Western New York Flash

In a two-sentence press release earlier today (Oct. 27, 2011) Women's Professional Soccer announced their decision to terminate the magicJack franchise.

For those who don't know, magicJack is the former Washington Freedom franchise. The Freedom is a club that has survived more than a decade through three leagues, but was finally purchased and moved out of the Capital Region by Dan Borislow, the owner of magicJack, the Internet phone company.  

Borislow started making his bed with WPS almost from the first day he took over the franchise. He waited until the last minute to announce his plans to move the franchise to South Florida, leaving the DC fans in the dark.

He played his home games in a stadium that did not meet WPS minimum standards, refused to fulfill WPS contracts with sponsors, refused to hire any team employees except players, to the point of attempting to coach the club himself, until he was suspended. 

Borislow spent most of the season suspended due to his ongoing refusal to comply with league policies, as fines and penalties continued to accumulate. He is quoted as saying he was losing too much money on the team to pay for anything not absolutely essential to play the games. 

Borislow's approach is vexing, since he created the best roster of native grown talent, including seven members of the U.S. Women's National Team, yet wouldn't pay a trainer. When his players needed help taping an ankle, they had to depend on the generosity and sportspersonship of their opponents.

Once Borislow was suspended, he designated player/coaches, with World Cup star Abby Wambach finishing the season in that role.

No doubt the WPS front office was holding their breath that magicJack would not win the league championship, so that the commissioner would not have to share the podium with Borislow and congratulate him.

It came close enough, as his team made it to the semi-finals and played Philadelphia close for much of that match before finally succumbing. 

The announcement of the franchise's termination offers no detail at all, but one can speculate that Borislow continued to refuse to cooperate and the league felt they had no choice but to shut him down.

What will happen next is of great importance to the future of the league. It is unlikely that the league will be viable without at least a sixth franchise. The question then is, does WPS have an expansion club in the wings?

Will they transfer the roster of magicJack to a putative new franchisee? Will there be yet another downsizing draft by which the other clubs in the league can select the displaced magicJack players?

Is this the opening Western New York Flash owner Joe Sahlen has been waiting for to bring Rochester native Wambach home to play?

At this point, we can only wonder about the questions. There are no clear answers and not even enough information on which to speculate.

One would hope that perhaps the Chicago Red Stars, who suspended league activity last season but did not withdraw, might be able to acquire the magicJack roster and resume operations.

The Red Stars have a good organization and a great fan base. In a smaller, more affordable venue, they should be able to make a go.

Saturday's championship between WPS regular season champions Western NY Flash (13-2-3) and the Philadelphia Independence (11-4-3), the two best teams in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) is automatically the best championship match in the WPS' young history.

The record-breaking crowd for a WPS championship match of 10,461 who witnessed Saturday's epic match at the Sahlen’s Stadium enjoyably endured 120 minutes of regular and extra time to see the two best teams in the WPS regular season go into a shootout where Western NY Flash was able to win 5-4 over the Independence.

While a low-scoring championship match may not appear appealing, if you follow baseball then you understand the beauty of a pitcher's duel.

What made this championship match memorable was that both teams were evenly matched, both offensively and defensively.

For the Flash, their roster had the WPS Year End award winners Ashlyn Harris (US Coast Guard Goalkeeper of the Year), Whitney Engen (Defender of the Year) and Marta (WPS Golden Boot). Complimenting the Flash award winners were captain Caroline Seger, Christine Sinclair, Beverly Goebel and Yael Averbuch.

The Independence also had their share of award winners and nationally recognized players in the form of league MVP Veronica Boquete, US National Team players Amy Rodriguez, Nicole Barnhard and Lori Lindsay as well as two-time Coach of the Year Paul Riley.

Despite a well-played first half that was comically interrupted when a squirrel made it's presence and ran around the pitch for a few minutes, both teams weren't able to capitalize on their scoring opportunities. The first half was a chess match where both teams played good team defense and smart goalkeeping that kept everything level in the first half.

In the second half, both teams came out aggressive as both teams advanced the ball and had no reservation in playing smart but tenacious defense. It wasn't until the 64th minute when the Flash was able to force a turnover where Flash defender Candace Chapman blasted a perfect pass to Christine Sinclair who in return gave the Flash a 1-0 lead when her left footed shot past Philadelphia goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart.

With two minutes left in regulation, it appeared the Flash were on their way to becoming the 2011 WPS champions, the Independence was able to level the match at one all when Amy Rodriguez scored of a rebound from Danesha Adams shot that had ricocheted off the post, driving the ball into the back of the net.

It was in the shootout where those in attendance and watching from television/online witnessed one dream become a reality for Western NY while it tragically became a nightmare for Philadelphia.

Marta, Sinclair, McCall Zerboni, Caroline Seger and Yael Averbuch converted their penalty kicks for Western NY.

For Philadelphia, Lianne Sanderson, Adams, Leigh Ann Robinson, Veronica Boquete converted their first four shots. After the Flash converted their fifth straight penalty kick, it all came down to Laura del Rio who needed to convert her penalty kick in order to the Independence's chances of winning the WPS championship alive.

With Philadelphia's hopes riding on Laura del Rio, she took her shot and it was beautifully blocked by Ashlyn Harris who's well-timed play clinched the championship for her Western New York Flash.

While this is a tough loss for Philadelphia, they have nothing to be ashamed because everyone who in attendance or watching the game on television, knew that they played their hearts out against an evenly matched Flash team.

Christine Sinclair was honored as the WPS championship MVP and she joined her Flash teammate, five-time FIFA Player of the Year Marta, as one of the seven players who last year were part of now defunct FC Gold Pride to win back to back WPS championships.

Now with the season over and the surge in attendance, the 2012 WPS season should be exciting to watch.

About Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)

WPS is the highest level women’s professional soccer league in North America.  Formed in September 2007 as the result of the efforts of the Women’s Soccer Initiative, Inc., WPS, began play on March 29, 2009.

