Shadow Women Down ISC Gunners 3-1

Sunday, June 16, 2019

The Spokane Shadow Women moved to 3-1-0 on the season with three different players scoring on the afternoon as the downed visiting ISC Gunners 3-1 in WPSL NW Conference play.

The Shadow controlled the contest from the outset, allowing few chances at goal and grabbed a two-goal lead midway through the half with a pair of back-to-back goals just under two minutes apart.

Sophia Viviano (Gonzaga University) scored the opening goal when a ball forward to Juliana deTar (Idaho) lured the keeper out of the box for a clearance. Her effort, though, only went partway into the midfield and found Viviano, who quickly knocked a looping ball past the out of position keeper in the 19th minute.

Moments later Claire Neder received the ball alone midway out to the left and delivered the ball inside to an unmarked, charging Megan Lindsay who took a touch inside the penalty arc and slipped a shot past the challenging keeper from about 16 yards.

The visitors would break the shutout in stoppage time with a shot from Estera Levinte from the left side on a counter. Grace Hancock, who came out to cut down the angle rose to get a hand on it, but it only collected a piece of it and watched it drop down and into the goal.

The goal was the only blemish on a stellar day for recent Washington State grad, who was a standout defender for the Cougars and has also been at centerback for the Shadow so far this season. A rare availability quirk led to her stepping into the position for the game and she showed fantastic natural abilities for the role in addition to her calling upon her veteran experience as a leader in the back to keep the squad organized defensively.

Just moments after Hancock came out of the contest to resume her centerback role – recent senior Freeman HS goalkeeper Hannah Pylant filling the role in net – In the second half the Shadow restored the two-goal margin in the 69th. Neder was among a group of Shadow players charging toward goal and the ball being served in from the left took a pair of deflections and the ISC defense and fellow attackers tried to collect it, eventually rebounding her way for a nice finish from inside the penalty arc.

The team remains squarely in the hunt for the postseason berth from the conference with defending WPSL champion Sounders Women, Vancouver Island, and Vancouver TSS Rovers in race. The Shadow, though, have played few games than the rest of the pack.

Next Weekend: The Shadow host their final two home games of the campaign Saturday and Sunday against Eugene Timbers FC Azul and Westside Timbers, respectively. Both matches against the Oregon teams are at 2:00 at SFCC.

The Fun Zone is Here!!

A new feature at our women’s home games courtesy of Northern Capital Management, the Fun Zone is a party area near the main grandstand that is an area full of fantastic activities and opportunities to win prizes such as a lunch item from the featured vendor, a Kona Ice treat, a Sounders Scarf, USA bracelets and much more! Activities include the Twigs Speed Shoot, drone juggling, air hockey, inflatables and the GameTruck with video games. And it is all FREE!! This Saturday, June 22 Nordic BBQ will be on hand as the featured vendor with David’s Pizza returning Sunday.

COMMUNITY… A Moment to Give Back on June 23 for Family Promise of Spokane

Fans, the Shadow Women’s First Team and Northern Capital Management are proud to partner with Family Promise of Spokane to help provide support and shelter for those who are fighting to make a new future for their children. We believe in helping children so please join us June 23rd and where upon you would normally be asked for admission, we request that you please donate an item to benefit Family Promise of Spokane such as: kids snacks, paper plates/towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizer and gas cards

Community Support: Courtesy of Northern Capital Management, the leading sponsor for the Women’s First Team, all of the regular season WPSL Spokane Shadow matches will be free for attending fans. NCM is the first of many new area businesses and organizations supporting the women’s team this year. They are joined by: MultiCare Rockwood Integrated Sports Medicine, Clearwater Summit Group, Lyte Balance, BECU and Spokane Sports Commission.

Match Summary

Spokane Shadow 3-1 ISC Gunners
SPO: Sophia Viviano 19
SPO: Megan Lindsay (Claire Neder) 20
ISC: Estera Levinte (Claudia Longo) 45
SPO: Claire Neder 69
Lineups
Spokane: Grace Hancock, Taylor Brust, Juliana deTar, Natalie Fischer, Madison Haas, Havana Johnson, Megan Lindsay, Eme McLaughlin, Claire Neder, Russell Larkin, Marissa Mykines – Substitutes: Hannah Pylant, Paige Malm, Samantha Heilman, Sophia Viviano, Maddie Cooley, Payton Stiles, Kelsey Crosby
ISC: Anna Miller, Claudia Longo, Estera Levinte, Kellyn Green, Lisa Jensen, Hayley Crackle, Tyra Thibodeaux, Jasmin Ayala, Aoife Hurley, Jasmine McCauley, Marie Le Gallo – Substitutes: Chloe Lang, Macy Jo Harrison, Natasha Baptiste

Current WPSL NW Standings

Vancouver Island 4-2-0… 12 points
Seattle Sounders Women 4-1-0… 12
PacNW 3-2-1… 10
Spokane Shadow 3-1-0… 9
Vancouver TSS Rovers 3-2-0… 9
ISC Gunners 1-3-2… 5
Westside Timbers 1-4-0… 3
OSA Crossfire 1-3-0… 3
Eugene Timbers Azul 0-2-1… 1
(8-game schedule)

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