holes, and being able to grind, and we also know how to score … we know how to defend. So, I don’t see why we can’t do well,” said Silano.

Having gone through the hardship in the fall, Tappan said Lukic “really implemented” the belief that “there is no ceiling for us.”

With Cook coming back some time in the spring, it’s hard not to imagine the heights this team can reach as they begin the second half of the season on the road at Tampa Bay (1-6-7) at 4:30 p.m.

Silano feels that “there’s so much more out of this group that no one has seen.”

“We’re going to be a dangerous team, no doubt about it … I believe that we’re going to click at the right time,” she said.

“We saw a flash of what we can be in December, and we know that … the sky’s the limit. And we’re just going to keep going, and we’re excited about the opportunity to chase a spot for playoffs,” said Lukic.

“That’s our goal, and hopefully play in the final.”