Committed teams for the 2011 season are the Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Philadelphia Independence, Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY), magicJack and the Western New York Flash.  WPS continues to explore additional potential franchises for 2012 and beyond.

To follow the WPS, please go to: www.womensprosoccer.com.

Cesar Diaz covers soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press and USSoccerPlayers.com; your source for American soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at cesar@latinosports.com and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.

What we’ve been taking liberties to say about the Western New York Flash of Women’s Professional Soccer, we can now say with authority. We have, here in Buffalo, Rochester and Western New York, the absolute world’s best women’s club soccer team.

The Flash defeated last year’s runner-up, the Philadelphia Independence, on penalty kicks after finishing regulation and two overtime periods tied at 1-1. It was a hard fought match.

Independence coach Paul Riley showed why he won the league’s Coach of the Year award two consecutive years. Philadelphia, outgunned in the individual talent department, stayed in the match by out coaching the home team and regular season champions.

There was only one shot each in the first half, which was played almost entirely in the midfield. Throughout most of the match Philly was successful in disrupting Flash passing, especially in the offensive third of the pitch.

Things opened up midway through the second half with each club getting an occasional shot. As time went on the Flash finally began to break through with their typical attack of long passes to their speedy forwards , and after some near misses by Christine Sinclair and Alex Morgan, Candace Chapman hit Sinclair deep in Philadelphia territory in the 61^st minute with a long high-arching pass which Sinclair pounded into the right side of the net from twenty yards out.

That seemed to let the air out of Philadelphia for most of the rest of the match, but the Flash started playing a little carelessly and with less than two minutes remaining Philly took advantage. Amy Rodriguez knocked a rebound past Flash keeper Ashlyn Harris, tying the match at one.

It was a stoppable ball, and Harris, who in this writer’s opinion was not worthy of the Coast Guard Keeper of the Year award she was given, showed her vulnerability in glaring fashion on that play.

But, after 30 minutes of even play, Harris had an opportunity to redeem herself in the shootout. After both teams had gone two rounds matching goals with no stops, Harris guess correctly and leapt into the trajectory of Laura del Rio’s shot, knocking it wide to the right, ending the match, clinching the win, and giving Western New York Fans an opportunity to cheer for “Wide Right” for a change.

After the match, WPS commissioner Anne-Marie Eileraas told this writer, in an exclusive interview, that Western New York has been “a fantastic boost to the league. They approached us, they were ready to run, and did a fantastic job of putting their organization together,” she continued, “and it’s been great for the league.”

It certainly has. Saturday’s attendance of 10,461, while no where near a WNY attendance record, is a new record for a WPS Championship game, at about 4,000 more than the previous record. That means that the Flash have hosted three of the six best attended matches in WPS history. Though starting slow, the Flash also finished the regular season with the best average attendance as well as the best record. And the only reason the championship match didn’t sell out was because Abby Wambach wasn’t playing.

Wambach seems to add at least 3,000 to the gate whenever she appears on the pitch, prompting my question to Flash owner Joe Sahlen. When asked if he would make an effort to bring Abby home to play for his club, Sahlen smiled and said he would take any such opportunity.

When asked if he had any plans to play at least a portion of next year’s schedule in Buffalo, Sahlen replied, “I never say never about anything, but I don’t see it happening.” When asked if he sees any long term possibility of playing a split schedule including Buffalo, Sahlen again said, “Like I said, I never say never, but just about.”

While this writer has been campaigning hard for the Flash to have more than a training and administrative presence in Buffalo, it is hard to look around at the beautiful new Sahlen’s Stadium with a view of the Rochester skyline through the open end of the park, and expect the club to play in lesser and much smaller accommodations such as All High Stadium, even if they might succeed in getting Buffalo Public Schools’ cooperation.

Perhaps it’s only fair that since Rochester drives West in great numbers to support the Bills, Buffalo should be asked to reverse the trip for the Flash. Just as the Bills hold training camp in Rochester, the Flash lives and trains throughout the season in Buffalo, Sahlen’s is a Buffalo company and Joe Sahlen is a Buffalo guy. And to be completely honest, though I hate to admit it, I have a hard time imagining Buffalo filling All-High Stadium for women’s soccer even though it is less than half the size of Sahlen’s Stadium. And again, though I hate to admit it, I’m afraid most people west of Batavia won’t even know or care they have champions among them.

So I think I’ve made my peace with the matter. Rochester is more of a soccer town. They have taken notice of the Flash and over the season have come out in greater numbers to make them the strongest and best attended franchise in a league that is still tottering on the edge of extinction.

It seems that the momentum of the World Cup and the success of the Flash has given the league at least one more year of life, and we can only hope that the post World Cup increase in attendance seen across the league will continue the trend into next season and beyond. If all WPS clubs can average around 5,000 or better per match, the league should be sustainable. If attendance declines, one more season might be it.

Post Game Interview Notes

Flash Head Coach Aaran Lines about Christine Sinclair (Championship Game MVP): “I gave my World Cup players the option of taking five days off to rest and recharge their batteries if they needed to, after the World Cup. Most of them took advantage of that. But Christine was back as soon as Canada (her team) was eliminated. She scored a goal in her first game back, and that made all the difference for us to win the regular season title. She’s selfless, humble, and a fierce competitor, always putting the cause above herself. I can’t say enough.”

Flash Head Coach Aaran Lines about Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris:  “It’s been great for her to have eighteen games as a starter. I don’t know anyone who is a more determined competitor than she is.”

Flash Head Coach Aaran Lines about losing Veronica Boquete (League MVP) to Philadelphia: “I guess I didn’t pay enough attention to the negotiation process. I just assumed she would sign with us (Boquete was a member of the 2010 Buffalo Flash W-League Champions), but we lost her. That really hurt. But then we went out and signed the world’s best player. Not too bad of an exchange, I’d say.”   

