Shadow out to firm up spot at top of standings

A little over halfway into their 2004 Premier Development League season, the Spokane Shadow soccer club has a relatively simple goal in mind: putting a strangle hold on first place in the Northwest Division.

The Shadow (7-1-1, 22 points) head into tonight’s match against the Cascade Surge (6-2-0, 18 points) four points out in front, knowing a win would provide a seven-point buffer between them and the second-place Surge and the inside track to a division title.

“It’s a vital game for us in terms of the standings,” head coach Stuart Saunders said. “We can help separate ourselves again, so it’s important, at home, to step up and be prepared to play very well.”

The last meeting between the two teams came June 6 in Salem, Ore., when the Surge handed Spokane it’s only league loss of the season, a 4-2 game played in wet, slick conditions.

Still, Saunders and assistant coach/team captain Kieran Barton aren’t looking to exact a measure of payback.

“This is the other real quality team in the division,” Barton said. “Right now, four points separates the two teams, and we have kind of put ourselves almost out of reach of Abbotsford (seven points) and Yakima (four points), so we’re really fighting for the division title now.”

“I don’t know if there’s a revenge factor,” Saunders said. “It’s another game in league, and we want to do well every time we play at home. We were a bit short down there, but we’ll have a few more players this time, so we’ll have to put in a better performance.”

The Shadow were missing five players in the teams’ last matchup, including regulars Rob Anderson, Brett Hite and Evan Cummings.

Only three are expected to miss tonight’s game – Troy Ready (trying out for professional teams in Norway), Tim Seely (bad hamstring) and Mike Herzog (out of town) – but the Shadow have signed Will Flanagan for the rest of the season, hoping the University of Washington defender will enable some players to get a rest and allow the more versatile players (such as Matt Stueckle, who has played in both the center and leftside of the defense and in the left midfield this season) to fill in wherever necessary.

“The key thing is now we should have everyone available for the most part,” Saunders said. “School’s done, so now it’s getting that continuity with what we’re doing and trying to establish who the players that are going to be on the field are.”