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]
| 2016 Western New York Flash season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Alexandra Sahlen | ||
| Head coach | Paul Riley | ||
| Stadium | Rochester Rhinos Stadium | ||
| NWSL | 4th | ||
| 2016 NWSL Playoffs | Winners | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Lynn Williams (11) All: Lynn Williams (14) | ||
| Highest home attendance | 6,449 (Aug. 27 vs. Houston)[1] | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 2,235 (June 17 vs. Portland)[2] | ||
| Average home league attendance | 3,868[3] | ||
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First-team squad edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Match results edit
Pre-season edit
The Flash announced their preseason schedule on March 11, 2016.[6]
| Sat Mar 19 1 | Western New York Flash | 3–0 | West Virginia Mountaineers | Elma, New York |
Eddy  50'Andrade 80'Zimmerman 82' |
Report | Stadium: Sahlen's Sports Park Attendance: 1,052 Referee: Greg Irwin |
| Sat Apr 2 2 | Western New York Flash | Cancelled | Penn State Nittany Lions | Elma, New York |
| Cancellation | Stadium: Sahlen's Sports Park | |||
| Note: Cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. | ||||
| Sat Apr 2 2 | Syracuse Orange | 0–1 | Western New York Flash | Syracuse, New York |
| Report | Williams 37' |
Stadium: SU Soccer Stadium Attendance: Closed-door | ||
| Note: 45-minute match. | ||||
| Sat Apr 2 3 | Western New York Flash | 4–0 | Vermont Catamounts | Syracuse, New York |
| Zimmerman 13' Doniak 20'McDonald 24'Ayinde 45' |
Report | Stadium: SU Soccer Stadium Attendance: Closed-door | ||
| Note: 45-minte match. | ||||
Regular season edit
| Sat Apr 16 1 | FC Kansas City | 0–1 | Western New York Flash | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Report | Sam Mewis 71' (penalty) |
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 8,022 |
| Sat Apr 23 2 | Chicago Red Stars | 1–0 | Western New York Flash | Bridgeview, Illinois |
| Casey Short 28' (unassisted) |
Report | Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 2,529 |
| Fri Apr 29 3 | Western New York Flash | 0–3 | Washington Spirit | Rochester, 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 4 | Sky Blue FC | 1–2 | Western New York Flash | Piscataway, 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 5 | Orlando Pride | 1–0 | Western New York Flash | Orlando, Florida |
| Morgan 79' |
Report | Erceg 50' 89'  |
Stadium: Camping World Stadium Attendance: 7,841 Referee: Levi Rippy |
| Sat May 21 6 | Western New York Flash | 5–2 | Sky Blue FC | Rochester, New York |
| Report | Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium Attendance: 3,910 Referee: Farhad Dadkho |
| Fri May 27 7 | Western New York Flash | 4–0 | Boston Breakers | Rochester, 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 8 | Western New York Flash | 1–0 | Orlando Pride | Rochester, 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 9 | Western New York Flash | 0–2 | Portland Thorns FC | Rochester, 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 10 | Western New York Flash | 7–1 | Boston Breakers | Rochester, 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 11 | Western New York Flash | 2–0 | Chicago Red Stars | Rochester, 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 12 | Western New York Flash | 3–2 | Seattle Reign FC | Rochester, 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 13 | Seattle Reign FC | 1–1 | Western New York Flash | Seattle |
| 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 14 | Western New York Flash | 0–1 | FC Kansas City | Rochester, 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 15 | Houston Dash | 3–3 | Western New York Flash | Houston |
| 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 16 | Western New York Flash | 2–2 | Houston Dash | Rochester, 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 17 | Washington Spirit | 1–1 | Western New York Flash | Boyds, 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 18 | Boston Breakers | 2–2 | Western New York Flash | Boston, 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 19 | Portland Thorns FC | 3–2 | Western New York Flash | Portland, 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 20 | Boston Breakers | 0–4 | Western New York Flash | Boston, 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 edit
| Sun Oct 2 2:00 pm PDT NWSL Semifinals | Portland Thorns FC | 3–4 (a.e.t.) | Western New York Flash | Portland, 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 Championship | Washington Spirit | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (2–3 p) | Western New York Flash | Houston, 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 |
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| 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 edit
| 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 |
- Results summary
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 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
