Spokane Zephyr prep for first home game Saturday: ‘These women know they are the beginning, but that’s just the start’

Spokane’s first women’s professional soccer team will play its inaugural home match Saturday, and the players are excited to add their skills to the team dynamic on their home pitch.

The team has its introductory home match Saturday at 6 p.m. Mayor Lisa Brown will be in attendance at ONE Spokane Stadium to proclaim the home opener as “Women’s Soccer Day in Spokane.”

United Soccer League Spokane has launched two professional soccer teams in the city this year. Spokane Zephyr FC plays in the USL Super League that is sanctioned as Division 1 by the U.S. Soccer Federation.

”For us, the really exciting thing was the Zephyr team. From the very beginning, it was always about this team,” Zephyr and Velocity FC Club President and owner Katie Harnetiaux said at a media event Tuesday.

“There’s been massive underinvestment in women’s sports,” co-owner Ryan Harnetiaux added.

Ryan Harnetiaux said he became “obsessed” with the idea of changing that.

“So when this opportunity came up, I think we thought we could kind of create that community in the club in Spokane, and I think that’s happening,” he said.

The community is integral in the growth of this club, Brown said.

“This gives us the opportunity to showcase what a great city this is, what a wonderful region it is, right here by the river, and in the middle of the Inland Northwest, and I want to point out the stadium that we’re in is also a community stadium,” she said.

Ryan Harnetiaux said there are “a lot of eyeballs on Spokane with this club.”

“These women know they are the beginning, but that’s just the start,” Katie Harnetiaux said.

With players adjusting from their professional careers in Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Portland and more, there are many new relationships, but the Zephyr team dynamic has fostered support on and off the field.

“We’re all getting along really well,” said Forward Jenny Vetter, 24, “super supportive of each other, and want the best for each other.”

Forward Taryn Ries, 25, noted how everyone is new to the team at once.

“So it’s been really special getting to know everyone, and everyone being in the same boat and trying to get on the same page, getting to know each other and the city,” she said.

Head coach Jo Johnson said the communication fans see on the field translates to the locker rooms and social lives of the players.

“We want them to have that communication; we don’t have timeouts,” Johnson said.

Midfielder Emina Ekić, 25, has been practicing with the team for only three weeks because of international games. Still, she said, “it’s such an easy group to fit into.”

“What sets us apart is how close we are and how good we are in the locker room, and I think that’s going to translate onto the field when we start games,” she said.

Spokane Velocity and Zephyr FC are all throughout the community already, Katie Harnetiaux said.

Nine Zephyr players were helping out at the nonprofit Family Promise the other night, and a coalition called the Aequus Collective also gives them chances to serve.

“Our Aequus Collective has partners like Thrive International, Hispanic Business Peoples Association and Family Promise,” Ryan Harnetiaux said.

The owners said that community involvement was an integral part of their mission, and it helps that the Zephyr have a finite training schedule that gives them time to focus on other things.

“The men and the women are all really willing to go out and volunteer their time in the community, which is what we always wanted,” Ryan Harnetiaux said.

“It was 100% to see what we could give back to Spokane,” Katie Harnetiaux added.

Now that the team is settling in, Katie Harnetiaux said she feels they’ve “achieved what we set out to achieve” in turning Spokane into a soccer town.

“I love to stand and watch people come in and they say thank you,” she said. “And it’s really moving and humbling to hear a fan say thank you; they are so grateful for something fun to do on Saturday afternoons with their family.”

Katie Harnetiaux is the only female president of a professional soccer club that includes men’s and women’s teams.

”For Zephyr especially, it’s been amazing hearing dads and brothers come up and say, ‘Thank you for giving my daughters something to see and look up to, a path to see, a professional sport.”

For Brown, the team’s first home game speaks to important things to come for the city.

“As time goes on, this will just enhance the reputation that Spokane has as a great sports town,” Brown said. “First thank Zags and Cougs and all that, and now we’re going to thank Velocity and Zephyr.”