#westernnewyorkflash

[stillsearchingforserenity]

What a good game today! Got to wear this old school @ashlynharris24 jersey for the #shebelievescup #uswnt #westernnewyorkflash #nwsl (at Red Bull Arena)

[whenitreigns-blog]

Reign survive another Flash scare

The Western New York dropped 3 points in a 2-1 decision on Sunday, falling to league-leading and undefeated Seattle Reign FC in front of 3,444 fans at Sahlen’s Stadium. The Flash held a 1-0 lead late, but goals from Kate Deines and Sydney Leroux handed the Flash just its second loss at home.

What is significant about this...is that on both the occasions the Reign have looked like losing, the opponents have happened to be the Flash.

The Flash have looked good on both these occasions. However on Sunday it did not help that the Reign looked a bit ragged. They struggled to clear their lines...mid field play was scrappy and they had far too many turns overs. The first half saw absolutely no width and a rocky cramped affair that was hard fought primarily in the midfield but more in the Reign half. And coming in for the second half ..the Reign paid for it as the Flash opened the scoring in the 63rd minute, scoring off a corner for the second-straight game as Australian forward and genuinely great kangaroo impersonator — Samantha Kerr again showed her leaping skills leaving Bev Goebel for dead as she rose to head home a Vicky Losada corner kick. This was her fifth goal of the season and more importantly her fourth goal in three games, while Losada moves atop the NWSL with five assists.

For the second time the Flash had the unbeaten Reign beaten. However, in a case of Sunday afternoon déjà vu, the Reign leveled the game in the 83rd minute off a free kick from Kim Little. Little sent the ball in the Flash penalty area and the ball went into a crowd of players, and from there into the back of the Flash goal.

Just five minutes later, Leroux netted the game-winning goal, beating Flash goalkeeper Lydia Williams on a break. In this incredible play, the U.S. forward was set up beautifully on a chip from Jessica Fishlock who beat three Flash players. Leroux kept herself onside and in a crazy cheeky mood dinked the ball over the onrushing Williams to herself, and tapped the ball into an empty net to score the Reign’s second goal.

That flattened the Flash who did try to generate an opportunity or two in the dying moments but could not find a goal. One of these was a ball that was played on the foot of defender Brittany Taylor who got free on the right side, but her effort went wide to right of the goal...and a second chance when substitute Sonia Bermudez sent a low cross through the defense, but the ball was just out of reach of a sliding Carli Lloyd.

Early in the game, the Flash used a series of successful passes to advance up the field in the seventh minute, leading to the first shot of the game from Vicky Losada, but her attempt sailed high of the bar.

Lloyd, who returned to the Flash after two games with the U.S. National Team, was able to fight off Keelin Winters 24 minutes in after a free kick by Brittany Taylor into the box. Lloyd struck the ball with her left foot, but the shot went right to the hands of goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer.

After a yellow card to Angela Salem in the 77th minute, Kim Little sent a set piece into the box that looked dangerous, but Flash goalkeeper Lydia Williams leaped high to deny the Reign any chance. While not looking as bad as the Chicago Red Stars match, the Flash still managed to finish the match with 14 fouls (to Seattle's 4) and picked up 4 yellow cards (to Seattle's 0). Reign FC remains atop the league standings with 35 points, eight points ahead of second-place FC Kansas City and 15 points ahead of the Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns FC, who are in a two-way tie for third place.

With the team’s two-game road trip now complete, Reign FC will return home to play Sky Blue FC on Saturday, June 28 at the Moda Pitch at Memorial Stadium. The match kicks off at 6 p.m. (PT) with a live, high-definition webstream available at YouTube.com/NWSL.

Visit ReignFC.com or (855) REIGN-FC for details on single match tickets.

  GOALS

1 – 62’ WNY Flash – Sam Kerr

1 – 83’ Seattle Reign FC – Kate Deines

2 – 88’ Seattle Reign FC – Sydney Leroux

STARTING LINEUPS

WNY Flash: Williams; Reynolds, Taylor, Williamson, Edmonds; Losada, Salem, Zerboni, Lloyd (c); Kerr, Martin

Seattle Reign FC: Kopmeyer; Cox, Barnes, Deines, Fletcher; Fishlock, Little, Kawasumi, Winters (c); Leroux, Goebel

[whenitreigns-blog]

Late Little Equaliser Pegs the Flash Back!

Memorial weekend saw the Reign host the Western New York Flash — a clash that for the first time this season pitted two teams with contrasting fortunes from last year. A match up between two contrasting styles..the bull ox powered physicality of a side led by Wambach and Lloyd versus the grounded, neat passing style favoured by the side that runs through Fishlock and Kim Little.

The Flash were looking to break a two-game losing streak while the Reign were looking to make a better impact. Their last outing against the Blues of FCKC was still rankling. Laura Harvey changed up the side then and the balance seemed off.

This time the team stuck with Lou Barnes and Fletcher at the back...as well as being boosted by the intelligent and experienced Steph Cox slotting it at left back. Dallstream again made it to the starting eleven but there seemed more solidity already.

That however soon vanished as the Flash looked sharp while the Reign kept getting battered. The leitmotif of the first half being Winters finding herself on the turf. That saw the back two play the ball regularly and mostly under pressure from the Flash. A similar situation saw the usually composed Fletcher attempt a one time clearance that she miscued straight to the dangerous Wambach, who gleefully slotted it past Hope.

Without the mobility and awareness of Pinoe and Kawasumi on the flanks...the Reign always seem to struggle against opposing teams with strong mid-fields. This game saw the first half compressed and both Little and Fishlock barely had a dekko. The result was that the Reign just had one shot on goal in the first half.

But what a shot that was...after over cooking a cross...Cox immediately had another opportunity..something she created out of nothing..sending an early ball beautifully around and behind the defense. The Welsh Dragon had made an astounding run in way past everyone and was on hand to attempt a shot Bruce Lee would have been proud off!

And so it meant that at the end of the first half the Reign found parity. Harvey must have stuck into them at half time as they seemed to be a different team. The passing game was back...with more clarity and neatness...and the Flash sensed it. They hunkered down and tried to get behind the ball but the Reign now had the cutting edge.

A flurry of shots on goal (including a wide open header that Dallstream muffed up) brought no result though and against the run of play the Flash went ahead again. A corner kick saw Wambach at her best...rising above everyone to head the ball to Llyod who in turn headed it in.

That moment stirred up the game and till the end it was an amazing battle fought primarily in the Flash half with a couple of raids into the Reigns territory. Back and forth it went. The crowd was on edge sensing something was about to happen..

...it did!

Deep in stoppage time..Fishlock at her acrobatic best beat her defender to the ball and somehow found Goebel open on the flank...Goebel steadied herself something that drew all defenders into the box. Instead of crossing in high into the danger zone, Goebel drove a ball low to the top of the box where Little came in...steadied the ball..took it past a couple of defenders who rushed out and then smashed it low past a crowd of bodies into the corner. The Reign had done it again.

9 games unbeaten! From a team that was hammered into submission last year, Laura Harvey has turned this around and how!? Its a great feeling for fans who stood by the team last year and one can only hope that we start winning again once Kawasumi is back along with the injured Pinoe and Frisbie.

#LetitReign