Week Twenty-two: End of the Road

Well, the Flyers don't have much left to play for but pride, but here they are all the same.


Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)

Subs
Jalil Anibaba (CHI)
Teal Bunbury (SKC)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Week Twenty-one Lineup

Let's just call a spade a spade. The LF last week cost the Flyers three points and likely any shot they had left at the post season. The team's been good but a poor start and a rocky finish as most likely grounded the Flyers. To make matters worse, even now the team is missing two key contributors in Gordon and Chavez. Both are suspended, Gordon on accumulated yellows and Chavez for his ridiculous red versus Portland last week.

Starters
Jalil Anibaba (CHI)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Teal Bunbury (SKC)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Week Twenty Lineup

Starters
Jalil Anibaba (CHI)
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Jaime Castillon (COL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Teal Bunbury (SKC)


Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Week Nineteen: LIneup

Work calls, lets make this short.

Starters
Jalil Anibaba (CHI)
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Teal Bunbury (SKC)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Luis Robles (NY)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)

Subs
Rodney Wallace (POR)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)

Reserve
Zach McMath (PHI)

Week Eighteen: The Math Tightens

Week Seventeen was a bit of a let down. The Flyers really needed all three points and instead got a tie. The season's math is getting really tight incredibly fast. Conclusions about what worked and what hasn't this season are starting to be drawn. While the Boys in Red aren't by any means eliminated, they're going to have to find a way to win the last couple and have some other results go their way. It's gonna be a squeaker folks.

Finally, Gold Cup call-ups continue to plague the Flyers, making squad selection much more problematic than it otherwise would be.

Starters
Jalil Anibaba (CHI)
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Teal Bunbury (SKC)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)

Subs
Rodney Wallace (POR)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)

Reserve
Luis Robles

Week Seventeen: The Rebound

The Flyers were absolutely destroyed last week by the Commissioner's Own Union SC by a score of 9-1. It can't really be helped. The Union had been averaging 2.1 ppg for the season and suddenly, every role player on their squad found their form at the same time.

"It happens in this game," Rose City's manager said after the game. "It was impressive. I wish it hadn't happened to us in the middle of a playoff chase, but what can you do? You've got to keep your highs low and your lows high and focus on the game in front of you."

And boy what a doozy it is. This week's matchup against the Spartans is a six pointer for the Flyers. 1612 sits just one place above Rose City in the league table and while a win last week would have made this the go-ahead game, three points paired with denying the Spartans three at the same time would go a long way toward buying the Boys in Red a playoff spot for the second straight year. For that matter, Alamo City could have finished them off last week too, but no. Make no mistake about it, the results this week could make or break Rose City's drive to once again find the playoffs. In addition Majors Cup Qualifying has been tight this season and the loss last week did no favors there either.

Finally, expect something of a "B" squad from the Flyers this week. Sure, a lot of the top names are there, but Gold Cup callups and a couple of injuries have made things more awkward than they need to be.

EDIT: In addition, given league approval, the team would like to acquire Jalil Anibaba (CHI) and drop Eric Hassli (DAL). If the transaction is approved, Anibaba will hold Hassli's assigned spot in the lineup.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Teal Bunbury (SKC)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Eric Hassli (DAL)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Luis Robles (NY)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)

Subs
Martin Rivero (COL)
Rodney Wallace (POR)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)

Reserve
Zach McMath (PHI)

Week Sixteen: Flyers vs. Union

The boys are headed to Southern California to take on the Union for the second time this year in a game that could (if other results fall correctly this week) put the Flyers into a playoff spot for the first time this season. The Union have had dismal luck against the 2012 BSL Cup winners since their entrance into the league with Rose City owning the matchup 3-0-0 on an aggregate score of 10-6.

A few important guys are missing this week, mainly due to MLS byes. Some injuries could still be an issue but it's a pretty clear roster. That's good because the Gold Cup is about to mess with rosters big time, MLS and BSL alike.

