Alexandra Elizabeth Sahlen (born September 25, 1982) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional soccer player and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

. She played for the

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that competed in the United Women's Soccer league. They have won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Pro ...

of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and was also the club's president.

Early life

Sahlen was born and raised in

Williamsville, New York Williamsville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 5,423 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an e ...

, a small suburb of Buffalo.

Niagara University

Sahlen attended Niagara University from 2000 to 2003 where she played for the Purple Eagles. She started 55 matches and completed her collegiate career with six goals and 10 assists, ranking 20th on the school's all-time scoring list. Sahlen helped guide the Purple Eagles to their first MAAC Championship appearance in 2003.

Playing career

Club

Rochester Ravens

Sahlen played with W-League club Rochester Ravens from 2005 until 2008, when a stress fracture in the first game of the season ruled her out of contention.

Western New York Flash

Along with husband

Aaran Lines Aaran Franklyn Lines (born 21 December 1976) is a New Zealand retired association football player and former head coach of the Western New York Flash. He represented New Zealand at international level. Club career Born in Lower Hutt, New Zealan ...

, Sahlen then founded a new professional W-League club, Buffalo Flash, in time for the 2009 season. Sahlen played for the Flash as they won the 2010 W-League championship and remained on the playing roster when the team changed its name to Western New York Flash and entered

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

, claiming the 2011 WPS Championship. Sahlen missed the 2014 NWSL season due to being pregnant and was not on the Flash roster for the 2015 season.

Coaching career

Sahlen was assistant coach for the women's soccer team at her alma mater, Niagara University from 2004 to 2011.

References

External links

Western New York Flash player profile

WPS player profile

All White Kit: An Interview with WNY Flash Team President Alex Sahlen
* 1987 births Living people American women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players Niagara Purple Eagles women's soccer players People from Williamsville, New York Soccer players from New York (state) Sportspeople from Erie County, New York Western New York Flash players Women's association football defenders Women's Professional Soccer players 21st-century American women {{US-women-footy-bio-stub