Shadow looking to continue progress
Fresh off the heels of a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory Sunday in Abbottsford, the Spokane Shadow are looking to do something they haven’t done so far in this young season: get a first-half lead.
In the season opener May 8, the Shadow, despite thoroughly out-playing Yakima for the final 35 minutes of the half, went into halftime tied 0-0 before scoring less than three minutes after the break and picking up a 2-1 win.
Against Abbottsford, Spokane gave up two first-half goals before scoring twice in the final 20 minutes of regulation and then again 2 minutes into overtime for the dramatic win.
It’s a trend that, if left alone, could eventually catch up to the Shadow, especially with a 7 p.m. game in Yakima tonight and an undefeated Cascade Surge squad coming into Joe Albi Stadium Saturday at 7 p.m.
And it may be up to the team’s elder statesmen to make sure things start out right.
“It’s something we have to rectify and try to put behind us,” head coach Stuart Saunders said. “We hope to get out better this weekend. We need the veterans to help spur guys on, make sure they’re focused from the get go.”
That said, the Shadow can take comfort knowing they were able to come from two goals down on the road to grab a win that could be key to Open Cup qualifying.
“It was a good lesson,” said team captain Kieran Barton, one of the Shadow’s most experienced players. “We were not sharp for 45 minutes, but it shows we’re capable of coming back. Hopefully we won’t have to do it again too soon.”
It also speaks well of Saunders’ halftime speeches.
“We were upset with the effort we gave (in the first half) on Sunday,” Saunders said. “The guys responded and really just needed to step up and compete and realize they are a very good team.”
“Part of the advantage of having experienced players is that when we come off the field, we usually know what we didn’t do well.” Barton said.
With Sunday’s win over the Rangers, the Shadow improved to 2-0 and are in second place in the Northwest Division behind Cascade. More importantly, they are 2-0 in Open Cup qualifiers (the first four games of the season are used to determine who makes the U.S. Soccer’s National Championship), making the games against Yakima and the 3-0 Surge potentially crucial matchups.
“The guys know they’re doing well as far as the Open Cup,” Saunders said. “It really comes down to just winning those games to put us into a position to see if we earn a spot.”
So far, a key to winning those games has been the play of University High School standout Brett Hite.
After scoring the game-winner against the Reds, Hite scored twice against the Rangers. His first tally in the 78th minute tied the score and his goal in the 92nd minute won it.
“Brett’s feeling more comfortable with the team and more confident in himself,” Saunders said.