The
Western New York Flash of the United Women’s Soccer League, has announced this
summer’s games will be played at D’Youville College’s Dobson Field.
The 23-member team hopes to add eight
to 10 players for the season, which gets underway at the field, Fourth Street
near Porter Avenue, on June 2 against the Long Island Rough Riders.
The Flash have been around since 2008, playing in five
different amateur leagues, with the latest being the United Women’s Soccer
league last summer. It acts as a top-amateur league for college-age women
soccer players in the area.
Matthew Waddington, who has been a soccer
coach, trainer and player in the area, was hired as the Flash’s head coach back
in February.
“I couldn’t be more excited to play
in the city’s west side,” Waddington said. “Soccer as a whole in Buffalo has
been growing so much over the last 10 years, as well as the rebirth of the
city. They’re almost on the same growth trajectory and it’s exciting.”
Even so, Waddington said there have been
limitations with the game on the West Side.
“I’ve trained numerous kids from the
West Side area, but there are no teams or clubs there. It’s high cost to play.
If they can get a club team in that area, then I think there’s room to grow even
more,” he said. By Chris Baggs and
Neseemah Coleman
