Western NY Flash Wasting No Time In The Off Season

The Western NY Flash, the newcomer to the WPS, will be playing their first ever season in 2011 after their establishment towards the end of WPS's 2010 year, and they already look promising. The Western NY flash have wasted no time in gathering talented players and constructing what is looking to be a well-rounded, powerful squad. Both the Independence and the Beat, after their establishment, landed some good players, but the Flash are seriously go-getters. So far, they've taken advantage of every opportunity, and have not wasted any time in landing big players to begin constructing a strong and skilled squad for their inaugural 2011 season. So far, the team has done a tremendous job in building a squad, and have done well to take advantage of the abundance of great players in the Free agency market. The folding of FCGP and the suspending of operations for Chicago were not good news by any stretch of the imagination, but it resulted in many talented players becoming Free agents, and the Flash have not slacked one bit in the way of landing them. Let's take a look at who I think are some of the Flash's key players:

Christine Sinclair- She will surely be leading the offense for Western NY. Sinclair led the league last year with 9 assists, and she also tallied 9 goals. She had a quite prolific year, working well in a partnership with Marta. Sinclair is a complete striker, who has a real nose for goal. She plays the role of goal-scorer and play maker as well. Sinclair, one of the original 10 nominees for the 2010 WPOTY, is one of the best strikers in the women's game. I personally think this could be the Flash's biggest acquisition during the off season. With Sinclair alone, the offense is already threatening, now, if you get a good strike partner for her? You will have a lethal offense, as it was proven when her and Marta formed a deadly tandem on FCGP last year.


Ashlyn Harris- A young and talented GK. Harris stepped in midway through the 2010 WPS season to take over for Erin McLeod, who suffered an ACL injury. Harris is very talented for her age, and has the ability to keep any team in the game. She displayed tons of skill and leadership after taking over McLeod, and she did a great job of filling in for her. She proved that she deserved to be starting, so its great that she moved to the flash, where she could start and put her GK abilities to good use. As a new team, the Flash is going to want to have a secure defense, and Harris is definitely the one to get the job done. She's an up-and-coming keeper who already has a ton of talent and will only get better. She is sure to secure the Flash next season between the pipes.


Caroline Seger- A talented midfielder who is a great distributor of the ball. Seger had a great run with the Independence last year, and was instrumental in their rather successful season and play-off run. On Philly, Seger and Lori Lindsey formed a dangerous tandem of center middies, and the combination could cut defenses and offer great opportunities for the offense. Caroline Seger, who was one of the original 10 nominees in the 2010 WPOTY, will surely be the midfield center piece which the Flash will likely build around. Seger is going to be a critical and crucial part of the Flash's midfield.


Ali Riley- Riley, who was the Rookie of the Year for 2010, is a young and skilled player. She proved to be a crucial part of FCGP's solid defense. Riley did an excellent job defending the flanks and overall stopping opposing teams in their tracks. With Harris in goal and with Riley there to bolster the defense, the Flash is already showing signs of being rock-steady in back. Pair her up with other strong defenders, and you've got yourself quite a brick wall.

The Flash have done a great job of signing some strong key players, but they've signed plenty of players who are going to combine with the key players to make a strong squad. Here's some of the recent acquisitions:

McCall Zerboni
Brittany Cameron
Candace Chapman
Yael Averbuch
Whitney Engen
Brittany Bock
Candace Wilson

The Flash show no signs of slowing down, and have already begun constructing quite a talented looking team. It also seems there is a great mix of youth and experience on the squad as well. As for me, I haven't seen them play and
I'm already a fan. The Freedom is and will always be my number one, but I think the Flash will now occupy my second-favorite-team spot, which was once held by FCGP. I'm happy with all of the signings the Flash has made. I'm happy to know that this new team will be a strong one, and will have the ability to be a title contender. They're efforts have made the off season exciting and interesting. I like a lot of the players the Flash has signed, and I'm really excited to see how they combine, and how they play come 2011. I'll report any more information on trades and signings, as I'm sure at this rate, the Flash will definitely keep working hard to form their squad!

See you again soon!

Denise