Star Midfielder Will Step Out Of Shadow

History is repeating itself, which is good for Kieran Barton and bad for the Spokane Shadow soccer team.

Barton agreed to play for the Seattle Sounders on Thursday, leaving a hole in the Shadow lineup.

“I played with the coach (Neil Megson) for two years,” Barton said. “They’re struggling in a couple of positions. He knew what I can do and I’ve gotten better. I’m very excited.”

Rio Three Stars will step into Barton’s spot this weekend. The Shadow play against the Cascade Surge in Salem, Ore., tonight before meeting the Yakima Reds at Albi Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Barton, 26, played for the Sounders for two seasons prior to last year and had a tryout in an exhibition game in Seattle Wednesday night. An outside midfielder, Barton was on the Sounders team that won the championship in 1995 when that was the highest level of play in the country.

Now the Sounders play in the USISL A-League, two notches above the Premier League the Shadow play in. There is now the Major Soccer League above the USISL. Barton played for the Sounders in a shootout win over the MSL San Jose Clash before more than 6,000 fans Wednesday in Seattle.

“I was nervous at first,” Barton said. “It helps when your first touch is a shot on goal. The guys I was with made it easy. I was on the field at the end , that was probably the most nerve-wracking thing.”

Barton moved to Spokane last year for family reasons and played for the Shadow. He is going to continue to work in Spokane. The Sounders will fly him to games. He hopes to continue to practice with the Shadow.

“It’s a big step up,” Barton said. “The biggest part I’ll miss with the Shadow … they’re friends, not just teammates. That level is as good as it gets in the Northwest beside the Sounders and (Vancouver) 86ers (of the A-League). Quite a few players have that capability. I hope it reinforces that idea. It legitimizes the whole aspect here and gives the young guys something to look forward to.”

Corner kicks

Prior to Saturday’s game, there will be a pair of exhibition games between Greater Spokane League and Frontier League seniors. The girls play at 4 p.m., with the boys game following. See rosters in Stat Sheet.

Coaches for the girls are Robin Crain of Ferris and Dirk Linton of West Valley. For the boys its Shadow player Stuart Saunders of Shadle Park and Mark Belstad of Cheney.

In two weeks, a combined Frontier-GSL boys team will play a North Idaho team in a pregame.

The Shadow are 7-0 in Northwest Division games and 8-1 overall. The 21 points in league games leads by 12 points. No other team has a winning record.

Barton had one goal in four games with the Shadow. Dave Berto leads the team with five goals and three assists for 13 points in seven games. Zane Higgins has four goals and two assists in eight games. Despite giving up four goals in a non-league game against the defending national champion Central Coast Roadrunners last week, goalkeeper Josh Fouts has a 1.26 goals against average.

, DataTimes