The Western New York Flash gave up a 3-1 lead and were forced to settle for just one point as they played Sky Blue FC to a 3-3 draw in their first home game after the conclusion of the World Cup.
The game marked the return of World Cup Champions on both sides as Christie Rampone and Kelley O’Hara returned to Sky Blue and Whitney Engen returned to the Flash. All three players were in the starting lineup for their respective clubs. It was announced earlier in the week that Sydney Leroux would surgery on her ankle, therefore ending her season with the Flash.
The return of Engen marked some lineup changes for the Flash as Abby Dahlkemper moved out to the RB position leaving Engen and Brittany Taylor as the center pair. Another change to the lineup was the addition of Michelle Heyman who made her NWSL debut, starting up top along side Lynn Williams and Jasmyne Spencer.
The incredibly speedy trio of Heyman, Spencer and Williams caused problems for Sky Blue early on and earned the team a corner kick in only the second minute of play. The ball was initially headed away but not cleared and fell to the feet of Samantha Mewis who tried to put it in. There was a bit of a scramble and loose ball in the box and Spencer was able to tap it in to give the Flash the early 1-0 lead.
Heyman almost doubled the lead shortly after as she flicked a dangerous header toward the goal. Brittany Cameron was able to push it up onto the crossbar and out of harms way, but Heyman’s height and athleticism was on display early in the match.
The Flash would find the back of the net again in the 24th minute as Jaelene Hinkle scored her first professional goal. Hinkle, who has been dangerous on the flanks all season, was given far too much space by Sky Blue’s defense and brought the ball down the middle of the field before firing a shot from the top of the box.
Sky Blue had chances of their own as Nadia Nadim broke through and caused the Flash to scramble back to defend, but was unable to keep her shot on target. Former Flash forward Samantha Kerr had a great run down the right flank and looked to send the ball across to O’Hara, but Chantel Jones grabbed it before it could reach its target.
Nadim cut the lead in half in the 39th minute off of a perfect cross from O’Hara. Sky Blue did a great job moving the ball around at the top of the box before getting it to O’Hara and the Flash defense was caught ball watching, allowing Nadim to get behind the back line completely undetected and easily put it past Jones to make it 2-1.
The Flash forwards started the second half much like the first, immediately pressuring the Sky Blue defense. After having an early shot saved, Heyman net her first NWSL goal in the 50th minute. After a shot by Williams was blocked, the ball found the feet of Mewis who sent it flying towards the goal. The ball bounced off the post, but Heyman was there to put in the rebound, giving the Flash a two goal lead once again.
It all sort of went downhill for the Flash from that point forward as they gave up two goals in a six minute time span, the first which was credited as an own goal in the 60th minute. Another defensive lapse by the Flash allowed O’Hara far too much space on the ball and she was able to get it over to Katy Freels who was completely unmarked and got the shot off. The goal initially looked to belong to Freels but it seems might have deflected off Taylor who was credited with an own goal.
Six minutes later Sky Blue would score the equalizer off the foot of an unlikely goal scorer in Christie Rampone. Sky Blue was awarded a corner kick that bounced clear through everyone and found Rampone wide open on the back post. Rampone buried it into the top netting and helped secure the point for her team.
The Flash had some opportunities late in the match to regain the lead but the defensive efforts and stellar goalkeeping from Cameron shut down those efforts, leaving both team to take away just the one point.
This is the second game in a row where the Flash has started off strong and have played a solid game only to unravel in the second half and drop points. Both times the defense seemed to be the point of collapse; something that head coach Aaran Lines commented on after the game noting that it was disappointing giving up three goals. “It’s inexcusable to have the disorganization off of set pieces. It’s happened on a couple of occasions this season and theres no excuse for it. It the one area when you can just pick up a player an get organized.”
It’s worth noting that the Flash back line has seen some shakeups in recent weeks, with the injury to Kristen Edmonds forcing Elizabeth Eddy in the RB role for a few games. With the integration of Engen back into the lineup pushing Dahlkemper outside, there has been a bit of lack of stability the last few matches. When asked about the decision to start Engen after only just joining the team again, Lines said he felt comfortable after speaking with her that she was 100% physically and mentally recovered and that having a player of her ability is worth having in the lineup regardless of how many sessions she had with the team. Engen does provide a wealth of experience and solid performances that should only help the back line as they spend more time together in training.
One of the bright points for the Flash this match was the performance of Michelle Heyman in her NWSL debut. Both Lines and Engen praised Heyman for the hard work and effort she put into the match where she perhaps could have more than that one goal had it not been for Cameron’s excellent goalkeeping.
Post game, Heyman talked a bit about what she brings to the Flash, jokingly “a little bit of age” and how she felt in her first NWSL match. “I think I have that ability to try and hold the ball up. I play a different kind of football than just long balls in behind so it was nice to receive the ball to my feet and play my style of game. I felt dangerous on the field, it was nice to get back into it, it’s been awhile since my last game. It was nice to get the flow of it and I enjoyed every minute of it.”
While we’ve already seen the impact Heyman can make for the Flash, the club also just announced the signing of Colombian international Lady Andrade as well. It will be interesting to see how the two integrate/continue to integrate into this Flash team.
The WNY Flash take on the Houston Dash on Saturday July 25 at 7pm in Rochester, NY.
