Shadow begin play in U.S. Open Cup tonight; Spokane faces challenge

They won the first four games of the season and qualified for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Last weekend, they kept their focus with the first round just days away, remaining unbeaten through two more regular-season games.

Now all the Spokane Shadow soccer team has to do is win tonight's first-round Open Cup matchup.

Piece of cake, right?

"Well, I don't know if I would say it's easy," head coach Stuart Saunders said. "But we have gotten through the first few hurdles, and this is the next one, so we have to clear this one and if we do that, we'll carry on."

The Shadow's opponent, the Sacramento Knights, head to Spokane 5- 2 in the Men's Premier Soccer League standings, having claimed one of the two Region IV berths into the Open Cup given to the United States Adult Soccer Association.

Thus far, the Knights boast a tough defense, providing a clash of strengths with the Shadow. Coming into tonight's game, which starts at 7 at Joe Albi Stadium, the Knights have allowed just six goals in seven games. Spokane averages 2.5 goals per game.

But Saunders isn't concerned about his team's ability to get the job done.

"We really are just going to focus on what we do best," he said, "and not necessarily be concerned with how they play. If we just use the players we have, the results will take care of themselves."

The Knights also can put the ball in the net, with two players, Chris McDonald and Patrick Nelle, tied for third in the MPSL in goals with four apiece. Combined, the duo have scored more than half the team's goals.

This puts pressure on the Shadow's defense, but with captain and assistant coach Kieran Barton and the experienced Matt Stueckle anchoring a backline that also includes Ben Sawyer and Rob Anderson, this could play into Spokane's strength.

"We have lots of experience (in the defense)," Saunders said. "One of the best parts of our team is those guys and how well they've played."

Giving Spokane an edge is a rested set of key players.

Regulars Barton, Paul Johnson, Tim Seely, Garth Cummings, Evan Cummings and Troy Ready all sat out part or all of last weekend's games, allowing time for minor injuries to heal and giving the Shadow what should be a fresh core of players.

"(Having that rest) is huge," Saunders said. "It was my intent over the weekend to get as much rest as possible and for the most part we were able to pull that off and set ourselves up for this game."

A win tonight would put the Shadow into the second round of the Open Cup for the second time in team history.

In 1999, Spokane traveled to Chico (Calif.) and won their first- round match in penalty kicks. In the second round they fell to the Seattle Sounders 3-2.

Saunders was a player on that 1999 team and would love it if the current crop of players got to go through the same experience he did and advance to the second round - if not further.

"It just comes down to their ability to play and compete and work together as a full group," said Saunders.

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