Spokane Shadow move into first place with late winner in Yakima

YAKIMA, WA— The Spokane Shadow have moved into first place in the Evergreen Premier League with a 1-0 win over Yakima United Friday night at Marquette Stadium.

Players announced in the bright sun of the early evening Friday in Yakima. (Facebook)

Adam Talley scored the winner for the Shadow in 90th minute on a header. The standings are updated below. Yakima Herald-Republic match photos here.

Spokane improves to 8-2-2 with 26 points. Yakima’s first season in the EPLWA is complete. The Hoppers end on 16 points with a 5-8-1 record.

“Mike (Ramos) crossed a great ball. I couldn’t have done it without him and the hard work of the team,” Talley said after the game of his second goal of the year. “The game was very hot and it was a tough battle. Just glad to get the points and be undefeated on the road.”

The Shadow pulled off an amazing feat in their first EPLWA season—they went undefeated the entire season on the road (6-0-1).

Shadow head coach Chad Brown lauded the efforts of his players, who were on the pitch in a 2-1 win over Vancouver just 24 hours earlier.

“I am really proud of the guys for what they did in the extreme weather conditions, fighting through the adversity of 97-plus degrees with little break from the sweltering heat – even at halftime. The guys believe in each other and what they are trying to do.”

“We were pressing them,” Brown said of the late flurry. “The guys did a good job being mentally tough and grinding it out. It was really hard conditions in back-to-back games plus weather that was just grueling. It was hot and hard to deal with.”

“We are gonna enjoy this one for a day, and then get back at it on Tuesday (the team’s usual first day of training). Hopefully, guys do good job taking care of their bodies with the recovery. They have worked hard to get to the top and now we’ve got two games to go. Seattle stole some points recently, so they are no slouches. We got a job to do.”

The Hoppers were quick to praise the EPLWA after the match.

“For a first season I think the league lived up to the hopes and expectations,” said captain Al Valencia, who anchored the back line with Dennis Stevenson and nearly earned a second straight shutout to close out Yakima’s inaugural campaign in the Evergreen Premier League. “It’s the most competitive league you’ll find apart from the pros. I played for the (Yakima) Reds for six years and there’s very little difference. We have young guys trying to make the next step and that’s what the league’s all about.”

EVERGREEN PREMIER LEAGUE	Pts	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
SPOKANE SHADOW	26	12	8	2	2	22	11	+11
SOUTH SOUND FC	25	12	8	3	1	20	11	+9
VANCOUVER VICTORY FC	25	13	8	4	1	31	23	+8
BELLINGHAM UNITED	19	12	6	5	1	28	24	+4
YAKIMA UNITED FC	16	14	5	8	1	32	37	-5
WENATCHEE UNITED FC	15	12	5	7	0	25	27	-2
SEATTLE STARS FC	13	12	4	7	1	21	24	-3
WESTSOUND FC	7	13	2	10	1	11	33	-22

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