John Wingspread Howell is a novelist, writer (about sports and life) and entrepreneur originally from, and now back home again in Buffalo, New York.  http://johnwingspreadhowell.com

WNY Flash Win WPS Regular Season Championship: Western New York have earned the right to host the WPS championship match, as Philadelphia takes second place, magicJack overcomes franchise turmoil to finish third, and Boston grabs final playoff berth in fourth place.

Pundits have been saying it all season: on paper, Western New York Flash is the best club side in women's world football.

Sunday evening, the Flash turned in what has become rather customary for fans: a deserved 2-0 victory over Atlanta Beat on a rain-soaked night at Sahlen's Stadium before a crowd of 5,000 strong who had braved the adverse condition to watch their team.

The Flash made sure the fans got their money's worth, as the emphatic win over the last-place side in WPS was enough to clinch the Women's Professional Soccer regular season championship.

Atlanta were well-organized in defense, holding the vaunted Flash attack to two goals, withstanding a siege of shooting attempts by the Flash. WNY were not to be denied, however, and enter the playoffs as odds-on favorites to win.

Despite breezing to victory, the Flash will need a much better overall performance if they are to win the championship, set to take place Aug. 27 at Sahlen's Stadium.

Despite beating each WPS club at least once during their impressive regular season—with their only two losses coming against Philadelphia—it would be foolish for anyone to assume the Flash will enjoy a cakewalk to the victory podium come playoff time.

By virtue of winning the regular season championship, the Flash will “enjoy” a quirky-yet-beneficial rule of the WPS playoff format—the top seed receives a double bye through the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds and an automatic spot in the championship match—with home field advantage to boot.

So while the Flash get a two-week respite, their opponents will have played either one or two high-intensity playoff encounters during that time.

It will be essential that the Flash not allow the layoff to affect their match sharpness, as their opponent will come to the final in-form, with guns blazing.

The stop-gap becomes even more problematic since WNY's current starting lineup has struggled for cohesiveness in recent weeks—with striker play a cause of concern.

Despite boasting a Holy Trinity of world-class talent in their three-pronged system of attack: Brazilian phenom Marta on the left wing, Canada’s top player Christine Sinclair—who led the WPS in goals and assists—at center forward, and one of the heroes of the United States' recent World Cup campaign—Alex Morgan, starting at right wing.

No other front line in the world—including most national teams—can match this one in terms of talent. While pre-World Cup preparation, coupled with the actual tournament, prevented those three forwards from playing together for the better part of a month and a half—since returning from Germany, Marta, Sinclair, and Morgan have started—however feebly—to discover a rhythm.

The operative term is started: they are by no means a finished product.

Perhaps no WPS club was affected more by the disruption of the World Cup than the Flash. With eight senior internationals missing from the side during the competition, Western New York suffered its only two defeats of the seasons, and two of its three draws.

What’s worse, those two defeats came at the hands of Philadelphia, who finished in second place.

There is no doubt that Philadelphia are a talented side, sending a few players of their own to the World Cup. They did have an advantage in those two wins against the Flash, however, as their squad was close to full-strength.

Still, the Flash will be worried should they face Philadelphia in the final.

While their front line has yet to click with the regularity one would expect from such a talented trio at this stage of the season, the area Western New York must first address is its defense.

The Flash have often gotten by with less-than-stellar performances at the back, as their attacking prowess has come to save the day. As Manchester United skipper Sir Alex Ferguson readily attests, however, the greatest teams' success starts at the back. It is the bedrock for any championship side.

Western New York isn't lacking in defensive talent: it is maddening inconsistency and a penchant for mistake-prone football that has been the biggest problem. All-too-often, the defense suffers fatal lapses in concentration, allowing opponents too much space in attack—and often paying dearly for those gambles.

Much of the blame goes to the back line, but No. 1 keeper Ashlyn Harris bears some of the blame as well. She’s put in some impressive performances, amassing an impressive portfolio of top-notch saves, but she has only five clean sheets to show for it—despite playing for the highest-ever scoring side in league history. That is simply not good enough for a championship contender.

Harris leads the league in goals allowed, but I put her in the same category as Karina LeBlanc of Marta’s first WPS club—the now-defunct LA Sol.

In 2009, LeBlanc led the league in (the rather ignominious) category of goals allowed. She was saved, however, by the Sol offense—which led the league in goals scored. Quite the study in contrast.

Under different circumstances, LeBlanc was unable to enjoy the same success without the necessary attacking force to bail her out, and has since been dropped from the league.

I think Marta, Sinclair, Morgan and co. are making Harris look better than she actually is. She shows instances of her potential, but her tendency toward lapses in concentration and inconsistent displays are worrisome.

While she is likely to win the Coast Guard WPS Keeper of the Year award, she does not deserve it. The number of goals she's conceded far outweighs her number of saves.

The shaky Flash defense does Harris no favors, either.

Consider this: U.S. national team starting keeper Hope Solo was still available during the offseason, when the team decided to sign Harris. Solo remained on the market until the start of the season. Should the Flash lose the final on a goalkeeping blunder, they have only themselves to blame.

It appears that club owner Joe Sahlen—who perhaps lost sight of the need of defensive reinforcements as he pursued Marta during the offseason with star-crossed determination, has created a side top-heavy in attack.

Maybe Sahlen was convinced that if he had Marta he could live without Hope. I hope this will not come back to bite the Flash.

Philadelphia is not the only potential threat the Flash could face in the final. magicJack defeated Philly in the season finale, despite resting their stars.

Unable to move up from third place no matter the result, magicJack played their second team to keep their starters fresh for the first round of the playoffs—a Wednesday, Aug. 17 home match against Boston. Boston had clinched the last playoff spot at New Jersey's expense.

