August 7, 2024 – USL Super League (USLSL)
Spokane Zephyr FC News Release
Roughly one month in as head coach of Zephyr FC, Jo Johnson’s vision is taking shape for Spokane’s first professional women’s soccer team.
A group of media members at ONE Spokane Stadium listened as Johnson outlined Zephyr’s strategy during a July 27 media availability session. Among a range of coaching philosophies mentioned, Johnson repeatedly used the term “aggressive possession.”
“We want to bring in players who have that tenacity and that competitiveness to 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.”
Johnson hasn’t had much time to implement her tactics, especially within a first-year club of players who have largely never played together – an obstacle shared across the USL Super League ahead of the inaugural 2024 season.
With the season opener just over two weeks away, Johnson remains optimistic, noting that her players are adapting to their new environment swiftly.
“I think the best part about it is the players’ growth mindset to be challenged. Everyone’s coming in from different environments, different experiences, different game models, different styles of play.
Zephyr’s roster of 22 and counting consists of players with experience in various settings, including the professional, collegiate and international ranks. Some have checked off all three boxes like midfielder Katie Murray, a former standout at the University of Illinois who joined Zephyr after competing for Dutch club PEC Zwolle and the Washington Spirit of the NWSL.
Murray’s signing was announced shortly after Johnson’s hiring in late June, and the 27-year-old has spent the past month getting acclimated to the new system.
“It’s been a pretty easy adjustment, but of course there’s going to be different things that Coach Johnson wants from us as far as keeping the ball, enjoying possession and attacking in the right moment with an aggressive mindset,” Murray said.
As Murray traveled across the country from her former club in Washington D.C., several of her new teammates are swapping college jerseys for professional kits for the first time in their careers.
Emma Jaskaniec, a 23-year-old midfielder, signed with Zephyr after her fifth and final season at the University of Wisconsin. In 2023, Jaskaniec was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region after…
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