Other league games are a big deal for the Flyers this week as well. Fourth place Spartans take on a number one Alamo City side that doesn't look to be losing any time soon so a win for the Rose City could put them even on points. 1612 will likely still have a slight apg advantage but a great week by the Flyers and a dismal one in New York could flip that as well. Six points hasn't been an uncommon score of the Flyers recently. In addition, Burud Town and Orange County, who are numbers three and two respectively go head to head this week and both of them continue to look catchable. Root for the OC in this one simply because the Stags are closer to the Flyers in the standings. Finally, MCQ standings are really volatile right now as well. APG is all that separates the 4th to 6th spots on the table while teams as far up as third and as low as ninth could realistically do a lot of moving there this week. Keep your eyes open and pull for your Boys in Red.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Teal Bunbury (SKC)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)

Subs
Eric Hassli (DAL)
Rodney Wallace (POR)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Flyers Dismantle Alliance FC

Rose City 6 - 0 Alliance

The international break doesn't seem to have slowed down the Flyers. The team crushed Alliance 6 - 0 this week in what is starting to become a seasonal ritual. The winning goal was the first one from none other than Marco Di Vaio but the talk of the town this week will be the continually rising star of Rodney Wallace. After receiving a call-up from Costa Rica but seeing zero minutes on the field, the winger was only available for one of Portland's two games this week. He only needed the one, putting in an assist hattrick to earn himself Man of the Match. Those points are important too.

While the win squeaked Rose City to within three points of a playoff spot thanks to a Spartans loss to Gold Coast, the points pushed the team's APG to 3.0 for the season and 4.0 since Majors Cup Qualifying began. Those points appear more and more likely to matter as the last two BSL playoff places and all of the MCQ spots seem to be up for grabs during a rapidly closing BSL season. There are only seven weeks left to play in the regular season and the Flyers face some imminently beatable competition. Lets take a look.

 Current Standings:

• Week 16: Union Southern California 9th, 5-7-3, 2.1 apg
• Week 17: Spartans 1612 4th, 8-5-2, 3.4 apg
• Week 18: Gold Coast 10th, 5-9-1, 2.5 apg
• Week 19: Capital District Gunners 8th, 5-7-3, 2.9 apg
• Week 20: Orange County Zodiac 2nd 10-4-1, 3.7 apg
• Week 21: Pennsylvania Stoners 12th, 2-12-1, 2.5 apg
• Week 22: Gateway United 7th, 5-7-3, 3.3 apg

Five of the seven remaining opponents sit below the halfway line on the league table. Most of them have an APG of under three, and it doesn't appear to be improving. Meanwhile, Rose City has been clinging tightly to the fifth place spot for several weeks with an APG that continues to increase. As of the end of week fifteen, the Flyers hold a 3.0 APG and have been averaging 4.6 goals per game since week nine when many of the club's injured players started to return. Indeed, since that week nine game against Gateway United the Boys in Red have put up at least four points all but once and put up six points three separate times.

Our other two opponents, the Orange County Zodiac and Spartans 1612 sit above the Flyers in the league table and currently occupy playoff positions. While the Zodiac appear uncatchable with thirty-one points, the Spartans are on twenty-six and are only one win out of the Flyers' grasp. They face top-of-the-table Alamo City next week and then are under Rose City's own control in Week Seventeen. Look for the next two weeks to really define those playoff spots.

Week Fifteen: Back in Action

What a brutal stretch of games the last few weeks have been. The Flyers didn't make out with all the points but are definitely still in the thick of things. That makes this week all the more important. The team visits Alliance this week and there couldn't be a better time for a pick-me-up. The Lions sit near the bottom of the league table in eleventh place and have had trouble scoring all season. Their APG is just 2.0 and that's after last week's 6-1 drubbing of the Zodiac. In fact, those six points are Alliance's best performance of the season so far.

