Spokane Shadow claim inagural Evergreen Premier League championship

The Spokane Shadow will always be the first. The Shadow defeated Wenatchee United 3-0 on Sunday at Spokane Falls CC to claim the Evergreen Premier League soccer championship in the league’s first year. Spokane had to win on the season’s final day after South Sound defeated the Vancouver Victory 2-0 earlier in the day to temporarily climb into first place. The Shadow finished with 32 points to 31 for South Sound. In Sunday’s victory, Sam Engle scored his first two goals of the season in the 50th and 56th minutes to put Spokane up 2-0. Both goals came off assists from Mike Ramos. Another attempt by Engle was blocked but Ramos was there to put in the rebound for the match’s final goal in the 67th minute. Spokane dominated from the start and its goalie, Andrew Glaeser, was barely tested. The Shadow finished 10-2-2 after losing their first two games. “We prided ourselves on the defensive side after the first two games, and again we were finally able to get some consistency from our guys,” said Shadow head coach Chad Brown. “For me, it’s hats off to the guys. We had a pool or 30-40 players throughout the course of it and we were able to compete every day.” The Shadow boasted the best defense in the EPLWA, allowing 11 goals in 14 games. They also led in goals scored with 36.