By Henry Krueger, Gonzaga University ’25
Spokane Zephyr FC put up a strong fight, but an early goal was enough for Brooklyn FC to secure a 1-0 victory on Thursday in New York City.
With this win, Brooklyn (6-3-2) takes sole possession of first place on the USL Super League table with 20 points, edging out undefeated Carolina Ascent FC. Spokane (2-4-3) could have climbed as high as No. 3 with a positive result, but will instead remain at No. 6.
“Hard walking away with no points tonight,” said Zephyr defender Sarah Clark on the club’s unchanged position in the standings. “… Can’t fault the effort of the girls, we just have some areas we will need to refine before our next game.”
Brooklyn’s front line applied intensive pressure early on, compelling Zephyr defenders to shift the ball around frequently to avoid giving up possession near their own goal.
Spokane was successful maintaining the ball around the opposing forwards for the first 15 minutes, but a costly giveaway ultimately set up a score for the home team. Brooklyn midfielder Samantha Kroeger stole the ball from a Zephyr defender before making a short pass to Luana Grabias, who drilled a shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner of the net.
Zephyr had a chance to even up the score a few minutes later when Sarah Clark was awarded a free kick just inside Brooklyn’s half of the field. Clark lofted the ball over the top of a group of players, where it found defender Haley Thomas, whose shot was blocked by a Brooklyn defender.
Thomas’ shot was one of two on the night for Spokane, while Brooklyn registered 15, including five on target.
Zephyr’s second shot of the match came in the 50th minute when midfielder Marley Canales took a shot from outside the box that veered just right of the frame. The counterattack from Spokane saw Canales and her teammates attempting to capitalize on Brooklyn’s defense being out of position.
Spokane made several more runs down the field, but came up short as Brooklyn sealed its third victory in a row.
“We fought hard today but unfortunately fell short,” said Zephyr forward Natalie Viggiano. “It’s important moving forward we regroup, analyze what went wrong and keep pushing on. We’ll learn from this and continue improving.”
The result marks the first win for Brooklyn over Zephyr this season after the clubs tied 1-1 in their previous meeting on Sept. 8 in One Spokane Stadium. Zephyr had a 1-0 advantage in the last encounter until Brooklyn scored the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 87th minute.
Despite coming up short, Zephyr got a productive outing from goalkeeper Hope Hisey, who made her second start in a Zephyr uniform on Thursday. Hisey recorded four saves and allowed just one goal, following up a clean sheet performance in last Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay Sun FC.
Zephyr will stay on the road to face Carolina at 6 p.m. on Saturday, giving Spokane another chance to take down one of the league’s top clubs. The teams faced off at ONE Spokane Stadium on Sept. 15, resulting in a 2-0 win for Ascent.
After visiting Carolina, Spokane’s southern road trip continues against Lexington SC (Nov. 13), Dallas Trinity FC (Nov. 20), Fort Lauderdale United FC (Dec. 7) and Tampa (Dec. 14).
