NPSL Unbeaten Streak Snapped by Crossfire

Sunday, May 26, 2019

In a thrilling back-and-forth affair Saturday, the Shadow Men’s First Team saw its 17-game regular season NPSL unbeaten streak come to an end on the road against newcomer Crossfire in a 5-3 contest.

The hosts grabbed the lead quickly on a cross from the left that was knocked in at the back post by Declan McGlynn just five minutes into the match. The Shadow had a pair of chances to pull even with Mike Ramos firing a nice shot from 25 yards in the 13th that forced a nice diving stop and a low cross from Jesse Retan in the 25th that found Ramos on the left side, but he was unable to find a clear shot and saw his attempt go right to the keeper.

Three minutes later a 40 yard ball was one-timed past Bryan Hernandez at the back post by Jaret Townsend to give Crossfire a two-goal advantage.

Spokane clawed back, though, to tie things up before the intermission. A throw-in deep in the offensive end resulted in a combination between several players off the right side of the box that eventually resulted in Tanner Williams feeding Jake Levine for the finish at the near post in the 43rd. Hernandez would make a key save on a shot from 22 yards a minute later, allowing Retan to tie things up in the 45th. A ball played up in the box resulted in a battle that finished with Levine dropping it back to Retan, who slotted the ball inside the right post.

A quick start again from the hosts proved critical in the second half as a ball from the right was finished by Joseph Parish three minutes in to reclaim the lead and a rebound was slammed home by James Burkholder in the 55th to push the lead to two once again.

Looking for another comeback Spokane posted a pair of quick chances over the next few minutes, but were unable to find the back of the net until Mike Rojas ripped a fantastic effort from the right side that found the upper left corner in the 61st.

Six minutes later Hernandez made another big save to keep a comeback in play, but in the 81st Crossfire were awarded a penalty that was converted to add some insurance as they held on for their fourth win in as many matches and reaching five goals for the third consecutive game.

The Shadow are on the road for a third consecutive weekend this week with a trip to play OSA Seattle Saturday and Crossfire Redmond again Sunday. Spokane defeated OSA 2-0 in the home opener to kick off the season. They return home Saturday June 8 in the first of four home games to close out the campaign in June.

Sponsors: The Spokane Shadow Men’s First Teams program is proud to be supported by MultiCare Integrated Sports Medicine, adidas, Dairy Queen of Airway Heights, RH Cooke & Associates Real Estate, Prime Lending and Wolff, Hislop & Crockett Attorneys. If you are interested in becoming a supporting sponsor, please contact Nick Piger at nickp@spokanesc.org

Match Summary

Spokane Shadow 3-5 Crossfire Redmond
C: Declan McGlynn 5
C: Jaret Townsend 28
S: Jake Levine (Tanner Williams) 43
S: Jesse Retan (Jake Levine) 45
C: Joseph Parish 48
C: James Burkholder 55
S: Mike Rojas 62
C: Charles Ostrem (pen) 81

Lineups
Spokane Shadow: Bryan Hernandez; Zach Bowsky, Ole Cloppenburg, Ty Lang, Jake Levine (Devin Hauenstein 55), Mike Ramos, Jesse Retan, Mike Rojas, Joel Samayoa (Enzo Nalis 67), Brayden Tucker (Chase Howat 78), Tanner Williams
Crossfire Redmond: Ethan Barlow, James Burkholder (Edgar Iniguez 74), Colman French (Joseph Parish 45), Lars Helleren, Bailey Letherman, Declan McGlynn, Charles Ostrem, Nikolas Reierson (Caleb McAuslan 60), Jaret Townsend (Stirling Russell 60), Hal Uderitz, Ed Weise

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