The WNY Flash tied their record for number of goals in a game by finding the back of the net an incredible five times in their 5-2 win over Sky Blue. The last time the Flash scored five goals in one game was way back in 2014 against Portland.
The Flash were without head coach Paul Riley as the league announced shortly before the game that Riley had been suspended one game and fined for his actions toward match officials after last week’s tough loss in Orlando. Assistant coach/GK coach Scott Vallow filled in for the night and enjoyed an excellent game for his first time at the helm.
Prior to the game against Sky Blue, the Flash had arguably their best showing against the Pride last week but were unable to capitalize on their numerous scoring chances to take points out of Orlando. That was certainly not the case this week.
From the first whistle, the Flash looked much more patient and control than in previous weeks. They were possession oriented, moved the ball well and seemed focused on the quality of opportunities taken, rather than quantity. This, coupled with defensive struggles from Sky Blue created dangerous offensive opportunities that the Flash took full advantage of, really for the first time this season.
The Flash’s first goal came early in the 6th minute after earning one of their many corners in the match. Jaelene Hinkle placed the ball right to Jessica McDonald, who headed it down and past Caroline Stanley, giving the Flash an early 1-0 lead. McDonald’s goal marked the first time this season that a goal was scored by an actual forward.
The goals kept coming for the Flash as they scored three more in the first half alone. Sam Mewis doubled the lead in the 19th minute after the Sky Blue defense was unable to effectively clear another Hinkle set piece. Lynn Williams got in on the action a few minutes later as Makenzy Doniak sent in a great cross that bounced in front of Williams and was easily driven past Stanley.
McDonald scored her second of the match shortly before halftime. Williams earned another corner which was taken by Abby Dahlkemper and found the head of one of her teammates, but the shot was cleared in from of the box by Kelley O’Hara and bounced out to Alanna Kennedy. Kennedy’s shot hit the post, but Stanley had made a play for it and when it landed in front of the open goal, McDonald smashed it in to give the Flash a 4-0 lead at the half.
The Flash completely dominated the first half of the match. Doniak, who has been fairly quiet most of the season, was a menace on the right flank, while Lynn Williams seemed to run circles around the Sky Blue defense on the opposite side. McDonald and Mewis also put in excellent performances offensively. Hinkle was solid on both sides of the ball and where she had been silenced by O’Hara in their previous match up, turned the tables this time around and seemed to have her number the entire half.
The match changed in the second half, though as the Flash lost some of the momentum they had and Sky Blue addressed some of the more glaring issues from the first half. O’Hara switched to the left side and challenged the Flash defense much more and went on to put Sky Blue on the board in the 54th minute. O’Hara was left open on the left flank and received the ball just outside the box. After receiving the ball she cut inside and sent an absolute rocket that flew past D’Angelo and into the net.
Both teams scored another goal apiece by the end of the match, with Michaela Hahn scoring her first professional goal on a questionable offside non-call. Sky Blue earned a penalty late in the game after O’Hara was taken down in the box by Taylor Smith. Sarah Killion converted from the spot to end the game with a 5-2 Flash win.
The performance, and result was much needed for the Flash who have struggled immensely with finishing and scoring goals from their front line. The work the team has done in this area paid off as three of the five goals came from forwards, and the Flash had very few, if any, wasted opportunities during the match. After the game, Vallow discussed the team’s preparation in that area:
“We trained very hard all week in training. We spent a lot of time on finishing this week, extra time outside of training on finishing, obviously there’s a cause and effect there. You spend extra time on something, you get a little better on it and the score reflects it. Now maybe we need to work a little more on defending, but when you score five goals a game, you’re going to be tough to beat.”
For Sky Blue, even with the two second half goals, it was a rough outing for them. They struggled defensively the whole first half and, though their performance improved in the second, was not enough to overcome the large deficit from early in the match. Coach Christy Holly addressed the team’s performance after the match:
“We didn’t do well in 1v1 battles which led to set pieces and we failed on set pieces. I think three of the first four goals came from a set piece and one came from a 1v1 battle which we lost. You can’t do that at this level. You expose yourself 1v1, and we did and got punished.”
Sky Blue also had some bad luck with personnel which caused him to have to make some early subs. Maya Hayes took a hard knock and had to come out early in the first half, while Natasha Kai suffered a finger injury during the week which limited her to only the first half.
With the win, the Flash jump up to 5th place in the standings, while Sky Blue sits in 8th.
The Flash host the Boston Breakers Friday May 27, 2016 at 7pm ET while Sky Blue head to Chicago to face the Red Stars on Sunday May 29, 2016 at 7pm ET.
For photos from the match, click HERE
