Spokane Zephyr miss playoffs despite historic win over Brooklyn FC

May 16-The Spokane Zephyr earned their largest margin of victory in the team's history after they shut out Brooklyn FC 4-0 in their USL Super League regular-season finale at ONE Spokane Stadium on Saturday.

"Great way to finish the season," Zephyr head coach Nicole Lukic said. "That's what we wanted to do today, which is just make Spokane proud, get a win and feel like we did our best.

"I think we blew it out of the park. Players did great. Can't ask for much more," she added.

But the historic win wasn't enough to push them into the postseason after Dallas Trinity FC (11-10-7, 40 points) beat Fort Lauderdale 4-0 late Saturday evening and took back the fourth and final playoff spot.

After going undefeated in five straight home games, Spokane (10-9-9, 39 points) finished one point short of advancing to the postseason for the second consecutive year.

Still, Lukic - who led the team to an 8-7-5 record after taking the reins in October - said she was proud of how the Zephyr concluded their season and stayed true to Spokane's identity.

"I just feel really proud that we're able to end the season, not just this game, but the five-game home streak really well," she said.

Midfielder Felicia Knox, who scored four goals in 1,344 minutes of play this season, echoed those sentiments.

"I think you can confidently say that there's no regrets how we finished the season" she said.

Brooklyn surrendered an own goal in the first five minutes before either team got a shot off.

In the second minute, Reese Tappan crossed to Katie Murray in the middle of the penalty box. Brooklyn defender Kristina Markovic attempted to intercept the pass but instead tapped the ball into the frame.

"Getting a first goal really early, always helps just kind of relax the mood, the vibes of the game, and then also gives you the go ahead to have the confidence to score goals and play together," Knox said.

For much of the period, possession was evenly split, with Brooklyn holding the advantage at 51.6% . Spokane and Brooklyn struggled to find any offensive production until Knox extended Zephyr's advantage to two in the 36th minute.

Following a throw-in, Catherine Rapp found Knox at the top-left corner of the penalty area. Knox curled Spokane's first shot attempt to the opposite side of the frame.

"The ball just kind of popped down perfectly, and I hit it. And as soon as it came off my foot, it felt like it was going in," Knox said.

Spokane outshot Brooklyn 11-9, but it was the Zephyr's defense, which Lukic said had been "our identity and a strength for us," that allowed zero attempts on target with 25 clearances led by Haley Thomas's seven. Tappan, one of two players who didn't miss a minute this season alongside Hope Hisey, added six. Spokane also had 11 tackles and seven interceptions.

The Zephyr mustered only two shots in the first half. They nearly had one in the 17th minute when Maya Hansen sent a cross to Ally Cook and Rapp in the bottom right corner of the goalie box. But defender Leah Scarpelli stepped in front to allow Brooklyn goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty to kill the play.

In the second half, Spokane swayed momentum in its favor finishing the match with 49.2% possession and was rewarded with two scoring contributions from two substitutions.

In the 82nd minute, Thais Reiss, who subbed in for Emma Jaskaniec in the 79th, scored her first goal of the season. And seven minutes later, Lena Silano netted her team-leading seventh goal after subbing in the 63rd.

"I think it was just instinctual," Silano said of her goal. "Just letting the game flow, and the ball come to you. And I trusted Thais (Reiss) with the ball.

"She's (Thais Reiss) obviously coming off with a goal, so I think you could feel the momentum to momentum, flow to flow," Silano said.

Despite missing the playoffs, Lukic said she was proud of how much the Zephyr grew over the course of the season.

"We've improved overall ... we've given up less corners. We've given up less chances. If you just look at statistically what we've done from October to now, our overall play has grown a lot," she said.

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 7:09 PM.