Abby Wambach will not play in the NWSL in 2015. (Photo Copyright Erica McCaulley for The Equalizer)
Abby Wambach says she didn’t take lightly the decision to sit out the 2015 National Women’s Soccer League season, which she would have played with the Western New York Flash.
“It wasn’t a decision that was made flippantly,” Wambach told Jeff DiVeronica of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. “This was a discussion that started with the Flash at the end of last season, knowing what was ahead.”
Wambach said that the constant beating her body takes on turf was a large part of “this equation that wasn’t adding up,” and her wife, former teammate Sarah Huffman, being based in Portland in the couples’ new house was also a significant consideration.
The 34-year-old striker said she still plans to make appearances for the Western New York Flash and to do autograph signings. “I know fans bought tickets,” Wambach told the Democrat & Chronicle.
Wambach also admitted that last year’s knee injury with the Flash, which limited her to only 10 NWSL games, was a factor in her decision to not play for the Flash this year. She said her broken leg in 2008 — which occurred with the United States the day before the team would leave for China for the Olympics — was not a factor.
Western New York Flash coach Aaran Lines said on Wednesday that he doesn’t see how a player choosing not to play club soccer can be available for selection for the their country. Lines said the tried to work out a solution with Wambach.
Speaking to DiVeronica, Wambach said that she opted not to join the Flash after the World Cup as to not take away from the players who will have already been integral to the team for months while she is away with the United States.
“For me, going on to a team that I haven’t been on for how-many months and then getting into the lineup and somebody else gets knocked off the roster, those are things that people don’t understand about me,” Wambach said. “I’d never do that to anybody, even at the club level.”
