‘They want to build something’: Spokane Zephyr begin practice as they build up to inaugural season

Dave Sonntag, USL Spokane’s vice president of marketing and communications, said Thursday that the wind flowing through ONE Spokane Stadium was fitting.

With the introduction of Jo Johnson – the inaugural head coach of Spokane Zephyr FC – and nine players, the women’s soccer team took another step toward the first game of the season.

Zephyr, which means “a wind from the west,” was on full display, both via the weather and the squad.

As Johnson was being introduced, the wind was muffling microphones and blowing hair around, but the first-time head coach didn’t seem fazed as she broke down the roster and explained who she is and her preferred play style.

She wants the Zephyr to put the opposing teams under pressure, force them to make mistakes and process situations as quick as possible.

“We want to bring in players who have that tenacity and that competitiveness to go win the ball,” she said. “We call it aggressive possession in the locker room. The quicker we can move the ball, the more numbers we can put around the ball, that is our identity.”

The roster sits at 22 , including two goalkeepers, six defenders, eight midfielders and six forwards.

Four are Washington natives – Taryn Ries, Jodi Ülkekul, Makena Carr and Haley Thomas – and four are international born – Mollie Rouse, Julianne Vallerand, Wayny Balata and Thais Reiss.

The team, which is still waiting for everyone to arrive in Spokane, has been practicing for about three weeks .

“They want to build something and have a legacy, so they are setting standard from the get-go,” Johnson said.

The importance of these first few weeks is to build chemistry with players who have never played together and come from teams with styles that are different.

Johnson has been happy with the progress, especially for those players who have been set in their ways for most of their careers.

“It may be uncomfortable to ask players who weren’t asked to do different things within their position or profile, and we may go through some points where it doesn’t look pretty, but we talk about it, watch film and work with it,” Johnson said.

“It’s more of a testament to the players being up for that challenge.”

The players have responded to her coaching style and the product on the field has grown because of that.

Two former Gonzaga Bulldogs played together as their time overlapped while at GU, so they were automatically comfortable working together – Ülkekul and Sophia Braun.

The rest of the team has leaned on those two as they transition into Spokane life.

Nine players were introduced and all wore smiles as they were seated. The chance for them to play professional soccer is a dream some of them have fulfilled while others see Spokane as their springboard opportunity.

Six are recent college graduates and have not played a professional game.

Having 16 players who have spent at least a season in a professional environment has granted a lot of knowledge for the younger players.

“The coaches haven’t had to do a lot of motivation. They show up, they want to learn, they want to compete,” Johnson said.

Having that leadership on the field has also helped her transition .

As for Johnson, this is her first go as a professional coach after spending a decade in the high school and college ranks with the University of Tulsa and at UTEP.

Johnson has made a seamless transition. Spokanites have recognized her on the streets and she sees the Zephyr crest donned on light posts in downtown Spokane.

It has made the move from Arizona that much easier.

“It’s really cool to see the whole town behind (us),” she said.

When Johnson took the job, she said she wasn’t nervous about the elevated title and the expectations after meeting with Zephyr ownership and player development coaches for USL Spokane.

The beliefs aligned and the offer to move to Spokane came a few months ago.

“That’s all I ever wanted to do, was to give back to this sport,” Johnson said.

Spokane opens play on Aug. 17 against Fort Lauderdale United FC at 6 p.m. at ONE Spokane Stadium.

All regular-season and postseason games in the inaugural USL Super League will be broadcast on Peacock.