Alex Sahlen

As the soccer world turns its attention to the sixth-ever FIFA Women's World Cup in June, several names will be recognizable to Western New York soccer fans. Seven members of the WNY Flash will represent their respective countries at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany from June 26-July 17. Former NU women's soccer standouts Alex Sahlen and Ashleigh Bowers have shared the locker room and the field with these players this season as members of the Flash.

The Flash, who are based in Rochester, N.Y., are playing in their first season in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league. The three-year old franchise started play in 2009 in the USL W-League and won the 2010 championship with help from Niagara University women's soccer coach, Peter Veltri, who was as an assistant coach, and Sahlen who played as a defender on the team.

Sahlen, who played at NU from 2000-03 and is currently an assistant coach at NU, is also the team president for the family-run franchise and still plays for the team.

"NU was a great fit for me when I was looking to further my education while continuing to play," Sahlen said about her college experience.  "I definitely grew with the program as I improved immensely and the program blossomed as we had our first ECAC Tournament bid (2002) and made our first MAAC Championship game (2003). I obviously couldn't have made it where I am today without NU and Peter's help throughout those four years."

In January 2011, the Flash added another Purple Eagle when they selected Bowers in the fourth round of the WPS draft. The Liverpool, N.Y. native concluded her career as a Purple Eagle by earning the 2010 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year award and earning 2010 NSCAA All-Northeast Region First Team honors. Her career-low 0.63 goals against average was ranked 19th in the nation and her .888 save percentage was sixth in the country. Bowers helped lead the 2009 squad to the MAAC Tournament Final and was named to the MAAC All-Tournament team.

"Niagara has blessed me with incredible teammates and lifelong friends that have supported me so much, especially these past couple of months," Bowers said.  "I always had goals for myself and the team at Niagara that drove me to be extremely competitive in wanting to achieve those goals, whether it was a MAAC Championship or stopping a shot at practice. I've carried this same attitude with me to the WPS and set high standards for myself each day."

Bowers joined Sahlen on a Flash team laden with international superstars. This spring, the Flash selected American international and rising star Alex Morgan with the first pick of the 2011 WPS draft. The Flash also signed Canadian internationals Christine Sinclair (country's all-time leading scorer) and Candace Chapman, Caroline Seger (Sweden), Ali Riley (New Zealand) and Maurine (Brazil).

The Flash's biggest acquisition was Brazil's Marta, who is known as "Pele in skirts". Marta is a five-time winner of the FIFA Women's Player of the Year (2006-10), named the inaugural winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or (world's best player) award and won the 2007 Women's World Cup Golden Ball (best player) and Golden Boot (top scorer).  
All seven players will be representing their respective countries this summer in Germany.

"We lost seven great players for a couple of weeks and it's difficult because they make up the foundation of our team," Bowers said. "We are very proud of them and already miss having them around, both as teammates and friends."

Ashleigh Bowers

Sahlen echoed that sentiment, "I think that having these players on our squad elevates us both on and off the field. Not only are they experienced and talented players on the field, but they are all leaders in their own way whether it be vocally or by their actions. The experience that they have at the international level is irreplaceable."

The absence of the seven players might stall the Flash progress this season. Through nine games, the Flash sit in first place in the six-team league while the league is currently on a short break due to the World Cup; the Flash's next game is July 9.

"We have a deep roster of extremely talented players that can step up and keep putting three points on the board," Bowers said.

Bowers and Sahlen not only believe the team will continue to do well during the absence of their stars, but the exposure of the World Cup will benefit the team and the league.

"The World Cup will provide a lot more exposure to sports fans that don't know much about women's soccer," Bowers said.  "I know there will be some incredible talent that will be displayed this summer and I'm hoping people can follow this talent back to their favorite WPS teams and come out for the games. Some of the best players in the world are right in people's backyards."

"I hope that the league will get more exposure," Sahlen said.  "I know the league is going to be doing some promotion on the backend of the WC hoping to really push the league as all the WC players return which is going to be great."

The off the field exposure is just as important as the on field contributions the international stars bring to the team each day; traits that Bowers and Sahlen have each noticed.

"These players are the best players in the world for a reason," Bowers stated. "They make everyone else around them better, they bring a competitive and hard-working attitude to practice every day and they never take a day for granted. This has helped me to develop the same attitude and to never be content with where I am, because I can always make myself better. Seeing how hard they work makes me want to work that much harder too."

"I think that the higher the level of professional sport you go, you realize it's the little things that count," Sahlen added.  "All of our WC players put in so much time preparing on and off the field and that's what has helped them get where they are now; that last extra sprint, cross, shot and the mentality that goes along with it. And they are still striving and pushing to be even better and I think that rubs off on every player we have here."

Bowers and Sahlen will miss their teammates, whether it is Marta's guitar playing skills, Riley's video blogs or Seger's comedy, but will be cheering for their teammates in Germany this summer and their return to the Flash as they chase the championship.