The Flash rallied for two second half goals to beat Sky Blue FC 2-1 on Saturday night at Yurcak Field. Jaelene Hinkle scored on a penalty kick and Samantha Mewis added the game-winner. Maya Hayes sent Sky Blue to halftime with a 1-0 lead when she finished a Raquel Rodriguez through-ball.
Sky Blue made a tactical change by putting Kelley O’Hara at right back and moving Erin Simon to the left. The move paid off early as O’Hara neutralized Flash left back Jaelene Hinkle and the Sky Blue were the better side in the first half.
The payoff came in the 35th minute when Rodriguez played Hayes through for a chance against Sabrina D’Angelo. The Flash keeper came out to cut down the angle but Hayes place a perfect shot off the inside of the far post and in for her second goal of the season.
The Flash equalized in the 71st minute in the second half after Sky Blue cleared out a free kick into the box. But the Flash sent it back into the area where it glanced off the arm of Erica Skroski. Hinkle stepped to the spot and beat Caroline Stanley for her first of the season.
The game-winner came in the 86th minute when Stanley went up to challenge Jessica McDonald for the 50/50 ball lofted into the box. The ball squirted loose and Mewis pounced on it. It was Mewis’s second of the season and the Flash’s first in the run of play.
The win kept the Flash without a three-game losing streak since NWSL began. They are now 2-2-0 (6 points) and will head to Orlando next Saturday. Sky Blue (1-2-1, 4 points) are winless in three. They host the Breakers on Friday night.
