McCarthy assigned to WNY Flash of NWSL

After former West Virginia women’s soccer all-American Bry McCarthy was notified Jan. 11 she was one of six players assigned to the Western New York Flash of the new National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), it allowed her to put a stamp on a list of
goals she laid out for herself as a young girl in Ajax, Ontario.

"By eighth grade I said ‘OK, I want to play soccer at a high level,’" McCarthy said. "It was always my goal to play for my national team, play professionally and play in college.

"Now that I’ve accomplished that, it’s huge. I have my parents to thank for that."

As a member of the Flash, McCarthy will be playing with and against some of the premier athletes in women’s soccer. Some of McCarthy’s teammates include Canadian Jodi-Ann Robinson and American gold medalist Abby Wambach.

"To get to play with Abby Wambach and Carli Loyd – American superstars who have also done a lot for this game, and for representing soccer on the North American side – the opportunity is incredible," McCarthy said. "I never could have asked for anything like this."

McCarthy said she also looks forward to competing against the best in the world, including the Seattle Rain FC’s Hope Solo and the Portland Thorns FC’s Christine Sinclair.

"Playing against other great players is going to be so exciting," McCarthy said. "It’s going to be the highest level of competition I could ever ask for. That’s what I’m looking forward to and excited about."

McCarthy is not only excited about playing some of the best competition the world of soccer has to offer; it is also an exciting time in North America to be a part of the sport.

The U.S. national team is fresh off an Olympic gold medal, while the Canadian team left London with bronze. All of the international success has McCarthy hoping to earn some medals for herself in the next few years.

"With the U.S. coming in first, and Canada coming in third, it’s going to be so big for North America," McCarthy said. "For myself personally, the World Cup in Canada (in 2015) is another huge goal for me, and the year after is the Rio Olympics.

"Those are all in sight, and those are all in line with me. I think playing in
this league will help prepare me achieve those goals as well."

But for now, McCarthy will focus on playing for the WNY Flash, and to be successful in the NWSL, the former Mountaineer knows she has to make some adjustment to her game.

"The speed of play is something I can’t even describe," McCarthy said. "It’s so much faster. Seeing Abby Wambach play, seeing Alex Morgan play – all these girls have technical abilities that you don’t see all the time in collegiate soccer."

Moving on to the pros may mean a faster style of play with more technically sound players, but no matter where McCarthy plays, whether it’s Rio, Canada or Buffalo, N.Y., the pro will always fall back on the tools she learned from head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown at West Virginia University.

"If I’m not going to be the best, I’m going to work the hardest," McCarthy said. "West Virginia, we’re a blue collar school.

"I attribute a ton of my success to everything I’ve learned here at West Virginia."