NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - In just its second season in the USL W-League, the Buffalo Flash and assistant coach Peter Veltri have advanced to the league semifinals after defeating the Ottawa Fury 1-0 at Niagara Field on Sunday night.

Veltri, the head coach of the Niagara women's soccer team, has helped the Flash to a 12-0-2 mark this season as an assistant coach. The Flash have claimed the 2010 Midwest Division title and the 2010 Central Conference championship, with all three games of that competition emanating from Niagara Field.

"We truly appreciate Niagara University's efforts this past weekend, especially since they had a full plate of events on their hands with the Empire State Games," Flash General Manager Henrik Ambarchian said. "From the Athletic Director to Peter and everyone else, this was handled very well."

Besides accomplishing great things in the W-League, the Flash and Sahlen's Sports Park have succeeded in growing the game of soccer.

"The main idea of what we are doing is a natural extension of our business," Ambarchian said. "Our plan is to develop and promote soccer, especially amongst the younger players. We have many players that come here from places like Spain and England, which gives our coaches and younger players a new prospective."

The Flash will take on the Atlanta Silverbacks on Thursday afternoon in Santa Clarita, Calif. with a berth at stake in the USL W-League Championship game. The title game will be played on Saturday, July 31 at 10 p.m. eastern time, aired live on the Fox Soccer Channel.