The San Diego Flash were an amateur men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team based in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Founded in 2010 as a phoenix club of the former San Diego Flash, it entered the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

(NPSL) in 2011, and most recently played in the Southern Conference of its West Division. The Flash dissolved before the

2018 NPSL season The 2018 National Premier Soccer League season was part of the 106th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and the 16th season of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Elm City Express was the defending champion. The 2018 N ...

, dissolving with the passing of the team owner.

History

Foundation

The club was founded in 2010 by San Diego Soccer Partners, Inc., which is headed by the former San Diego Flash's part owner Clenton A. Alexander, former English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

footballer and

Fox Soccer Channel Fox Soccer (formerly Fox Soccer Channel & Fox Sports World before that) was an American television specialty channel specializing in soccer, owned by 21st Century Fox, which operated from 1997 to 2013. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australia ...

analyst

Warren Barton Warren Dean Barton (born 19 March 1969) is an English football coach, pundit, and former professional player. As a player, Barton was a defender who notably played in the Premier League for Wimbledon and Newcastle United. He also played in t ...

, former US national team striker

Eric Wynalda Eric Boswell Wynalda (born June 9, 1969) is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and former player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach ...

, and former San Diego Boca FC General Manager Travis Chesney. The team played exhibition matches in 2010 with the goal of returning to league play in 2011 in a league below

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

with Barton as head coach. In November 2010, during their final exhibition season game, the club announced that they would be returning to competitive league play in 2011 in the

, and that the team was being sponsored by

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...

. In January 2011 it was revealed that the team would be playing in the revived Southwest Division of the NPSL and the team would be playing their home games at the football/soccer stadium on the campus of Westview High School on the north side of San Diego. The move from their exhibition location in downtown San Diego was the decision of Flash Soccer CEO; Clent Alexander, for the team to play in a more modern facility.

Competitive play

The Flash had a successful first season in the National Premier Soccer League going 12–1–1 on the field (10–3–1 officially due to two forced forfeits on technicalities). Their record was good enough to place first in the NPSL Southwest Division and home field for the first round of the 2011 playoffs. The Flash however were unable to defeat the defending NPSL champion Sacramento Gold in the first round of the playoffs losing 2–1. DelNorteHighStadium

The 2012 season did start on a somewhat sour note for the Flash having been eliminated from the

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

by their crosstown rival San Diego Boca FC. However, the Flash's second campaign in the NPSL ended up proving just as successful as the first with the team going 11–2–1 with a 13-game unbeaten streak, including having gone unbeaten at home, that was not ended until the last game of the season. For their second NPSL year the team moved from Westview High School to the stadium at Del Norte High School near

Poway Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city had a population of 48,841 as of the 2020 United States census. Poway is part of San Diego's Eas ...

. The Flash developed several players over the course of the season who earned trials with the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

. Near the end of the season the team itself enjoyed its two largest home crowds to that point and also began exploring the possibility of moving to the Division 2

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

with Alexander presenting a letter to and meeting with the NASL. The team did suffer from a second consecutive early exit from the playoffs in the divisional semi-final losing to the

Sonoma County Sol Sonoma County Sol is an American soccer team based in Santa Rosa, California, United States. Founded in 2004, the team plays in The League for Clubs, a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the West Region ...

on penalty kicks 5–3 after the game ending in a 2–2 draw. 2013 began for the Flash with the departure of coach Warren Barton and his replacement by Jerome Watson.

Stadiums

Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is an outdoor stadium in San Diego, California, adjacent to San Diego High School and Balboa Park. Owned by the City of San Diego, it is leased to San Diego Unified School District. The stadium is used for local athletics and hig ...

;

(2010) * Stadium at Westview High School;

(2011) * Stadium at Del Norte High School;

(2012–2013) * Stadium at

Mira Mesa High School Mira Mesa Senior High School (MMHS) is a public high school in San Diego, California. It is part of San Diego Unified School District. The school serves the Mira Mesa community as well as students participating in the district's Voluntary Enr ...

;

(2014–present)

Rivalries

The San Diego Derby is an annual contest that developed between the San Diego Flash and their crosstown rivals San Diego Boca FC. The derby was first contested between the two teams on the Flash's entry into the National Premier Soccer League in 2011. The rivalry however has its roots in the management of the A-League edition of the San Diego Flash that ceased play in 2001 with both the Flash ownership and the SD Boca ownership group having come from fractious portions of the A-League Flash's ownership. The Derby ended with the folding of the Boca franchise after the 2013 season.

Players

''As of July 18, 2012''

Notable former players

Ryan Guy Ryan Michael Guy (born September 5, 1985) is a Association football, soccer coach and former professional football player. He was Cap (sport), capped 33 times and scored four goals for the Guam national football team, Guam national team. Early ...

Head coaches

(2010–2012) * Jerome Watson (2013)

Seasons

References

External links

* {{National Premier Soccer League 2010 establishments in California 2018 disestablishments in California Association football clubs established in 2010 Association football clubs disestablished in 2018 Defunct soccer clubs in California National Premier Soccer League teams Flash, San Diego