San Diego Flash was an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team based in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, United States. Founded in 1998, the team returned to competitive play in 2011 and most recently played in the Southern Conference of the West Division of the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

(NPSL), the fourth tier of the

American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

. For the 2001 season the team was known as San Diego F.C.. The team originally spent four years playing in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

, but spent almost a decade away from competitive soccer following its withdrawal from that league in 2001. Spearheaded by the efforts of former English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

footballer

Warren Barton Warren Dean Barton (born 19 March 1969) is an English football coach, pundit, and former professional player. As of 2022, he works as a director and youth coach for the Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks, a youth club in San Diego, California, Unite ...

with former Flash player,

Jerome Watson Jerome Watson (born September 28, 1974) is an American former U.S. soccer forward who spent time in the Western Soccer Alliance, American Professional Soccer League and A-League. Watson grew up in San Diego, California and attended La Jolla High ...

as assistant coach, general manager

Travis Chesney Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States *Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood *Travis Air Force Base, a ...

and former US national team striker

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

, the team returned to the field as an exhibition team in 2010 leading to its return to competitive league play in 2011. The Flash dissolved before the 2018 NPSL season, dissolving with the passing of the team owner.

History

A-League Flash (1998–2001)

The original Flash played in the

between 1998 and 2001, having acquired the franchise from the defunct

Colorado Foxes The Colorado Foxes were a professional soccer team, based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League, and later in the A-League, between 1990 and 1997. The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. In 19 ...

. The club's founders were president Yan Skwara and Vice-President/general manager Sam Kaloustian, and during the A-league years its head coaches included Ralf Wilhelms,

Costa Skouras Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of t ...

, Papo Santos, and Colin Clarke. The club averaged approximately 2,500 fans per game when playing its home games at

Southwest College Southwest College is a community college based in Houston, Texas. Part of the Houston Community College System, it serves the Southwest and West portions of the city, as well as the nearby suburbs of Missouri City and Stafford. Southwest Colle ...

and

San Diego Mesa College San Diego Mesa College (Mesa College or Mesa) is a public community college in Clairemont Mesa in San Diego, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges and the San Diego Community College District. It is the largest communit ...

. The largest crowd for a Flash match was 6,500 at Mesa College for a

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

match against

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

in 2000. In 2001, the La Jolla Nomads took over operation of the team and renamed it

San Diego FC The San Diego MLS team is a Major League Soccer expansion franchise that is scheduled to begin play in 2025. The team will play their home matches at Snapdragon Stadium, a multi-use venue in San Diego, California, United States. The franchise' ...

. The Flash were fairly successful during their short stint in the league, winning the Pacific Division in 1998 and 1999, finishing second in 2000 and 2001, progressing to the quarter finals of the A-League playoffs in 2001, and reaching the third round of the

on two separate occasions. After the 2001 season the team folded due to management and financial problems.

Rebirth and the NPSL (2010–2015)

The club was resurrected in 2010 by a new ownership group, the San Diego Soccer Partners, Inc., which is headed by former Flash part owner Clenton A. Alexander, former English

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 Fox Corporation, which operated from 1997 to 2013. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian r ...

analyst

, and former US national team striker

. The team resumed exhibition play in 2010 with the goal of returning to league play in 2011 in a league below

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 marketed 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. SDFlashWestview

2011 season

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

2012 season

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

by their crosstown rival

San Diego Boca FC San Diego Boca FC is an American soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 2009, the team played in National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in t ...

. 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. The unincorporated community became a city on December 1, 1980. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city has a population of 49,701 as of 2 ...

. 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 soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. 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 may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

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 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyrami ...

on penalty kicks 5–3 after the game ending in a 2–2 draw.

2013 season

2013 began for the Flash with the departure of coach Warren Barton and his replacement by Jerome Watson.

Players

2012 NPSL Roster

''As of July 18, 2012''

Notable former players

* Joe Cannon *

Jimmy Conrad James Paul Conrad (born February 12, 1977) is an American retired association football player who played as a defender. During his 13-year MLS career, he was four-time MLS Best XI and the 2005 MLS Defender of the Year. He also earned 27 caps wi ...

Ryan Guy Ryan Michael Guy (born September 5, 1985) is a soccer coach and former professional player. Born in Carlsbad, California, he played for the Guam national team at international level. As of 2023, he works as a youth coach for San Diego Surf. L ...

* Mugurel Dumitru * Thiago Martins *

Jorge Medina Jorge Medina Barra (; 24 April 1968 – 23 November 2022) was a Bolivian civil rights activist and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz, representing its special indigenous circumscription from 2010 to 201 ...

* Geoff Huber

Year-by-year

Honors

* NPSL West Division-Southern Champions – (3) 2011, 2012, 2015 * USL A-League Pacific Division Champions – 1999 * USISL A-League Pacific Division Champions – 1998

Head coaches

* Colin Clarke (2000) *

* Papo Santos * Ralf Wilhelms *

(2010–2012) *

(2013)

Stadiums

* Stadium at Southwestern College;

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

(1998–2000) * Stadium at

;

(2001) *

Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Diego, California. Just east of San Diego High School, the original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915 Panama–Californ ...

;

(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 the San Diego Unified School District. The school is recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School. The school has an overall rating of 9.6/10 acco ...

;

(2014–present)

Rivalries

San Diego Derby

The San Diego Derby is an annual contest that developed between the San Diego Flash and their crosstown rivals

. 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.

References

External links

Official site

A-League archives
including match reports and standings from 2000 and 2001 seasons {{San Diego Sports

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

A-League (1995–2004) teams 1998 establishments in California Soccer clubs in California National Premier Soccer League teams Association football clubs established in 1998 2016 disestablishments in California Association football clubs disestablished in 2016