Most everyone is back from international duty but Flyers standout man Rodney Wallace won't be back with his Portland Timbers until this weekend. Everyone else is healthy and ready to go.


Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Teal Bunbury (SKC)
Eric Hassli (DAL)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

International Break Transaction

Drop Kekuta Manneh (VAN) for Teal Bunbury (SKC).

Pending league approval, Teal Bunbury will be joining fellow SKC teammate Aurelien Collin on the Flyers roster. Bunbury saw his first minutes this week in Sporting's hearbreaking 1-0 loss to Orlando City in the US Open Cup's fourth round. Bunbury's return is good for Sporting after an ACL tear in August last year left him off the field for nine-and-a-half months.

Rose City 1 - 2 Alamo City

The league's top club had a down week, scoring only two points and yet, Rose City couldn't take advantage. The only point for the Flyers came on an Aurelien Collin shot on goal. This is by no means the end to the Flyers aspirations but it does mean that every other game this season is that much more important. Draws by both Second City and Gateway keep the Flyers in the scrum but three points here would have been a big boost.

The poor play from Seattle (once again) has hurt Mauro Rosales' production all season and the full 90' from both Bernier and Di Vaio in the Canadian Championship midweek most likely effected their ability to put points on the board in MLS play. To add insult to injury, the Flyers regular output level would have been enough to top any team in the league save Alliance this week as everyone seemed to have a low scoring week. To pile on even more, Rosales did have a glorious cross that added a point for Seattle except it came off of a Chivas defender's head rather than one of his own attackers.

Regardless of the outcome, Rose City looks forward to a two week break and will be back looking to put points on the board again once the International games are all over and done with.

Week Fourteen: Battle for Playoff Position

This is the big one folks. Or one of the big ones. Depending on how the rest of the season shakes out, there could be a lot of them left. The Flyers dug themselves a big hole early in the season. Rose City's been playing well lately on a six game unbeaten streak but that could all come to a screeching halt versus the BSL's number one offense in Alamo City. The opponents are averaging 4.2 points a game which poses a problem. However, the Boys in Red have posted at least that many in every game for the past five weeks. It's time to see who's firepower shows up to what looks to be a gun show.

There are big implications in this match. The odds of the Flyers catching Alamo City for the Honors Trophy are pretty long, but three points could very easily put them within striking distance of a playoff spot. Both the third and fourth place teams sit on 25 points and a loss by either makes things very interesting. In addition, a Flyers win gives Orange County another look at reclaiming the number one spot.

Most everyone's healthy and only Rodney Wallace will sit out this week due to an MLS bye. Martin Rivero is questionable for his match against Dallas after picking up a knock against Chivas last week. However, the US Open Cup is in full swing and Montreal just finished the last game in the Canadian Championship as well so rosters for MLS teams might look a little strange. We're going to be on most of the heavy hitters at least starting if not going the full 90 anyway. Di Vaio and Bernier both saw 90' against Vancouver mid-week however so it's not totally unexpected to see one or both of them come of the bench or get subbed off the pitch around the hour mark.

Note: The questionable nature of both Castrillon and Rivero this week means that changes to the lineup may be made up to the deadline.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Eric Hassli (DAL)
Kekuta Manneh (VAN)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)

Subs
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Jamie Castrillon (COL)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Shootout in B-Town

Rose City 5 - 5 Burud Town

This week's match turned out to be a track meet. Rose City jumped out quickly with a hat-trick from Marco Di Vaio. Contributions from Bernier and Rodney Wallace drove the score to five. Unfortunately, Burud Town got two points from their quebecois player as well in Andrew Wenger. Couple that with another strong week from Colorado rookie Deshorn Brown and some fancy footwork from David Ferreira and we were tied at five going into Sunday. Rose City had hope that Mauro Rosales would play the hero, but Seattle were undone dramatically in their own 4-1 loss to the LA Galaxy.

