Spokane Zephyr have chance at redemption in regular season finale on Saturday

May 15-Second-year midfielder Emma Jaskaniec knows what's at stake when the Spokane Zephyr host Brooklyn FC in their regular -season finale Saturday afternoon at ONE Spokane Stadium.

Jaskaniec was on the 2024-25 Zephyr squad, which fell just one point shy of making the playoffs after finishing the USL Super League's inaugural season tied with Fort Lauderdale in points. With one win, two losses and three draws against them, Spokane lost the head-to-head tiebreaker for the last postseason bid.

This weekend, the Zephyr find themselves in a similar position with a chance at redemption. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Jaskaniec credits the team's success this year to the way head coach Nicole Lukic has them "bought in."

Despite taking the reins eight games into the season, after Spokane (9-9-9, 36 points) had gone 2-2-4, Jaskaniec said Lukic has given her team "so much confidence."

Part of that, Jaskaniec said, is because she values them as people and "not just who we are as players."

"Knowing that your coach has your back no matter what, just makes you want to go out there and do everything you can to get three points," she said.

Since Lukic's arrival, the fifth-place Zephyr have gone 7-7-5.

"Coming in ... having to pick off where they left off, not knowing any of the girls - these aren't the girls that you recruited - is a really hard job. And I think she's just taken that in stride," Jaskaniec said. "The more time we've spent with her, the more wins we've gotten, and the more everybody's buying in. We're growing because she's ... believing in us."

Spokane has gone undefeated at home in its last four games, including a win against top-ranked Sporting JAX and a scoreless draw with Lexington.

Last weekend, Jaskaniec, who has started in 25 of 27 games this season and is top three in minutes played (2,234), scored the game -winner late in the second half against D.C. Power off a corner kick. Spokane and D.C. were tied with 33 points. The Zephyr eliminated Power and pulled within one point behind fourth-ranked Dallas Trinity (10-10-7, 37 points) - and are now in a duel for the fourth and final postseason spot.

"There's nothing like it, to score a goal in a playoff push," Jaskaniec said.

Lukic said Spokane's greatest strength has been its defense. Led by Reese Tappan's team-leading 150 clearances, 32 blocks, and 30 interceptions, the Zephyr have found success in using the back line to push their attacking front - led by forward Lena Silano's six goals and four assists - to begin fast -break opportunities and catch the opposing team's defensive unit off guard. Spokane put it all together in the spring.

In the fall, while the Zephyr's defense allowed just 11 goals, their offense only scored eight. It took until the last game in the season's first half for Spokane to net three in a win over Fort Lauderdale.

In the second half of the season, since January, Spokane has scored 15 goals and conceded 13.

"In November, we made really good progress with our style of play. For example, increasing number of shots that we're taking from ... eight on average to maybe doubling that to 17, 18. Now, we have closer to 13, 14 shots every game," said Lukic. "But in fall, we weren't necessarily getting the results from that. Now we are. We're putting that new attacking mindset, combining it with our core defensive strength and it's just coming together nicely for the group.

"It just comes naturally to us," she added. "We're willing to back each other up on the field. And then from that, I think we've grown a lot in our attacking transition capabilities, or we can regain the ball higher up the field, and punish teams in two to three passes."

Hope Hisey, who leads the league in saves with 86 and is third in clean sheets with nine, plays a key role in starting the counterattack. Lukic called the 2024 Super League Goalkeeper of the Year Spokane's "first attacker."

"As soon as she makes a save, she's looking to transition for us with high throws or high distribution into the opponent's half, which I've seen really good growth from her," said Lukic.

As second-year players, Hisey and Jaskaniec said they have grown a lot as leaders having experienced the adversity the Spokane Zephyr faced the last two years.

"Last year, coming in as a rookie, it's kind of like, 'Do what you're told.' You're just kind of trying to survive. And I feel like this year, I feel a lot more sound in my role in who I am as a player. I think Nicole has given me a lot of confidence," said Jaskaniec, who leads the team in chances created (29).

She added that she has become a lot more vocal on the field.

"If you come to a game, you can hear me a lot of times ... like really loud," Jaskaniec said.

She has also become a leader off the pitch.

"I've been putting a lot of work in off the field with the coaches to learn the game better to help my teammates on the field if I see something," she said.

Hisey added: "I've definitely embraced more of a leadership role this season and tried to use my experience and learnings from my first season to help support the rest of my teammates."

As Spokane has found its stride in the final stretch of its season, the Zephyr feel confident that they can contend with the top teams if they make the playoffs for the first time in the team's history.

"I know, if we get in, we have a good chance at winning it all. It's just can we get in, is the question right now," Lukic said.

The answer lies in their ability to get three points against Brooklyn and Dallas to lose or tie in its matchup against Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.

If they were to advance to the playoffs, Jaskaniec said it "would mean everything" to her, the team and the city of Spokane.

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 7:12 PM.