Coming Up: Testimonial for Gonzaga's Zach Scott

In 2016, the Seattle Sounders finally captured the long-awaited MLS Cup Championship. It was a perfect ending for the career of former Gonzaga University product Zach Scott, who spent 15 years with the club following his graduation. On March 1, he will be honored with a testimonial match put on by the Emerald City Supporters and Seattle Sounders FC that will feature many of his previous teammates, including his younger brother and fellow Zag Dan Scott, Spokane Shadow player/coach Chad Brown and former Yakima Reds players Jake Sagare and Santa Maria Rivera.

Former Shadow, MLS standout Waibel takes RSL coaching post

After helping lead the University of Washington to its best season in program history this past fall in his first year with his alma mater, Spokane native and former Spokane Shadow PDL standout Craig Waibel was named as part of the assistant coaching staff for new Real Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar Wednesday.

Ching Testimonial Friday in Houston - A look via #ThrowbackThursday

#ForeverChing

The day is here... tomorrow. Former Spokane Shadow and Gonzaga University standout Brian Ching will take the field for the final time Friday as a player in a Testimonial Match presented by the Houston Dynamo and BBVA Compass in honor of the three-time MLS Cup champion, six-time MLS All-Star and former US international featuring a number of current and former teammates.

Award-winning Waibel guiding Huskies into unprecedented territory

Waibel was named Far West Assistant Coach of the Year by the NSCAA Thursday | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

Only three years removed from playing his final Major League Soccer game for the Houston Dynamo and in his second season as an assistant coach for his alma mater, Spokane native and former Spokane Shadow PDL standout Craig Waibel was honored Thursday by the NSCAA and has the University of Washington on the verge of the NCAA Final Four with a home contest against New Mexico. The game can be seen on the Pac-12 Networks.

“It has been a year of steady growth and continued improvement for our guys,” Waibel told INWsoccernews. “They have battled as tough as any of their competitors and have found ways to win game through efficient play, and at times beautiful soccer.  But their spirit and their humility is their true strength. They also possess the ability to win games ugly when needed.  They have the confidence in themselves to set aside their ideals of the beautiful game and roll up their sleeves. And in doing so, they show their maturity as a group and their overwhelming desire to succeed on the field.

It was a soccer life for coach Sean Bushey in Spokane

As the two-weekend Northwest Cup hosted by the Spokane Shadow comes to a close this weekend and Whitworth’s program embarks on the 2013 campaign, INWsoccernews presents a look back at the past and some discussion of the present with a long overdue presentation of an interview held with longtime Spokane coach Sean Bushey prior to his departure earlier this summer.

Here is the story upon his decision to join the Colorado Rush in March that includes the thoughts of several of his former players: Whitworth University, Spokane Shadow director Sean Bushey takes position with Colorado Rush 

The news in March was a surprising announcement considering Bushey’s nearly two decades of coaching in the community, the success of the Whitworth men’s program that he was coaching and the successful merger between two of the area’s leading youth clubs under the Spokane Shadow banner.

“Ultimately, it took a while to come to a final decision once the conversation began, basically it was a two-month process,” Bushey said. “Leaving Whitworth, when it has been so good to me and my family is very difficult.”

Whitworth University, Spokane Shadow director Sean Bushey takes position with Colorado Rush

Bushey has been the head coach for Whitworth University since 1996 | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

After nearly two decades as a fixture in the Spokane soccer community, Whitworth University head coach and Spokane Shadow youth soccer club technical director Sean Bushey announced Wednesday that he was stepping down from both organizations to take a position with the Colorado Rush, one of the nation's top youth soccer clubs.

Taking the Senior Academy Director of Coaching position at the Rush will reunite Bushey with his brother Erik, the club's technical director, as well as his son Cameron, the Youth Boys DOC. The university announced it will conduct a search for a new coach. The SSC Shadow have appointed Abbas Faridnia, a former Shadow PDL player under Bushey, the new Technical Director, expanding his role with the club nearly a year after the merger with his SSC Elite occurred.

Ching coming back: “I still feel like I can contribute”

A lot of fans of former Spokane Shadow PDL and Gonzaga standout Brian Ching may have gotten one of their wishes for 2013 granted today as the Hawaiian decided he will play at least one more season in Major League Soccer for the Houston Dynamo.

Seven Reasons to watch MLS Cup Saturday

Both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo, after surprising sub-par seasons, showed their veteran experience and quality in the MLS Cup playoffs, and are set to play for the league championship for a second consecutive year Saturday. Here are some of the top reasons for Northwesterners to catch the game at 1:30 pm PT on ESPN (or Telefutura, TSN, RDS) even though the Sounders and Timbers are not playing... 

Could Halloween be Ching’s last hurrah?

If you are a local soccer fan, you may want to postpone trick-or-treating with the kids or turn the TV on at the party to catch the game on ESPN2 at 6:00 pm PT.

When the Orange Crush aptly take the field on Halloween Wednesday night on the road against the Chicago Fire, it could very well mark the end of the playing career of former Gonzaga and Spokane Shadow PDL forward Brian Ching if his Houston Dynamo fail to advance from the opening round match.

Gonzaga’s Ching sees Dynamo dumped from Open Cup in upset; NW clubs, GU's Scott play tonight

Gonzaga University and former Spokane Shadow PDL striker Brian Ching was given the night off for the Houston Dynamo as the MLS side traveled to nearby San Antonio to face the expansion San Antonio Scorpions of the new North American Soccer League in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. It may have been a decision Ching, considering retirement after this season, and the club regret as San Antonio registered a surprising 1-0 victory to eliminate Houston from the tournament.

The Dynamo, however, were not alone as six other MLS teams saw their tournament campaign come to an unexpected end.

Houston honors two former Spokane Shadow stars with stadium opener

They are calling it the ‘House that Ching Built.’ But when the Houston Dynamo play their long-awaited home opener at the new BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston Saturday afternoon (TV: 4:30 pm ET - NBC Sports Network) after seven games on the road, the club will be honoring two former standouts from the Premier Development League Spokane Shadow – forward Brian Ching and defender Craig Waibel.

The two players will be immortalized among the 16 pillars around the stadium honoring the club’s key players, and coach Dominic Kinnear, that have been a part of the team and the community since its arrival in 2005, relocating from San Jose (pillar photos).

Ching ends drought in Houston Dynamo draw

Former Spokane Shadow and Gonzaga University striker Brian Ching tallied for the Houston Dynamo Saturday in a 2-2 draw against the Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer action, ending a nine-game goalless streak dating back to the 2011 campaign.