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
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Squad statistics edit
Source: NWSL
Squad statistics are of regular season only
| N | Pos | Player | GP | GS | Min | G | A | PK | Shot | SOG | SOG% | Cro | CK | Off | Foul | FS | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | FW | Lady Andrade | 2 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Halimatu Ayinde | 1 | 1 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Janice Cayman | 3 | 1 | 97 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 100% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | GL | Sabrina D'Angelo | 11 | 11 | 990 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Abby Dahlkemper | 20 | 20 | 1800 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 57% | 4 | 60 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | MF | Makenzy Doniak | 20 | 15 | 1144 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 8 | 53% | 13 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | Britt Eckerstrom | 3 | 3 | 270 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Elizabeth Eddy | 20 | 20 | 1754 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 63% | 6 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Abby Erceg | 17 | 16 | 1474 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 31% | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | MF | Michaela Hahn | 13 | 8 | 659 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 22% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Kristen Hamilton | 12 | 0 | 125 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Jaelene Hinkle | 15 | 15 | 1325 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 75% | 12 | 38 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Ga Eul Jeon | 2 | 1 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Alanna Kennedy | 15 | 15 | 1298 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 55% | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Adriana Leon | 10 | 3 | 342 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 25% | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Jessica McDonald | 19 | 19 | 1665 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 61 | 34 | 56% | 8 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Samantha Mewis | 14 | 14 | 1260 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 17 | 44% | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Courtney Niemiec | 6 | 4 | 397 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | GK | Katelyn Rowland | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Lianne Sanderson | 9 | 8 | 702 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 45% | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Taylor Smith | 18 | 5 | 726 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 24% | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | Meredith Speck | 6 | 5 | 369 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 33% | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Lynn Williams | 19 | 19 | 1670 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 34 | 49% | 6 | 0 | 22 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | McCall Zerboni | 12 | 11 | 1011 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 31% | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Total | 20 | — | 19799 | 40 | 29 | 4 | 325 | 153 | 47% | 60 | 117 | 47 | 181 | 148 | 23 | 1 | ||
| N | Pos | Goal keeper | GP | GS | Min | GA | GA/G | PKA | PKF | Shot | SOG | Sav | Sav% | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Sabrina D'Angelo | 11 | 11 | 990 | 16 | 1.45 | 3 | 4 | 105 | 52 | 35 | 67% | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | Britt Eckerstrom | 3 | 3 | 270 | 2 | 0.67 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 18 | 16 | 89% | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | GK | Katelyn Rowland | 6 | 6 | 540 | 8 | 1.33 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 24 | 16 | 67% | 0 | 0 |
| Team Total | 20 | — | 1800 | 26 | 1.30 | 4 | 5 | 189 | 94 | 67 | 71% | 0 | 0 | ||
References edit
- ^ "Flash Earn Draw in Home Finale". Western New York Flash. August 27, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ "WNY Flash 3-Game Win Streak Comes to an End". Western New York Flash. June 17, 2016. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ "2016 NWSL Statistics". National Women's Soccer League. September 25, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ Goldberg, Jamie (January 9, 2017). "Western New York Flash officially moving to Cary, North Carolina". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
- ^ Tsujimoto, Ben (March 30, 2017). "WNY Flash tab Bruce to coach United Women's Soccer team". Buffalo News. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ "WNY Flash Announce Preseason Schedule". WNYFlash.com. March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
- ^ a b Graham Hays (October 2, 2016). "Sooner than expected, Western New York Flash arrive at NWSL title game". ESPN. Retrieved November 14, 2016.