With a Flash loss, Philadelphia still had a chance to grab first place, but were unable to capitalize upon the opportunity.

magicJack has been playing very well in the aftermath of the World Cup, despite the unfolding soap opera between their team owner and league officials. They have endured a brutal run of packed fixtures to claim second.

A final between WNY and magicJack would be as good as a Lakers-Celtics showdown in the NBA finals. With New York native Abby Wambach's potential return as hometown hero should the Flash meet magicJack in the final there wouldn't be an empty seat in the house. There’s little doubt that the Flash's seating capacity of 15,404 would be over-capacity should that match up materialize. The Flash led the WPS in attendance this season.

But in order for the home team to win, they will have to tighten up their defense, tune up their front line, and find a way to keep everyone sharp and focused during an interminable two weeks of down time.

Year End Honors...

Western New York's Marta stole the Golden Boot award from teammate Christine Sinclair by scoring six goals in the last seven games of the season. That brings Marta's goal tally to 10—tied with Sinclair for best production in the league this season. Since Marta played fewer games, however, she wins through a superior goals-per-game tiebreaker.

Former California standout Alex Morgan should hold off all-comers, and grab Rookie of the Year, after a phenomenal first season. Sinclair remains the odds-on favorite to win Player of the Year. The afore-mentioned keeper Harris will likely win Keeper of the Year.

Aaran Lines is a top contender for Coach of the Year, along with last year's winner, Paul Riley of Philadelphia, and Abby Wambach, who has been "player-coach" for the troubled magicJack.

WPS Playoff Schedule

FIRST ROUND

DATE: Wednesday, August 17 (7:30 p.m. ET)

magicJack vs. Boston Breakers

LOCATION: FAU Soccer Stadium (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Television: FOX Soccer
TICKETS

_______________________________________________________________________________

SUPER SEMI FINAL

DATE: Saturday, August 20 (4 p.m. ET)

Philadelphia Independence vs. Winner of First Round match

LOCATION: PPL Park (Chester, Pa.)
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net
TICKETS

WPS CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY CITI

DATE: Saturday, August 27 | 4 PM ET

Western New York Flash vs. Winner of Super Semifinal
LOCATION: Sahlen's Stadium (Rochester, N.Y.)
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net
TICKETS

John Wingspread Howell is a novelist, writer (about sports and life) and entrepreneur originally from, and now back home again in Buffalo, New York.  http://johnwingspreadhowell.com

The Week's WPS Highlights

Attendance Stays Up As 4,400 See Weeknight Match, Western New York Win Ugly.

As far as I know, Charlie Sheen is not a Western New York Flash fan. That’s a good thing. His “Winning!” mantra during his recent public melt-down was about as empty and ironic as it could possibly be.

Watching the WNY Flash “win” against the Boston Breakers on Wednesday night gave me a similar feeling.

On paper this is the world’s best women’s club soccer side, bar none. The starting front line for Wednesday’s match was the holy trinity of women’s soccer today: Brazilian phenom Marta on the left, Canada’s best, Christine Sinclair, currently the league leader in goals and assists, in the middle center, and the newest United States weapon, Alex Morgan on the right.

No other front line in the world, including national teams, could match this one. And for a while these three and the rest of the starting eleven played as if they deserved the "world’s best" designation. Sinclair opened the scoring by connecting on a pass from Marta in the 21^st minute. Seven minutes later, Becky Edwards notched her third goal of the season on a long pass from defender and New Zealand international, Ali Riley.

Alex Morgan had several good runs and threatening shots. Marta had several near misses.

Then, early in the second half, Boston’s Alex Scott banked a shot in off the right post to make it 2-1. Flash keeper Ashlyn Harris could have easily batted the ball away. It was well within her reach, but she just watched it.

After that, instead of picking up their intensity, the Flash allowed Boston to pick up the pace.

There were moments when the club seemed to be a little too laid back. They had been attacking more intensely after scoring their second goal than they were once the lead had been cut in half.

This is of special concern since the Flash blew a two goal lead in New Jersey just before the World Cup break. Although they outplayed Sky Blue FC for all but a couple of crucial minutes in that match, WNY had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

They seem to have lost that “winning feeling” they had early in the season when no lead was good enough. They seem to lack the killer instinct one would expect of a team that deserves to be called the world’s best.

The Flash had to win this match just to pull even with surging Philadelphia. Lapses during the World Cup cost them a tie or a loss when they should have won, even without their World Cup stars. The club has not shown the consistency that one would expect from the amount of talent they have. They seem to have lost the ability to finish off a wounded opponent.

If winning is the word that means less than it seems for the Flash at the moment, consistency is the word that is completely missing from their lexicon.

In their previous match, on the road in New Jersey, the Flash annihilated Sky Blue FC, scoring four unanswered goals after falling behind early.

Marta, who has had a surprising difficulty finishing for the Flash in recent games, seemed to get her groove back with a convincing goal. Christine Sinclair kept her league lead, adding another goal and assist to her totals. McCall Zerboni came to life again with a solid finish. And Alex Morgan found the net again, reprising her World Cup heroics.

Now that was killer instinct. It appeared as if the team was back on track to closing out the season in full command of WPS. Then, four days later, the Flash were back to inconsistency.

To what should we attribute the consistency problem? Normally, one would point the finger at coaching. And it could be coaching. It is difficult to assess Aran Lines’s coaching ability, given the ability of his players. He seems to have done a reasonable job mixing the chemistry and managing the larger-than-life egos. They are a team. They play as a team. Even the divas show a remarkable amount of unselfishness. Lines gets an 'A' for that.

On the other hand, it is the coach’s responsibility to motivate his players, and keep them motivated. Early in the season it looked as if they would never lose. It seemed as if no one was even on their level.

Philadelphia has certainly disproved that assumption. On any given day, Philadelphia can beat Western New York. Although they are the only club to have cracked the code, they've already done it twice.

