Shadow’s Future Bright Two Years Of Success Has Franchise Looking Forward To Even Better Times

The Spokane Shadow stepped out of the shadow cast by their predecessors but the soccer organization expects even better days in the sun.

“I felt we’ve made progress as far as sponsorship and attendance,” owner Bobby Brett said. “We’re still not satisfied. We still feel we have a lot of work to do. What might work in hockey and baseball, we might have to add a twist for soccer. This is a sport people aren’t used to paying to watch.

“But, we’re happy. We sure can’t complain about our product on the field. It was frustrating, just a break here or a break there and we would be playing for a national championship.”

The Shadow’s season ended last weekend when they lost a 1-0 playoff game to the San Gabriel Valley Highlanders before a crowd of 1,875 at Albi Stadium. The Highlanders finished third last night in the USISL Premier League national championship which Central Coast won with a 2-1 victory over Cocoa.

This is the second consecutive year the Shadow lost a one-goal decision in the game to make the national tournament.

“I had to expect to win,” first-year coach Sean Bushey said. “The team did so well last year and there was a good nucleus of players coming back. We better do well, that was my thought. I think we used 30 players (because of injuries) … not only were we deep in talent, but the players who filled in were ready to win. That’s an important ingredient to success. They performed all year. It came down to the last game. We could have played better but in the end the ball just didn’t want to cross the line for us.”

The team made its home at Albi Stadium this season but attendance wasn’t appreciably better than the 1,200 attendance average from a year earlier at Spokane Falls Community College.

“I don’t see any changes at all (for next year),” general manager Jeff Heimbigner said. “We’re pretty happy. The biggest thing is finding solutions to get more people to games. That’s the biggest goal of organization. In the playoffs we saw a lot of people who enjoyed being out there.”

There will, of course, be some changes. A handful of key players are near 30, a couple players in their prime would like to try out for a higher level and the players who come in from college programs, both in Spokane and the University of Washington, could pick other organizations next year.

“I was very pleased with the play on the field,” Jeff Robbins, director of operations, said. “I thought the level of play picked up from last year. I thought going in it was going to be real difficult to match last year. Even though we didn’t match the 17-3 (regular-season record of a year ago, finishing 15-5), in some ways it was better (because the high expectations were satisfied). It set a good precedent here.

“As time goes on, I think more players are going to want to come play here. The product on the field, from the fans’ perspective, you had to like it. It was an exciting style.”

Brett Sports, which also has the Spokane Indians baseball team and Spokane Chiefs hockey team, signed a lease to operate and develop Albi Stadium and the surrounding grounds.

“With other Albi improvements … those things will only help the whole product,” Brett said. “We look at soccer like minor-league baseball in the ‘70s, people weren’t going out. But I’m encouraged. Hopefully we’re going to get it done.”

Bushey is expected to return for a second season as coach. He has until Oct. 1 to decide, which is the middle of his season as the Whitworth coach.

“That’s my anticipation,” he said. “Because it’s different, a different team, (the Shadow) provides freshness. It seems like a long season because of so many back-to-back games … but looking back, it seems like it just started. I would like to play another week.

“What surprised me was the quality of depth we had that could, week-in and week-out, perform at a high level. That got us through a lot of things (especially injuries). It was an interesting year, I never had to utilize that many players before. I was happy with the way we could implement people into the system, how they accepted roles and went out and did what was best for the Spokane Shadow.”

Heimbigner said, “One of toughest things for a coach coaching the Shadow is if he’s a college coach it takes a lot of effort. It’s hard to go (straight) from the Shadow to college season. It’s a burden. We’re very happy with his performance, especially his tactical skills, making substitutions and adjusting to opponents. Dealing with players from (age) 29 to high school takes someone who understands the game very well. … He was in charge. … We’re very happy.”

Now, if the team could win its last game before several thousand people, there would be no shadow on the Shadow.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. 1997 SHADOW SCORING STATS Player GP MIN G A PTS Dave Berto 21 1812 12 7 31 Zane Higgins 21 1713 10 6 26 Chad Brown 20 1498 4 7 15 Brett Fink 15 605 3 2 8 Craig Waibel 11 944 3 1 7 Jeff Rose 10 484 2 3 7 Ryan Edwards 9 743 3 0 6 Jim Martinson 12 633 2 1 5 Joe Marks 21 1742 2 0 4 Tim Seely 21 1626 1 2 4 Matt Zlateff 13 539 1 2 4 Simeon Enemuo 3 136 1 1 3 Brett Houck 11 816 1 0 2 Kieran Barton 5 382 1 0 2 Lane Jerdal 9 779 0 1 1 Joe Ascolese 7 389 0 1 1 Andy Bruno 18 899 0 0 0 Pat Dreves 2 49 0 0 0 Aaron Grubb 3 165 0 0 0 Lam Le 3 205 0 0 0 Harlan Slind 11 928 0 0 0 Rio Three Stars 7 364 0 1 1 Stuart Rose 21 1654 0 0 0 Stuart Saunders 19 1611 0 1 1 Kenny Thompson 5 51 0 0 0

2. 1997 SHADOW GOALIE STATS Player GP MIN GA GAA John Nagel 2 155 3 1.74 Rio Three Stars 1 25 0 0 Joshua Fouts 14 1270 21 1.49 Brian Mullen 4 373 5 1.21 Pete van de Ven 4 300 4 1.20