| Full name | San Diego Flash | ||
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| Nickname(s) | SD Flash | ||
| Founded | 1998 | ||
| Stadium | Westview High School Stadium San Diego, California (Capacity: 5,000) |
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| Owners | Clenton A. Alexander Warren Barton |
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| Head Coach | Warren Barton | ||
| League | National Premier Soccer League | ||
| 2011 | 1st, Southwest | ||
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| Current season | |||
San Diego Flash is an American soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1998, the team returned to competitive play in 2011 when it made its debut in the Southwest Flight of the West Division of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. For the 2001 season the team was known as San Diego F.C..
The team originally spent four years playing in the A-League, 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 footballer Warren Barton with former Flash player, Jerome Watson as assistant coach, and former US national team striker Eric Wynalda[1], the team returned to the field as an exhibition team in 2010 leading to its return to competitive league play in 2011.
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The original Flash played in the A-League between 1998 and 2001, having acquired the franchise from the defunct Colorado Foxes. The club's founder and president was Yan Skwara, and during the A-league years its head coaches included Ralf Wilhelms, Costa Skouras, Papo Santos, and Colin Clarke.
The club averaged approximately 2,500 fans per game when playing its home games at Southwest College and San Diego Mesa College. The largest crowd for a Flash match was 6,500 at Mesa College for a US Open Cup match against Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy in 2000. In 2001, the La Jolla Nomads took over operation of the team and renamed it San Diego FC.[2]
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 US Open Cup on two separate occasions. After the 2001 season the team folded due to management and financial problems.
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 Premier League footballer and Fox Soccer Channel analyst Warren Barton, and former US national team striker Eric Wynalda[3].
The team resumed exhibition play in 2010 with the goal of returning to league play in 2011 in a league below Major League Soccer 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 National Premier Soccer League, and that the team was being sponsored by Umbro. 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 reached as a compromise between the Flash and San Diego Boca FC in exchange for Boca's support of the Flash joining the league.
The Flash had a successful first season 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.[4]
As of April 7th, 2011[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Year | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 2 | USISL A-League | 1st, Pacific | Conference Finals | Did not qualify | |||||
| 1999 | 2 | USL A-League | 1st, Pacific | Conference Finals | 3rd Round | |||||
| 2000 | 2 | USL A-League | 2nd, Pacific | Conference Quarterfinals | 3rd Round | |||||
| 2001 | 2 | USL A-League | 2nd, Western | Quarterfinals | 2nd Round | |||||
| 2002–2010 | On Hiatus | |||||||||
| 2011 | 4 | NPSL | 1st, Southwest | Division Semifinals | Did not qualify | |||||
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