2016 Western New York Flash season

The 2016 season was Western New York Flash's ninth season, the fourth in which they competed in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. The season ended with the Flash's first finals appearance since the 2013 NWSL season and the franchise's first NWSL Championship victory. It was also the final season of the NWSL franchise's existence in Rochester, New York, or as the Western New York Flash, after being purchased by the North Carolina FC organization, moved to Cary, North Carolina, and rebranded as the North Carolina Courage in January 2017.[4] It was replaced in March 2017 by a new Buffalo-based Western New York Flash team in United Women's Soccer.[5]

Western New York Flash
2016 Western New York Flash season
PresidentAlexandra Sahlen
Head coachPaul Riley
StadiumRochester Rhinos Stadium
NWSL4th
2016 NWSL PlayoffsWinners
Top goalscorerLeague: Lynn Williams (11)
All: Lynn Williams (14)
Highest home attendance6,449
(Aug. 27 vs. Houston)[1]
Lowest home attendance2,235
(June 17 vs. Portland)[2]
Average home league attendance3,868[3]

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
0 GK Katelyn Rowland
1 GK Sabrina D'Angelo
2 MF Michaela Hahn
3 FW Makenzy Doniak
4 MF Elizabeth Eddy
5 MF Samantha Mewis
6 DF Abby Erceg
7 MF McCall Zerboni
9 FW Lynn Williams
No. Position Player
11 FW Taylor Smith
13 MF Abby Dahlkemper
14 FW Jessica McDonald
15 DF Jaelene Hinkle
17 FW Kristen Hamilton
19 FW Adriana Leon
22 DF Laura Liedle
23 DF Courtney Niemiec
24 DF Alanna Kennedy
25 MF Meredith Speck
28 GK Britt Eckerstrom

Match results

Pre-season

The Flash announced their preseason schedule on March 11, 2016.[6]

Sat Mar 19 1Western New York Flash3–0West Virginia MountaineersElma, New York
Eddy  50'
Andrade  80'
Zimmerman  82'		 Report Stadium: Sahlen's Sports Park
Attendance: 1,052
Referee: Greg Irwin
Sat Apr 2 2Western New York FlashCancelledPenn State Nittany LionsElma, New York
Cancellation Stadium: Sahlen's Sports Park
Note: Cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.
Sat Apr 2 2Syracuse Orange0–1Western New York FlashSyracuse, New York
Report Williams  37' Stadium: SU Soccer Stadium
Attendance: Closed-door
Note: 45-minute match.
Sat Apr 2 3Western New York Flash4–0Vermont CatamountsSyracuse, New York
Zimmerman  13'
Doniak  20'
McDonald  24'
Ayinde  45'		 Report Stadium: SU Soccer Stadium
Attendance: Closed-door
Note: 45-minte match.