There is no doubt that Philadelphia is a good club. Since they sent few players to the World Cup, they were close to full strength when they beat the Flash in two of three matches, while the Flash were missing their World Cup stars. But the Flash should not have lost both matches, if even one.

Is it overconfidence? Complacency? At what point is a team too good for its own good?

It is up to the coach to make sure that doesn't happen. So while I gave Lines an 'A' for chemistry, I’m giving him a 'C+' for motivation and focus.

Coaching issues aside, the primary problem is a defensive one. With the attacking arsenal at the Flash’s disposal, defense isn't as crucial as it is with a less powerful team. However, even the best teams depend on defense to get them through dry spells, injuries, call-ups and star-crossed games when the ball never drops right.

Considering the talent on the back line, it is disappointing that there have been a few momentary yet fatal lapses, when opponents have been allowed in too close and have cashed most of those checks.

Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris has also been inconsistent. She’s played some impressive games and made brilliant saves at times, but against New Jersey last week she let one of two shots through. And against Boston on Wednesday, she let one in that she could have stopped.

Harris has led the league most of the season in goals allowed, but I put her in the same category as Karina LeBlanc of Marta’s original WPS club, the now defunct LA Sol. In 2009, LeBlanc led the league in goals allowed, but her offense led the league in goals scored. Under different circumstances, LeBlanc was unable to maintain those statistics, and in fact is no longer in the league.

I think Marta, Sinclair, Morgan and company are making Harris look better than she is. Her bursts of brilliance are a hint to her potential, but her lapses betray her flaws.

Harris becomes an especially glaring flaw in the Flash’s defense when one considers the fact that U.S. national team keeper Hope Solo was still available when Harris was signed. Solo remained available until very late in the off-season.

It appears that club owner Joe Sahlen, who was in hot pursuit of Marta, was convinced that if he had Marta he could live without Hope. I hope this will not prove to be the Flash’s undoing.

The Flash have three games remaining, while Philadelphia has two. Because Philly has the advantage in head to head competition, WNY cannot afford a tie for first place. They have to finish in first place outright or Philly will clinch the regular season title. With a game in hand, the Flash are still in control of their own destiny. If they run the table from here on, they take the regular season crown.

In WPS, winning the regular season means a bye throughout the playoffs until the championship match, and playing the championship match at home. Nothing would be better for the league than a final match between WNY and magicJack, bringing hometown hero Abby Wambach to fill the stands yet again. There’s little doubt that the Flash’s current league record attendance of 15,404 would be broken should that match-up occur.   

Around the League: Go Back (magic)Jack! Do it Again! And Again; Will WPS Be There Next Season?

To add even more intrigue to that potential magicJack versus Flash championship match, is the fact that WPS plans to take the magicJack franchise back from renegade owner Dan Borislow at the end of the season. Borislow, the owner of the phone company for which the franchise was renamed (formerly the Washington Freedom, his team now plays in Boca Raton), is suing WPS in Florida court  to prevent the seizure.

WPS contends that Borislow has not complied with league regulations and has “abused his players,” and that the mechanism for revoking his franchise is in his ownership contract. They also contend that Florida has no jurisdiction in the matter, since WPS is headquartered in San Francisco.  

It will be interesting to see how this soap opera plays out. It is unfortunate, given the league’s surging post-World Cup attendance and an accompanying surge in fan interest, that league stability is again called into question.

After losing three original franchises in little more than a year (Los Angeles, St. Louis and Chicago), the arrival of Joe Sahlen and his Flash franchise saved the 2011 season. Since the league has indicated in the past that at least six clubs are needed to have a credible season, there is great concern for the future of the league if Borislow’s legal challenges fail and another owner for the magicJack/Freedom franchise is not found.

This is even more ironic since so many of the U.S. national team stars wear the magicJack colors, including Solo, Wambach, Megan Rapinoe and several others.

On the positive side, should the league find a way to continue without magicJack, the demise of the franchise would open the door for Wambach, a Rochester, NY native, to come home to live and play. Such a move would likely ensure that Western New York would not only play at a level above the rest, but would play in front of a crowd at one or two levels above the rest.

Regardless of magicJack’s future, Joe Sahlen and the league will find a way to get Abby back home one way or another.

It is hoped that some person or group will be able to buy the franchise and return it to Washington where a faithful fan base remains, pining for their lost Freedom. In fact, there was a Washington Freedom club team in the previous major women’s league, the WUSA. The Washington franchise continued to play as the Freedom after the demise of the WUSA and before the creation of WPS, with much of the WUSA roster intact, in the W-League. The Freedom then joined WPS. The league should do everything it can to return them to their proper home.

Another worthy alternative would be to resurrect the Chicago Red Stars with the current magicJack roster. When the Red Stars suspended operations for the 2011 season, they made it clear they were not shutting down for good..

In the meantime, they put a roster together and competed in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, losing in the finals. When we asked Red Stars officials if this should be seen as an indication of their plans to return to WPS, they did not comment directly but indicated that the option was still in play. Let’s hope Chicago comes back, whether they take over the magicJack franchise or not. They have a class organization and a strong, though smaller than hoped-for, fan base.

If nothing else, we can be guaranteed more drama once the season is over, as Red Stars decide their WPS fate and the not-so-magicJack issue is resolved.

John Wingspread Howell is a novelist, writer (about sports and life) and entrepreneur originally from, and now back home again in Buffalo, New York.  http://johnwingspreadhowell.com

The Women's World Cup momentum swept through Western New York just three days following the emotionally draining, ultimately disappointing US defeat in the finals to Cinderella Japan.

With the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) match between the home team, Western New York Flash, and magicJack SC, half of the league’s 35 World Cup representatives, including six from the U.S., were represented in one arena. And the crowds came out to pay homage.

In a ceremony just prior to the game, Rochester native Abby Wambach—America’s newest national symbol—received the keys to the city of Rochester from the Mayor. At halftime the Monroe County Executive added to the praise, with a proclamation of Abby Wambach Day.

