Lena Silano

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
Lena Silano
Silano with the Washington Spirit in 2024
Personal information
Full name Lena Marie Silano[1]
Date of birth (2000-02-28) February 28, 2000
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position Forward
Youth career
2014–2016 Agoura Chargers
Real So Cal
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Long Beach State Beach 62 (27)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2024 Washington Spirit 27 (2)
2025 UD Tenerife 9 (0)
2025–2026 Spokane Zephyr 28 (7)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:01, May 18, 2026 (UTC)

Lena Marie Silano (born February 28, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who most recently played as a forward for USL Super League club Spokane Zephyr. She played college soccer for the Long Beach State Beach and was drafted by the Washington Spirit in the third round of the 2023 NWSL Draft.

College career

Silano appeared in six matches during her first season at Long Beach State in 2018 and played in all 17 matches in 2019.[2] Her 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and she was granted an extra year of eligibility.[2] She played a total 62 matches for Long Beach State and scored 27 goals and made 10 assists.[3]

She was a two-time All-West Region selection, two-time All-Big West Conference selection, and the 2022 Big West Offensive Player of the Year.[4]

In 2022, Silano's late-game bicycle kick to tie a match went viral with outlets like ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and CNN sharing the clip on social media.[5][6]

Club career

Washington Spirit

Silano was selected with the 34th pick by the Washington Spirit in the 2023 NWSL Draft and was just the second Long Beach State women's soccer alumni to appear in an NWSL game in the program's history.[4][7] In her rookie season, Silano started in three regular season matches and six starts in the 2023 Challenge Cup, logging three assists and one goal.[8]

On December 29, 2024, Silano announced her departure from the Spirit.[9]

UD Tenerife

On January 13, 2025, Silano signed a contract with Spanish club UD Tenerife in Liga F.[10] She made her club debut on March 15, 2025, entering the match against FC Barcelona in the 86th minute.

Spokane Zephyr

On July 22, 2025, Spokane Zephyr announced the signing of Silano before their second season in the USL Super League.[11] She made her club debut in the season-opening 2–1 loss to the Dallas Trinity.[12] The following week, making a return to Audi Field, she scored her first goals for the Zephyr with two headers in the span of three minutes in a 2–2 draw with DC Power FC.[13] In her only season in Spokane, she played in all 28 games and led the team with 7 goals.[14] In the club's final game, she came off the bench to score the last goal in a 4–0 win over Brooklyn FC as the Zephyr missed the playoffs by one point on the final day of the season.[15] The club folded following the season.[16]

References

  1. "2023 Commencement Program - College of Health & Human Services" (PDF). California State University, Long Beach. p. 51. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  2. "Lena Silano". Washington Spirit. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  3. "Long Beach State Standout Lena Silano Selected 34th in NWSL Draft". bigwest.org. October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  4. "Lena Silano Goes From Long Beach State Women's Soccer To NWSL". The562.org. January 20, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  5. Hendrickson, Tyler (September 11, 2022). "The story behind an unbelievable Long Beach State soccer goal that went viral". Long Beach Post News. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  6. Scott, Jelani (September 5, 2022). "Watch: Long Beach State Player Nets See-It-To-Believe-It Bicycle Kick". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  7. "Long Beach State alum, Lena Silano, Makes Pro Debut with Washington Spirit". Long Beach State University Athletics. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  8. "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  9. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  10. "UD Tenerife". www.udtenerife.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  11. https://www.uslspokane.com/news/2025/07/22/forward-lena-silano-brings-goal-scoring-prowess-to-spokane-zephyr-fc/
  12. "Dallas Trinity FC vs Spokane Zephyr FC". USL Super League. August 23, 2025. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  13. Wine II, Donald (August 31, 2025). "DC Power overcome late first half mistakes to draw Spokane Zephyr in home opener". The District Press. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  14. "Stats". USL Super League. Archived from the original on May 21, 2026.
  15. Allison, John (May 16, 2026). "Spokane Zephyr miss playoffs despite historic win over Brooklyn FC". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  16. Rantz, Susie (May 20, 2026). "Spokane Zephyr FC folds after two seasons". Sounder at Heart. Retrieved May 21, 2026.