Regular season
Sat Apr 16 1FC Kansas City0–1Western New York FlashKansas City, Missouri
Report Sam Mewis  71' (penalty) Stadium: Children's Mercy Park
Attendance: 8,022
Sat Apr 23 2Chicago Red Stars1–0Western New York FlashBridgeview, Illinois
Casey Short  28' (unassisted) Report Stadium: Toyota Park
Attendance: 2,529
Fri Apr 29 3Western New York Flash0–3Washington SpiritRochester, New York
Elizabeth Eddy  80' Report
Report		 Diana Matheson  4' (Crystal Dunn), 72' (p.k.)
Elizabeth Eddy  82' (o.g.)		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 3,615
Sat May 7 4Sky Blue FC1–2Western New York FlashPiscataway, New Jersey
Maya Hayes  35' (Raquel Rodriguez)
Nikki Stanton  41'
Caroline Stanley  71'		 Report Abby Dahlkemper  4'
Jaelene Hinkle  71' (penalty)
Samantha Mewis  86' (unassisted)
Kristen Hamilton  90+3'		 Stadium: Yurcak Field
Attendance: 1,252
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva
Sat May 14 5Orlando Pride1–0Western New York FlashOrlando, Florida
Morgan  79' Report Erceg  50' 89'  Stadium: Camping World Stadium
Attendance: 7,841
Referee: Levi Rippy
Sat May 21 6Western New York Flash5–2Sky Blue FCRochester, New York
Report Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 3,910
Referee: Farhad Dadkho
Fri May 27 7Western New York Flash4–0Boston BreakersRochester, New York
Smith  15'
Williams  64' (Hahn)
Williams  65' (Speck)
Dahlkemper  78' (pen.)		 Report Beckmann  90' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 3,940
Referee: Andrew Musashe
Sat Jun 11 8Western New York Flash1–0Orlando PrideRochester, New York
Doniak  4' (McDonald)
Speck  47+'
Leon  83'		 Report Spencer  76' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 4,526
Referee: Elvis Mahmutovi
Fri Jun 17 9Western New York Flash0–2Portland Thorns FCRochester, New York
Samantha Mewis  47'
Alanna Kennedy  55'
Makenzy Doniak  90'		 Report Christine Sinclair  46' (Allie Long)
Nadia Nadim  73' (pen.)
Hayley Raso  81'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 2,235
Referee: Victor Rivas
Fri Jun 24 10Western New York Flash7–1Boston BreakersRochester, New York
7:00 p.m. ET Lynn Williams  19' (Makenzy Doniak), 39' (Jessica McDonald)
Jessica McDonald  28' (Samantha Mewis), 43' (Liz Eddy), 49' (Lynn Williams)
Alanna Kennedy  35'
Makenzy Doniak  45+2' (Samantha Mewis)
McCall Zerboni  60'
Taylor Smith  63' (Jaelene Hinkle)		 Report
Report		 Christen Westphal  38' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 3,024
Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Fri Jul 1 11Western New York Flash2–0Chicago Red StarsRochester, New York
Lianne Sanderson  37'
Lynn Williams  74' (Jessica McDonald)
McCall Zerboni  78'		 Report Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 3,114
Referee: Danielle Brzezinski-Chesky
Sat Jul 9 12Western New York Flash3–2Seattle Reign FCRochester, New York
19:00 Erceg  39'  45+4'
Williams  83'		 Summary
Report		 Kawasumi  22'
Winters  64'
Mathias  82'
Utsugi  90+1'		 Stadium: Frontier Field
Attendance: 4,314
Referee: Karen Abt
Sat Jul 16 13Seattle Reign FC1–1Western New York FlashSeattle
22:00 Melis  3'
Winters  33'
Reed  74'		 Summary
Report		 McDonald  45'
Zerboni  47'		 Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 4,521
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva
Sat Jul 23 14Western New York Flash0–1FC Kansas CityRochester, New York
19:05 Janice Cayman  20'
Hahn  45+3'		 Summary
Report		 Molly Menchel  54'
Groom  60'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 3,556
Referee: Maraget Domka
Sat Jul 30 15Houston Dash3–3Western New York FlashHouston
Rachel Daly  32' (unassisted)
Kealia Ohai  47' (unassisted)
Kealia Ohai  63' (Stephanie Ochs)
Caity Heap  92+'		 Report Lianne Sanderson  3' (Lynn Williams)
Jessica McDonald  70' (Lynn Williams)
Lynn Williams  93+' (Jessica McDonald)
Jaelene Hinkle  93+'
Abby Dahlkemper  96+'		 Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 4,329
Referee: Matthew Franz
Sat Aug 27 16Western New York Flash2–2Houston DashRochester, New York
19:00 Sanderson  36'
Doniak  58'		 Summary O'Sullivan  27'  41'
Ohai  53'
Daly  86'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 6,449
Referee: Victor Rivas
Sat Sep 3 17Washington Spirit1–1Western New York FlashBoyds, Maryland
Katie Stengel  64' (Crystal Dunn)
Diana Matheson  85'		 Report Elizabeth Eddy  40'
Samantha Mewis  86' (unassisted)		 Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
Attendance: 4,527
Referee: Chris Spivey
Thu Sep 8 18Boston Breakers2–2Western New York FlashBoston, Massachusetts
Kyah Simon  4' (J King)
Natasha Dowie  9';  51' (Louise Schillgard)
Julie King  61'
Eunice Beckmann  68'		 Report Jessica McDonald  38' (Samantha Mewis)
Lynn Williams  76' (Makenzy Doniak)		 Stadium: Jordan Field
Attendance: 1,435
Referee: Cuauhtemoc Delgadillo
Sun Sep 11 19Portland Thorns FC3–2Western New York FlashPortland, Oregon
Nadia Nadim  27' (penalty)
Christine Sinclair  37'
Tobin Heath  58'
Dagný Brynjarsdóttir  69' (T Heath)
Michelle Betos  71'		 Report Jaelene Hinkle  27'
Jessica McDonald  77' (Elizabeth Eddy)
Lynn Williams  80' ([J McDonald)		 Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 21,144
Referee: Marco Vega
Sat Sep 24 20Boston Breakers0–4Western New York FlashBoston, Massachusetts
Angela Salem  45'+3
Katie Schoepfer  70'
Whitney Engen  71'		 Report Jessica McDonald  2' (Makenzy Doniak)
Lynn Williams  24' (unassisted)
Samantha Mewis  45' (McCall Zerboni)
Alanna Kennedy  61'
Abby Dahlkemper  68' (penalty)		 Stadium: Jordan Field
Attendance: 4,027
Referee: Karen Abt