While Wambach didn’t play, she did address the crowd at halftime with an emotional, triumphant speech and promised a gold medal for the U.S. in next year’s London Olympics.

Although World Cup fever was largely responsible for the record crowd of 15,400, it was still an unprecedented crowd for women's club soccer. Extra bleachers were brought into the open end of the park, and standing room tickets were also sold. It was not only the largest crowd in the history of WPS, but was a record for the venue as well, bulging with 1,400 more than the listed capacity.

It was obvious the crowd came to honor the local hero, to celebrate with Wambach’s magicJack cohorts from Team USA such as Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Shannon Boxx, and to cheer for the Flash’s own US hero, Alex Morgan. 

They also sought to honor the Flash’s international stars: Marta, Canadian captain Christine Sinclair and Swedish star, Caroline Seger. But it can also be hoped that the proceedings signified the beginning of a new love affair with women’s soccer, and with a local team that has played in relative obscurity, despite the fact that they could very well be the world’s best women’s club side. 

But for those who did come to bask in the World Cup afterglow, there was much to enjoy, despite the absence of Solo, Sauerbrunn and the Flash’s Maurine, who had not yet rejoined their respective teams.

Christine Sinclair scored the first two Flash goals, and since returning from World Cup play has scored three of the last four.  

A probable future US national teamer, magicJack’s Ella Masar evened the score in the 41st minute, but that would be all for the visiting team. Later in the second half, McCall Zerboni tallied her fourth of the season on a header from the right side, making it 3-1, which would hold up as the final count.

Following on the heels of an ugly 2-0 victory in New Jersey versus Sky Blue FC the previous Sunday, the Flash seems to have found its groove again. This after a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) leading up to and through the World Cup break.

The Flash, still missing team captain and Caroline Seger, who arrived directly from the airport after the pregame festivities but did not dress, dominated the game with the exception of a rather typical momentary lapse on defense, when Masar was able to get past the WNY back line and steal a goal.

Despite not having an opportunity for the re-constituted team to get in sync, the Flash’s World Cup players blended in well enough, providing the spark that had been missing during their absence.

It was as if the internationals made the rest of the club better simply due to their presence. Since their teammates’ return, players such as Beverly Goebel and Zerboni lifted their play to a level not seen when the “stars” were away. It was a good omen for a team that had fallen quickly from complete league domination to a distant second place in the absence of their World Cup colleagues.    

The fans' impressive turnout was a good omen for the team and for the league. The night's attendance broke the previous league attendance record, a stated 14,600 in Los Angeles at the league’s inaugural match, in 2009. Unlike tonight’s number, however, that Los Angeles number was thought to be inflated by counting luxury box-holders who were required to buy the game in a package, but did not necessarily attend. 

There was no chance that this number was inflated though. If anything, it was understated. It would have been difficult to pack another person into the park.

And so Joe Sahlen, the meat mogul who came to WPS out of nowhere and asked to move his W-League franchise into the big league, continues his role as savior of the league. His club, in the league’s smallest market has had two of the three largest gates in league history, and the two best gates since Week 1 three years ago.

The only question is, will at least some of these people keep coming back when Wambach is not in town, and now that they’ve had their local version of the World Cup closing ceremony?

I think some of them will. If Twitter is any indication, people I have known to be uninterested in soccer and women’s sports in general became passionate fans during the World Cup. And it was interesting, as many Western New Yorkers tweeted the praises of Alex Morgan as she scored twice in the last two World Cup games, but had to be told that she also plays for the home team. I think some of those people were in the crowd tonight, and I think some of them will keep coming. Not 15,000, most likely, but even 5,000 would lead the league at this point, and that is not so unlikely.

Why shouldn’t they? Why shouldn’t anyone who likes sports and is loyal to their home teams make the hour-long drive to Rochester to see a team of superstars, who live and train in the Buffalo southtowns, and who are still the odds-on favorite to win the championship of the world’s best women’s league?

Sure, it would be nice to have Abby Wambach on the home side—and I hope Joe Sahlen is working every angle to negotiate a trade—but in the meantime, we have Marta, the world’s best female player five years running (who in the words of play-by-play announcer Nick Mendola, during the game's broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel, said is not even the best player on this team).

Why shouldn’t Western New Yorkers keep coming when they have a team so good that Kim Bandau of Portugal, Maurine of Brazil and even Alex Morgan aren’t good enough to make the starting 11?

And as for the team’s prospects on the pitch, the only real obstacle now is Philadelphia, who has beaten the Flash in two of three meetings this year. But the two victories came when the internationals were called up.

So if the Flash can fight their way back to the top of the standings by the end of the regular schedule, they will be guaranteed a BYE until the championship game, which they will host, and hopefully, will break another attendance record.

A final note: In the ironic facts department, after recent trades and acquisitions, there are now eight former Chicago Red Stars on the magicJack roster. Six of them start, and second-string keeper Jillian Lloyden, who was Chicago’s number one last season, started this match.

After magicJack subbed in Lydia Vandenberg, all eight former Red Stars were on the field at once, joining WNY’s defender Whitney Engen, making a total of nine former Red Stars on the same field simultaneously.

Since former Red Stars have cost the Flash a tie and a loss in the last minute or two of games in their three-game winless streak, it could have been a bad omen. Though Ella Masar is one of the former Chicagoans, her goal was not enough to spoil the Flash’s re-set.

John Wingspread Howell is a novelist, writer (about sports and life) and entrepreneur originally from, and now back home again in Buffalo, New York.  http://johnwingspreadhowell.com

Because the WNY Flash has a month off for the World Cup break after losing their first match this season, I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the significance of that loss.

The loss occurred at home, 1-0 against Philadelphia, with the only goal being scored near the end of the game. The goal was scored by Danesha Adams, who has not had much playing time in Philly, or on her previous WPS clubs.

