Teenagers Marbury and Jordan shine under pressure

Mead's Kara Marbury (L) and Central Valley's Allison Jordan (R) - Photos: Gerald Barnhart

The WPSL Northwest Division title is up for grabs this weekend for the Spokane Shine. But no matter the results, the outlook looks bright for the club beyond the two matches versus fellow contender Emerald City FC (Friday, 7:00 pm PT) and winless Oregon Rush (Saturday, 2:00 pm PT) at Joe Albi Stadium. High school standouts Kara Marbury (Mead) and Allison Jordan (Central Valley) are a key factor in that potential.

“I am really excited for the next few years and what’s gonna happen. [Marbury] is gonna be something special for Spokane Shine fans for hopefully years to come, and she’s only 16,” said Spokane Shine head coach Jason Quintero, echoing similar thoughts later about 17-year old Allison Jordan. “Right now, just the growth she’s had in the past month, I don’t know what she’s gonna be like in a couple years for us – it’s gonna be something special.”

Spokane Shine snare late win against Eugene, keep playoff hopes alive

Tight contest decided by Shannon Lindsay, Kara Marbury and Averi Hallman | Facebook Gallery - Full Gallery

With both sides tied in the table and clinging onto postseason hopes, the Spokane Shine were saved by two fantastic plays from Shannon Lindsay and Kara Marbury in a 1-0 nail-biter against visiting Eugene Metro FC, who were officially knocked out of contention with Issaquah also posting an expected victory against winless Oregon Rush Friday evening (updated table below).

Defender Shannon Lindsay of the University of Montana made the first significant play nine minutes into the second half that loomed large in the overall result of the contest. A long ball up to the left-hand side of the box found Megan Marchesano, who saw Stephanie Busch coming out. Marchesano, looking for her second goal of the campaign, flicked the ball over Busch toward an empty net only to see Lindsay make a quick sprint and a miracle semi-bicycle kick effort to clear the high bouncing ball off the goal line. 

The match remained back-and-forth until the final quarter-hour when the Shine began to apply extra pressure, looking for the victory.

“About 25-30 minutes left – a tie was as good as a loss for us – so we started pushing players forward,” said head coach Jason Quintero. “We had to open up the game to get some more chances.”

The third in a series of fantastic opportunities for the Shine over the course of a minute-plus finally gave the Shine a chance to celebrate in the 79th minute as Kara Marbury, a 16-year-old striker out of Mead that committed to the University of Illinois this week, scored her first of the season. With the team already in the offensive third from the previous chances, midfielder Averi Hallman gathered the ball on the right side of the area and sent a solid ball inside the box to Marbury, who made an excellent near-post run and directed it past Elise Nord for what stood as the winner.