San Diego Flash in playoffs
The San Diego Flash came into the 2011 National Premier Soccer League season not knowing what to expect. It was entering its first year in the amateur league after almost ten years without playing in official competition.
Turns out the expansion team had more to offer.
The Flash will play in its first NPSL playoff match this Saturday against the defending champion Sacramento Gold at Westview High. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
The Flash placed first in the Southwest Division and a No. 1 seed after finishing with a 10-3-1 regular season record. Of the three losses, two came by way of forfeit after the league declared the team had used an ineligible player. An April 9 match against Hollywood United and an April 23 game against Bay Area Ambassadors are reportedly the forfeited games. The other loss is a 3-2 outing against cross-town rival San Diego Boca FC on June 11.
Despite the forfeits, the Flash's public relations office continues to distribute news releases that include a team regular season record of 12-1-1. The club even claimed it was undefeated through nine games until losing to Boca FC.
Despite the off-field drama, the Flash reached the post season with former U.S. national team standout Eric Wynalda as a team official and Warren Barton as head coach.
Sacramento (7-3-4) qualified to the post season as the second place team in the Northwestern Division.
The Flash-Sacramento match is the first semifinal of the league championship tournament. Hollywood United and Santa Ana FC play in the other semifinal Saturday at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles.
The winners will face each other July 16 and play for a slot in the league's Final Four in Alabama on July 29-31
