{"id":1808,"date":"2024-07-17T09:55:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T16:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokanezephyrfc.com\/?post_type=sec_news&p=1808"},"modified":"2024-07-17T10:03:50","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T17:03:50","slug":"zephyr-fc-adds-rising-star-emina-ekic-to-loaded-2024-roster","status":"publish","type":"sec_news","link":"https:\/\/vip.sportsengine.com\/expansion-23\/news\/2024\/07\/17\/zephyr-fc-adds-rising-star-emina-ekic-to-loaded-2024-roster\/","title":{"rendered":"Zephyr FC Adds Rising Star to Loaded 2024 Roster"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Henry Krueger, Gonzaga University \u201925<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its inaugural season opener roughly one month away, Spokane Zephyr FC has signed 25-year-old midfielder Emina Eki\u0107, pending league and federation approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eki\u0107 most recently played forward for Melbourne City of the A-League Women, where this past season she made 21 appearances and scored eight goals, according to Flashscore. The club finished the regular season atop the league table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Louisville, Kentucky native was picked fifth overall in the 2021 NWSL draft by her hometown club, Racing Louisville FC. In Eki\u0107\u2019s debut, she scored Racing\u2019s first NWSL regular-season goal in a 2\u20130 win over the Washington Spirit, the club\u2019s first victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eki\u0107 played collegiately at University of Louisville, starting in 65 of her 66 career appearances, while tallying 29 goals and 19 assists. As a senior, she was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in program history to receive that honor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, Eki\u0107 \u2013 whose parents were born in Bosnia \u2013  was called up to the senior women\u2019s national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and since has earned 12 caps in international play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After building a name for herself in her hometown and overseas in Australia, Eki\u0107 is bringing her talents to Spokane and the new USL Super League. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vision and culture of the club is what sparked my initial interest in Zephyr,\u201d Eki\u0107 said. \u201cI knew it was something I wanted to be a part of and I can\u2019t wait to get started!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zephyr will play its first match Aug. 17 at ONE Spokane Stadium in downtown Spokane, as part of the new Division One USL Super League, a professional women\u2019s league that sits atop the women\u2019s soccer pyramid in the United States. In addition to Zephyr, the inaugural season of the USL Super League will include Brooklyn FC, Carolina Ascent FC, Dallas Trinity FC, Fort Lauderdale United FC, Lexington SC, Tampa Bay Sun FC, and DC Power FC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USL Super League is the only U.S.-based professional league aligned with the international club schedule, with regular-season matches played August through May with a Winter Break. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will compete in the USL Super League Playoffs in June. The Zephyr Fall Schedule has been released and can be found here<\/a>. Season tickets are now on sale<\/a> for this historic season that will change the landscape of women\u2019s professional soccer in Spokane, America, and worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secure your season tickets Today! Tickets Page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Henry Krueger, Gonzaga University \u201925 With its inaugural season opener roughly one month away, Spokane Zephyr FC has signed 25-year-old midfielder Emina Eki\u0107, pending league and federation approval. Eki\u0107 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":515,"featured_media":1809,"template":"","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","sec_enable_news":false},"sec_news_tag":[],"sec_sponsor":[],"class_list":["post-1808","sec_news","type-sec_news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nZephyr FC Adds Rising Star to Loaded 2024 Roster - Spokane Zephyr FC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vip.sportsengine.com\/expansion-23\/news\/2024\/07\/17\/zephyr-fc-adds-rising-star-emina-ekic-to-loaded-2024-roster\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zephyr FC Adds Rising Star to Loaded 2024 Roster - Spokane Zephyr FC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Henry Krueger, Gonzaga University \u201925 With its inaugural season opener roughly one month away, Spokane Zephyr FC has signed 25-year-old midfielder Emina Eki\u0107, pending league and federation approval. 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