Postseason playoff
Sun Oct 2 2:00 pm PDT NWSL SemifinalsPortland Thorns FC3–4 (a.e.t.)Western New York FlashPortland, Oregon
14:00 UTC-08 Sinclair  39' (Reynolds)
Brynjarsdottir  75'
Sonnett  78'
Horan  106+' (Brynjarsdottir)
Heath  114'		 Report Mewis  16'
Kennedy  28'
Doniak  38' (McDonald)
Dahlkemper  76'
Williams  98'
Williams  104' (Mewis)
Eddy  109'
D'Angelo  121+'		 Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 20,086
Referee: Marco Vega
Note: Flash Head Coach Paul Riley was ejected at 40' for arguing with officials. Assistant Coach Scott Vallow replaced Riley for the remainder of the match, as well as in the finals, for which Riley was also suspended.[7]
Sun Oct 9 4:00 pm CDT 2016 NWSL ChampionshipWashington Spirit2–2 (a.e.t.)
(2–3 p)		Western New York FlashHouston, Texas
16:00 UTC-05 Dunn  9' (Oyster)  91' (Krieger)
Wys  122+'		 Report Mewis  14' (Williams)
Zerboni  84'
Williams  124+' (McDonald)		 Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 8,255
Referee: Christina Unkel
Penalties
Krieger
Nairn
Stengel
Huster
Matheson 		Dahlkemper
Hinkle
McDonald
Williams
Mewis
Note: Flash Head Coach Paul Riley was suspended from coaching the team due to his ejection in the semifinals match against Portland. Assistant Coach Scott Vallow replaced Riley in the finals.[7]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Portland Thorns FC 20 12 5 3 35 19 +16 41 NWSL Shield
2 Washington Spirit 20 12 3 5 30 21 +9 39 NWSL Playoffs
3 Chicago Red Stars 20 9 6 5 24 20 +4 33
4 Western New York Flash (C) 20 9 5 6 40 26 +14 32
5 Seattle Reign FC 20 8 6 6 29 21 +8 30
6 FC Kansas City 20 7 5 8 18 20 −2 26
7 Sky Blue FC 20 7 5 8 24 30 −6 26
8 Houston Dash 20 6 4 10 29 29 0 22
9 Orlando Pride 20 6 1 13 20 30 −10 19
10 Boston Breakers 20 3 2 15 14 47 −33 11
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champion.
Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldPtsWLTGFGAGDWLTGFGAGDWLTGFGAGD
20 32 9 6 5 40 26  +14 6 3 1 24 13  +11 3 3 4 16 13  +3

Last updated: September 24, 2016
Source: National Women's Soccer League
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

Results by round
Round1234567891011121314151617181920
GroundAAHAAHHHHHHHAHAHAAAA
ResultWLLWLWWWLWWWDLDDDDLW
Updated to match(es) played on September 11, 2016. Source: National Women's Soccer League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Squad statistics

Source: NWSL

Squad statistics are of regular season only

NPosPlayerGPGSMinGAPKShotSOGSOG%CroCKOffFoulFSYCRC
16FWLady Andrade205100000—0000000
10MFHalimatu Ayinde1145000100%0001000
20MFJanice Cayman319700022100%0001410
1GLSabrina D'Angelo111199000000—0000000
13MFAbby Dahlkemper2020180021214857%4600111120
3MFMakenzy Doniak2015114434015853%131161510
28GKBritt Eckerstrom3327000000—0100100
4MFElizabeth Eddy202017540208563%681211230
6DFAbby Erceg1716147421013431%01114621
2MFMichaela Hahn1386591109222%0003410
17FWKristen Hamilton12012500011100%0003110
15DFJaelene Hinkle1515132513112975%123809920
8MFGa Eul Jeon218500000—0101400
24DFAlanna Kennedy1515129801011655%01120830
19FWAdriana Leon10334200012325%0028220
14FWJessica McDonald191916651070613456%8313101100
5MFSamantha Mewis14141260521391744%300221310
23DFCourtney Niemiec643970002150%0002300
0GKKatelyn Rowland6654000000—0000000
10FWLianne Sanderson98702300221045%31351300
11FWTaylor Smith18572620017424%11091110
25FWMeredith Speck653690103133%1123010
9FWLynn Williams191916701150703449%602215400
7MFMcCall Zerboni1211101101013431%301171620
Team Total20—197994029432515347%6011747181148231
NPosGoal keeperGPGSMinGAGA/GPKAPKFShotSOGSavSav%YCRC
1GKSabrina D'Angelo1111990161.4534105523567%00
28GKBritt Eckerstrom3327020.671129181689%00
0GKKatelyn Rowland6654081.330055241667%00
Team Total20—1800261.3045189946771%00

References
  1. "Flash Earn Draw in Home Finale". Western New York Flash. August 27, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  2. "WNY Flash 3-Game Win Streak Comes to an End". Western New York Flash. June 17, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  3. "2016 NWSL Statistics". National Women's Soccer League. September 25, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  4. Goldberg, Jamie (9 January 2017). "Western New York Flash officially moving to Cary, North Carolina". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. Tsujimoto, Ben (March 30, 2017). "WNY Flash tab Bruce to coach United Women's Soccer team". Buffalo News. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  6. "WNY Flash Announce Preseason Schedule". WNYFlash.com. March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  7. Graham Hays (October 2, 2016). "Sooner than expected, Western New York Flash arrive at NWSL title game". ESPN. Retrieved November 14, 2016.

See also
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.