The 2015 season begins tonight at 4pm at Memorial Stadium, where the defending NWSL Shield winning Seattle Reign will host a rebuilt Western New York Flash.
The Reign will hope to pick up where they left off and start another Shield chase and deep playoff run with a roster that's arguably as strong or stronger than last season's. For the Flash, it's a new beginning. They return only three players from their 2014 season, including only one of their top 8 scorers from last year. That's even a bigger roster overhaul than the one that Laura Harvey architected to turn the Reign from a disappointing 2013 to a dominant 2014, and Flash coach Aaran Lines will be hoping it gets similar results.
The biggest of the Flash additions is forward Sydney Leroux, who just a couple of weeks ago was a Seattle Reign player before her request to leave the team to be closer to her husband in Kansas City triggered a move. The way the trade went down didn't sit well with Leroux, and she's coming back to Seattle looking for revenge.