She had just returned from a loan-out to the W League to sharpen her game. She was wide open close to the right side of the goal (keeper’s left).

Adams was close enough to absolve Flash keeper Ashlyn Harris of responsibility. Responsibility goes to a defense that let Adams get that close.

Harris has let a few go through that shouldn’t have, especially early in the season, but she’s grown into her starting role...and when her club has lapsed on defense, Harris has saved their necks more than once.

She remains the league’s leading goaltender with a 1.14 goals against average.

The loss was the continuation, even acceleration, of a slide that began with a tie the previous week against New Jersey, when the Flash blew a 2-0 halftime lead, including allowing a goal in the 89th minute by Sky Blue’s Casey Nogueira.

I don’t know if it means anything, but I tend to be a sucker for weird trends and omens. Nogueira and Adams are both former Chicago Red Stars. Before there was a WNY Flash, I was still living in Chicago, and covered the Red Stars.

The Red Stars were well-known for not translating their talent on paper to talent on the pitch. They were also known for difficulty scoring and finding ways to lose on momentary defensive lapses.

Suddenly, in the last two matches, the Flash is looking a lot like the now-defunct Red Stars and being beaten by former Red Stars.

I used the luxury of time to reflect on whether the Flash is falling apart or there are other legitimate reasons why they faltered with equally legitimate reasons why they should be expected to return to top form after the break, and win the championship they deserve.

Yes, they do deserve the championship. They are the best club by a factor of three on paper, and with the exception of an awkward second match this season when Marta was plugged into the lineup without the luxury of training with the team, had not been seriously challenged until the Sky Blue draw. But will they live up to their potential, or is this slide an omen?

I still can’t decide. The glass half-empty analysis is that opponents have figured out how to isolate Marta and frustrate the Flash offense that depends on Marta making plays if not making goals.

On the other side of the ball, the Flash have an above-average defense on paper but they have had a few inexplicable lapses this season. When the offense is on its game, there is little action in the defensive half of the pitch, so it is understandable though inexcusable that the defense would be caught napping on occasion.

The Flash have often been able to score at will, so again, the defense hasn’t had to save a game until the last two matches, when they have been unable to do so.

It had been encouraging that the Flash beat Sky Blue soundly, earlier in May, when all eight of their internationals were away for World Cup warm-ups. McCall Zerboni emerged as a star in that match, scoring two, and earning recognition as the WPS player of the month.

As much as that match had been encouraging, however, the club’s inability to generate many chances, say nothing of goals, against Philadelphia, when some of the stars but not Marta, were in Germany for the Cup, is a real cause for concern.

WNY’s nine-point lead in the WPS table has shrunk to five points. Philadelphia is now in second, with magicJack a point behind in third. A five point lead can be erased in two weeks. The Flash are vulnerable, mathematically at least.

But if the glass is half full, we can write off the Flash’s slide with several excuses. First, they were so far ahead on the table that you can’t blame them for letting down a little. Second, they were looking ahead to the World Cup (against New Jersey) and were depending on Marta too much (against Philadelphia) rather than letting the second tier stars like Zerboni take over.

Further, the value of Canadian star Christine Sinclair and Swedish captain, Christine Seger may be eclipsed by Marta but in reality, those two may have more to do with the team’s success than the Brazilian superstar.

If the glass half-empty view is correct, the Flash will return from the World Cup focused and re-dedicated to a championship run. If this view is correct, the Flash will not lose and may not even be challenged again this season.

I certainly prefer the half-full view, but I can’t get the half-empty view out of my head. I just don’t know.

The first match with the whole team back will tell the tale. I suggest Flash fans make their plans for the championship game based on the outcome of that contest, July 20, when local hero Abby Wambach returns again with magicJack SC. And one more thing about magicJack: Two more former Red Stars. Ella Masar and Marian Dalmy are both scoring threats. It should be interesting.

When Sky Blue's Allie Long connected on the penalty kick to pull her club within a goal of WPS leading WNY Flash last Friday night, those fans who shrugged it off would learn soon enough how dangerous such complacence could be.

Perhaps it was because the Flash shrugged it off, continued to play uninspired as if the match was already in the bag, as if it would take a penalty kick in order for this team or any to score on them, that Sky Blue's Casey Nogueira was able to get close enough to have a virtual penalty shot against Flash keeper Ashlyn Harris in the 88th minute to tie up the match.

That certainly woke up the home team, inducing a new sense of intensity, urgency, even desperation for the remainder of the match. But it was too late. Not only had Nogueira's goal awakened her competition, it seemed to thrust her team mates into a higher level of play that countered the notch up of activity on the part of Western New York. 

So while the Flash remains far and away atop Women's Professional Soccer and still undefeated with a record of 6-0-2 and 20 points, a crack has been exposed in the veneer of the putative "World's best women's team."

The Flash, who have made it a habit of scoring early, went scoreless for the better part of the first half until Christine Sinclair was finally able to break the deadlock with her league leading fifth goal.

Just a few minutes later, in the 40th minute, Sinclair appeared to be set to score on a breakaway, but instead backed off in the box and fed Caroline Seger for her fourth of the season and just like that, in classic Flash style, the home team was up 2-0 and looking poised to cruise on to their seventh victory in eight contests. 

But then came the second half. The Flash was unable to finish or even get shots off, due to more effective back line pressure from Sky Blue. Marta was constantly being frustrated, looking quite mortal, for a change, although it did seem that the officials were allowing New Jersey to foul Marta at will without consequence.

As the half progressed the discerning Flash fan began to feel increasingly unsettled. The Flash seemed to be playing without focus and Sky Blue began creating opportunities for themselves.

Then, Becky Edwards made the blatant hand-ball in the penalty box and Allie Long converted it. And then, in the waning minutes of the contest, Nogueira waltzed through the Flash defense and nailed Harris for the tying score. 