Hat-trick Hero.

The result isn't the greatest but one point is better than none. Other results this week put Rose City five points back of both third and fourth place and let Second City jump them on the table again. The good news is that Second City is only one point ahead and that next week's opponent is Alamo City who've been trading between first and second place all season. A win there could do some good in climbing into the playoff picture. Finally, the draw puts the Flyers in third place in Majors Cup Qualifying with a 1-0-1 record and a 4.5apg.

Week Thirteen: Cracking the Playoffs

The next two or three games are especially important in the Rose City. A strong showing now could shove the Flyers into the playoff positions if they keep racking up points and improving on their already solid APG. It all starts this week with the season's second match versus Burud Town who currently own third place. Add in the fact that there's just five points separating the two teams and this one has consequences.

The Flyers currently own the lifetime series 2-1 but the Stags won the last meeting 3-2 after an injury riddled Rose City team came storming back to tie most of the way through the week. However, a lot has changed in the Flyers camp since Week Five. Since then, Alan Gordon has returned (and left and returned again) to the pitch as have Marvin Chavez and Martin Rivero. Daniel Paladini, Danny Cruz, and the newest pickup Eric Hassli have all donned the Red for the first time since that week five match as well. Mauro Rosales and the Sounders have (re)discovered what scoring is. And finally, Rodney Wallace has begun receiving major minutes for the Timbers and has proven to be the potent weapon no one but he, the Costa Rican national team, and apparently Caleb Porter knew he could be. All in all, this is a different team than the Stags saw just a few short weeks ago and that's a good thing because playoff positions are starting to firm up and competition for the Majors Cup began last week as well.

In addition, pending league approval, the Flyers will be dropping Michael Harrington (POR) and picking up Jaime Castrillon (COL). If approved, appropriate edits will be made to the roster before game time.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Eric Hassli (DAL)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Kekuta Manneh (VAN)

Reserves
Luis Robles (NY)

Flyers 4 - 2 Second City

Flyers 4 - 2 Second City

Second City is now 0-4 versus the Flyers all time and the matchup is starting to look like one the Stars will worry about every time it comes up on the schedule. In a dramatic game this weekend, the Flyers faced down the Stars and jumped them in the league table as well, putting the Boys in Red in fifth overall. This is an especially encouraging result given that Di Vaio, Bernier, and Rosales all sat out this week due to MLS byes and minor injury. Points came from Rivero and Chavez along with Zach McMath's Clean Sheet/Save Point double.

Chavez goes 1 on 1.

"The club has really developed some depth in the last month or so and now that our injury issues are mostly in the past, we can take anyone, anywhere. We've shown that anyone on the team can score from Captain Rosales to guys like Wallace and Collin. Top of the table, here we come!" the Flyers coach exclaimed in an exuberant press conference after the match. Rose City started slow this year, sitting as low as tenth place in the league before the boys found their form and their health.

Now comes the hard part. The Flyers picked up nine points in the last three weeks off the backs of some of the league's less excellent teams as they needed to. Now comes back to back games against Burud Town and the league-leading Alamo City. If Rose City can find a way to get at least four points from those two games they should be contending for the playoffs and looking good in the Majors Cup standings as well. It's crunch time.

Edit: In addition, pending league approval, Rose City is dropping David Estrada and picking up Eric Hassli.

Week Twelve: Majors Cup and Second City

EDIT: 1:46 PM PST Marvin Chavez's suspension has been reduced by one game by Commissioner Don Garber making him eligible for this weekend's game vs the Colorado Rapids. Changes have been made to the lineup to reflect this.

The Flyers have been on a roll for the last few weeks. After starting the season painfully slowly most everyone is healthy and the goals have been showing up. That's been aided by big mid-season pickups in Rodney Wallace and Aurelien Collin but improved play from Mauro Rosales in Seattle has been a big part of the improved form as well.

