Shadow Suffers Second-Half Blues Yakima Reds Make The Most Of Spokane’S Quick Meltdown

Letdown, collapse or disaster call it what you want.

Craig Hampton’s word of choice to describe the Spokane Shadow’s 4-3 USL Premier League soccer loss to the Yakima Reds on Saturday night was meltdown.

Spokane, playing at home for the first time since June 13 before 1,254 fans in Albi Stadium, gave up four goals in a 10-minute span late in the second half after dominating for most of the match.

“It was a complete meltdown front-to-back,” said Hampton, a Shadow defender. “We lost our concentration and didn’t do the job. … They didn’t present us with any problems.”

The Shadow (12-8 overall, 5-5 in the Northwest Division) had defeated the Reds 2-1 in two previous meetings this season but were limited to two shots after halftime.

Aaron Heinzen scored the game-winning goal on a pass from Nilton Resende at 87 minutes for the Reds (5-9, 4-6). Resende had scored the tying goal 3 minutes earlier and had assisted Luiz Machado for the team’s first score at the 77-minute mark. Tyler Suhm had Yakima’s other goal.

Mark Hogenhout put Spokane ahead 3-2 when he charged on a pass from Jeff Rose and booted the ball past Reds goalie Derek Collins for his team-leading sixth goal. But Resende tied the match a minute later.

“It’s hard to play here because they play strong,” said Resende, a 23-year-old midfielder from Brazil. “But we decided before the game to give everything today. … It’s soccer. It’s a fantastic game. Sometimes you’re losing but you don’t give up because sometimes you can have the opportunity to score like today.”

It seemed early in the match that the Shadow would be the only team with many chances. They outshot the Reds 7-2 in the first half before allowing Yakima five shots in the second. Spokane’s sharp passing through the midfield in the initial 45 minutes didn’t allow the Reds many chances on their offensive side of the field.

“It was almost too easy in the first half,” said Hampton, whose team was up 2-0 at intermission. “It caused us to be lackadaisical and have a mental breakdown.”

Shadow reserve Zane Higgins missed wide right on a shot in the final minutes.

The Shadow went ahead 2-0 at the 18-minute mark on an unassisted goal by Chad Brown. Alika Cosner scored first for Spokane at 8 minutes on a pass from Rose. Cosner and Brown each have four goals.

The Reds had a goal negated early in the second half because of an offsides call.

With three of four starters out, Spokane was forced to use a different defensive lineup. Stuart Saunders was out of town pursuing a coaching license, defender Billy Sleeth had to sit because of a red card received last week and Joe Marks was injured.

The Shadow were whistled for 17 fouls to Yakima’s eight, including 11 in the first half.

The Shadow and the Reds play twice more, including Friday in Yakima and in Spokane on July 31.