The previous week the Flash also had a scoreless second half. We were willing to chalk it up to heat and humidity. They had a two goal lead going into the half and were able to protect it.

But then against New Jersey, at home, in pleasant spring evening weather, in front of the season's second best crowd at Sahlen's Stadium, they played the second half as if they were on the road in high heat, and it ended up costing them in the end. 

Does this signal a trend. Were the players distracted by thoughts of the upcoming World Cup, when eight of the Flash will be playing for their respective national teams? Or is this complacency setting in?

When New Jersey tied the match I told my colleagues in the press box that this would be the test. We'd find out if the Flash truly are the world's best club. Could they score at will when necessary? As it turned out, they couldn't. At least not that night.

Should they be worried? That is a question whose answer remains to be settled. We'll know a lot more when we see how the Flash plays two matches without their internationals. Will they do as well as they did against Boston without their stars?

If so, they could be un-catchable by the time the World Cup is over. If not, they could be in the middle of a horse race by the time the stars return. That would certainly create an interesting test. And even if they can't be caught from behind in the standings, can they sustain or reclaim their domination in the playoffs?

Were it not for their second half collapse on Friday night, we wouldn't be asking these questions. Because of it, we can't ignore them.

Philadelphia's Megan Rapinoe drew first blood early in the match, at home in a hot, humid Quick Stadium.

Coming into today's first confrontation with league leading Western New York Flash, the Independence was riding a three-game win streak and appeared to be the only club left in Women's Professional Soccer that might have a realistic chance of beating Marta and company.

Rapinoe scored on a long, high shot from right to left, catching Flash keeper Ashlyn Harris dozing while the ball sailed hard into the upper left netting. With that goal, it looked as if the Flash may have indeed met their match.

It didn't take long, though, for Western New York to even the match with a typical front third assault, capped off by a beautiful header from Becky Edwards into the right corner. Edwards had scored a similar strike against Magic Jack at home last week on her birthday.

It was another short interval before Philly defender Nikki Kryssyk was carded for taking down McCall Zerboni in the penalty box. Marta made easy work of the free kick for the lead, and with little more than 20 minutes gone, that was the end of all scoring.

The heat and humidity seemed to take its toll on both clubs down the stretch but the most impressive observation was Philly's ability to take the Flash off their game. The last 70 minutes of the match was the most balanced contest in which the Flash has played this season.

Given the fact that these two teams will meet again twice in their next three outings, Western New York may have reason for anxiety. That is especially true when one factors in the eight internationals who will be unavailable to play for the Flash next time, due to World Cup action. Philly will be missing only four.

Other notes of interest: McCall Zerboni's Player of the Week performance two weeks ago, when her team was missing their eight internationals for pre-World Cup activity, and her impressive performance on defense last week against magicJack has earned her a spot in the starting 11.

Zerboni replaced rookie Alex Morgan today and put in another admirable performance. Morgan subbed in early in the second half, but was relatively quiet.

Megan Rapinoe, who has been a prolific scorer on the US Women's National Team had difficulty finishing in club play during her two years as a Chicago Red Star, but has obviously found her groove now that she's relocated. 

Swedish international, Caroline Seger faced her former team mates for the first time this season, and was managed quite well by the Philadelphia back side. Familiarity breeds defense.

The Flash return home to Sahlen's Stadium for their second meeting with New Jersey's Sky Blue FC, Friday June 3rd at 7:30PM EDT.

The stars were back in action in Women's Professional Soccer this weekend after being gone on international duty last weekend, setting the stage for a titanic matchup and a warm homecoming for mJ's Abby Wambach  in Western New York.

As Florida's magicJack took the pitch against the home side, Western New York Flash, the league's two remaining undefeated clubs faced off before an all-time league record attendance for a single game.

After averaging well below 2,000 for their first three home matches, the return of Rochester native Abby Wambach with the visiting team brought crowds in droves. Wambach has her own fan base in the area and drew rousing applause at introduction, as well as some intermittent chanting of her name throughout the match, but it was also obvious that the large crowd was there for their own team as well.

The Flash broke their own record for scoring early, with Becky Edwards netting a beautiful goal on a second rebound after Marta and Christine Sinclair both had shots rejected. When mJ keeper Hope Solo batted away the second shot, by Sinclair, it put her out of position to complete the trifecta when Edwards toe-popped the ball into the left corner.

Christine Seger scored the club's second goal 40 minutes later after successfully convincing Solo to reach right, then sending a ground shot to the keeper's far right (the left corner of the goal).

Florida's Ella Masar was able to break through the WNY defense for a few decent shots, but Flash keeper Ashlyn Harris played a career best, keeping a clean sheet for the second time this season. Although it was her second shutout, it was the first time Harris had been seriously challenged.

The Flash tallied their third score late in the contest when Marta was taken down in the penalty box. The Brazilian international left the field with a bad limp but returned moments later appearing unfazed. In the meantime, Swedish international Seger got her second goal of the game by taking the PK.

MagicJack played a typically physical, some might say dirty, game for which they were well know in previous seasons as the Washington Freedom. The officials were mostly oblivious to routine muggings that occurred as Marta advanced, and while there were at least a handful of egregious offsides violatioins by magicJack that were not called, several offsides were called against WNY that were clearly erroneous.

Despite the officiating, the WNY Flash removed any lingering doubt about their status atop WPS and as the world's best women's soccer club.

After watching this team play with and without their headliners (e.g. last week getting big performances from role players, such as Player of the Week McCall Zerboni) it is hard to imagine a scenario by which this team ever loses, except perhaps overconfidence down the stretch.

If coach Aran Lines can keep his players focused until the end, they will be completely untouchable. And if he is able to achieve that, the world will know that while he may be the owner's son in law and the team president's spouse, he can carry his own water with this team and deserves to be listed among the world's best.