Spokane Zephyr shut out Brooklyn in regular-season finale; Now they wait for postseason fate

May 16—It took two minutes for Spokane Zephyr to get their first goal without attempting a shot. And another 34 minutes for them to score their second.

And it took 90 minutes for Zephyr to secure their largest margin of victory in their history in a 4-0 shutout against Brooklyn FC at ONE Spokane Stadium on Saturday.

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,” said midfielder Felicia Knox.

For much of the period, possession was evenly split with Brooklyn holding the advantage at a 51.6% rate. 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 head coach Nicole Lukic said has been “our identity and a strength for us,” that allowed zero attempts on target with 25 clearances led by Haley Thomas’s seven. Tappan, who played every minute this season, 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 added.

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

Spokane’s postseason fate is now out of its hands. With their win, the Zephyr need Dallas Trinity to lose or tie against Fort Lauderdale in their game that begins at 5:30 p.m.

Lukic said making the postseason “would be fantastic.”

Regardless of the outcome though, Spokane can feel relief knowing it did its job and left no doubt it belongs in the playoffs.

“If we can get in, I like our odds just as much as anybody else. We’ll just wait and see now,” said Lukic.

“Whatever happens over there doesn’t take away from what we just did today,” Silano said. “I think it’s just important that we ended the season at home the best we could and we did what we needed to do … the rest is out of our hands.”