Zephyr FC fans relish a victory in Spokane’s first professional women soccer team’s final home game of the year

Thousands of soccer fans filled ONE Spokane Stadium this fall with an infectious atmosphere of collective emotion.

For the 90-minute span of Spokane Zephyr FC matches, thousands of fans in the stands scream as Zephyr players dribble the ball closer to the net. They grimace when Spokane athletes take a tumble. They gasp when their foes score. And when the Zephyr score, their fans swing their scarves in sync.

All that local excitement came to a close Sunday, at least in Spokane.

The Zephyr played their last home game of the year , punctuating the first season of Spokane professional women’s soccer on a high note with a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay Sun FC.

On a sunny game day in mid-October, one of the last of Spokane’s warm days before an autumn chill sets in, over 2,300 fans filled the stands to bask in the athleticism and collective excitement of the game.

Season -ticket holder Nicole Malubay and a fan coalition she helped create, the South Hill Herd, occupied a row of seats, roping in other fans with catchy, infectious chants. 

The group was among the first 509 fans to purchase season tickets, two years before any details about the team were announced, much less their first game.

“It was just, you know, the next step for Spokane,” said herd member Debbie Oakley. “And it’s just been awesome.”

Over a dozen soccer fans make up the herd, friends and family that didn’t hesitate to buy season tickets when they heard news of Spokane’s first pro soccer teams, the Zephyr and men’s USL League One team the Velocity.

Born in Germany where soccer is the “national pastime,” Malubay used to travel from Spokane to the West Side to watch Seattle Sounders games. Now, she relishes rooting for a team in her own city without crossing mountains to do so, though she still holds Sounders season tickets.

“If it’s a choice between them, I’m staying at home and going to my local team,” Malubay said. “Because I live on the South Hill, I figured out how to take the bus down and do all the things and take a bus right back so I don’t have to pay for parking. It’s so much easier than having to fly or drive and all the things. So, it’s fantastic to have a professional team here.”

The South Hill Herd aren’t the only supporter group to form that rallies fans around the soccer teams. The 509 Syndicate was the first, organizing well before details of the soccer teams were announced, said 509 Syndicate President Jonathan Ehrenberg. 

Positioned at the sidelines, behind the goal on one end of the field with musicians and flags and chant leaders, The 509 Syndicate is “the heartbeat of the game,” Ehrenberg said.    

Musicians from The 509 Syndicate create and lead chants that reverberate around the stadium. They also organize watch parties, giveaways and a “march to the match” from Riverfront Park to the stadium every match day.  

“Everything centers around the game and growing the game of soccer in Spokane,” Ehrenberg said. 

Chants from the 509 Syndicate and the herd, who often screamed through plastic cups, could be heard around the 5,000-person stadium and on the field; they made sure of it.

“My friend and I went over there to see if they can see and hear us,” said 13-year-old Harper Oakley, pointing to the opposite corner of the stadium from where she sat with the rest of the herd. “We heard our loud cups, we saw (our signs), and we heard us count.”

“One, two, three,” the herd hollered, counting down the 10 -second limit a goalkeeper has to return the ball to play. They chant to apply pressure and prevent any intentional lagging from the opposing team.

“It’s a really common delay tactic, if you ever watch other games where they spin the ball or they’ll touch their toes,” Malubay said. “So we count, hoping that when we get to 10 then she’ll get a yellow card for it.”

While players may or may not get a card from the referee, the South Hill Herd ensures their disapproval is communicated. Malubay laminated double-sided sheets of red and yellow sheets of construction paper, her own red and yellow cards that fans hold up when they feel the referee missed a call.

Inspired by another Sounders fan, Malubay made a thousand of the cards and distributes about 100 per game.

“When this started, I was like, ‘I want that to be a thing,’ so I made a whole bunch right away,” Malubay said.

Married couple Brigitte and Jerry Franklin didn’t miss a home game all season, bundling up in coats and hats for the final home game in windy late October. They’re season -ticket holders for both the Zephyr and Velocity.

“Some people say it’s boring. It’s not boring,” Brigitte said while unable to take her eyes off the field. She hails from Germany and loves the nostalgia of watching the national pastime in Spokane, even if German players are more fun to watch, she said.

“It’s a little bit more disappointing for the women’s team because it doesn’t seem like there’s as much support there for them,” Jerry said. The couples’ favorite memory was attending both teams’ first games, both sellout audiences with infectious collective energy to boot.

They saw that energy slightly deplete as time went on for the women’s team, “but that’s OK, I like to watch ’em,” Brigitte said with a laugh.

There was no lack of enthusiasm from a group of girls who congregated at the bottom of the stands with scraps of paper, eagerly awaiting autographs from forward Jenny Vetter.

“It’s nice to have because we’re soccer players,” said 11-year-old Myra Turner, who came to the match with the rest of her team in the Surf Soccer Club.

The team loves getting together to play and watch soccer, though they can’t help feeling a little like a back seat driver as they watch from the stands.

“You can also learn from them and see tricks they do and then you want to try them out,” said Maddie Martin, 11.

The young team was beaming watching Zephyr secure a victory at their last home game of the year, not returning to ONE Spokane Stadium until March.

The goal was their favorite scene of the match, but a different moment stood out as a highlight for two of the girls.

“When the one girl got a yellow card, that reminds me of one time I got yellow -carded,” said Addison Kekahuna, 11. “It felt like everybody kinda has that, everybody fouls equal and stuff, so they’re just like you.”