This week sees the start of Majors Cup Qualifying and, as such, is a good time to be in top form. Second City is the opponent for this week and they have failed to top the Flyers yet in their first three tries. To add to the tumult, The Stars sit just two points ahead of the Flyers in the league table. A win here for the Boys in Red puts them in fifth place and just out of Playoff position.

Montreal has another dreaded bye and DiVaio and Bernier will be sorely missed. Alan Gordon is back and available for the lineup following his potty-mouth incident but fellow Quakes frontman and Flyers DP Marvin Chavez is now out on suspension. Finally, the question remains which keeper is better. Neither Robles, nor McMath seems to be consistent enough to always get the start and whoever ends up on the bench seems to manage the better performance of the week more often than not.

Starters
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Kekuta Manneh (VAN)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs

David Estrada (SEA)

Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Patrice Bernier (MTL)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Week Eleven: Midpoint

Rose City 6 - 4 CD Gunners

It's officially the midpoint of the BSL season.  Rose City is sitting on a 5-5-1 record and 16 points after a strong 6-4 win over the struggling CD Gunners. It took this team some time to get healthy and find their feet, but the last few weeks have shown how strong they really are. The Flyers are now on a three game winning streak and are undefeated in four headed into the important second half of the season. Sitting in sixth place with a decent APG and a good trajectory, it's entirely reasonable to see the Flyers having a strong second half and making both the playoffs and the Majors Cup.

"We're in this to win it. We've got a Cup to defend and we intend to do everything we can to make that happen," a joyous Mauro Rosales said after the match with the Gunners. Looking stronger than they have since the BSL Cup final last season, the Flyers could well do just that.

Wallace celebrates with teammates Johnson and Nagbe.

Aided in that goal are two post-draft pickups that have really delivered for Rose City in Aurelien Collin and Rodney Wallace. Collin has been undervalued on the backline for Sporting Kansas City and Wallace is playing like a different player up top for Caleb Porter's new look Portland Timbers. Both players have now had multiple point games exactly when the club has needed it from them.

Next week the Flyers face Second City in a battle for fifth place. "If we're going to move up in the standings and challenge for a place in the playoffs, we have to take care of opponents like Second City," the Flyers coach offered after the game this week.

Week Eleven

Late lineup submission. Apologies from the club.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
David Estrada (SEA)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Luis Robles (NY)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Kekuta Manneh (VAN)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Alan Gordon (SJ)

Reserve
Zach McMath (PHI)

Rose City Strikes it Lucky

Rose City 4 - 3 Stoners

In a week where Marco Di Vaio failed to find the back of the net and Patrice Bernier saw only 17' on the field after playing the full 90' against Toronto in the Canadian Championship Semis earlier in the week, the Flyers hit it lucky. Rose City captain, Mauro Rosales produced his first two points of the season with a goal and an assist against the Philadelphia Union.

Rosales scores his first two of the season.

That wouldn't be all the fireworks out of that game however. Between Rosales' two points, Danny Cruz put two in the back of the net in the space of as many minutes. Left as the first sub this week, the front office for the Flyers wondered if those points would show up. As a final flourish to a game that ended 10 on 9, DeAndre Yedlin earned his first professional red card with a rough and pointless tackle on Michael Farfan automatically pushing Danny Cruz into the BSL field of play. Four points for the Flyers appeared in just ninety minutes on the field between two teams and three players.

The Stoners would valiantly battle back including a goal from the stone cold C.J. Sapong and an assist from his KC teammate Paulo Nagamura. Fortunately for the Boys in Red, the final goal wouldn't come. Robbie Keane wouldn't see the eighteen against Houston and neither Will Bruin nor Marcelo Sarvas could find the net.

Week Ten Lineup: Stoners

Week Nine was a good one for Rose City. They dropped six points on their opponent to grab a sorely needed win. We can't expect a hattrick from Aurelien Collin every week, but it looks like the roster is finding its stride. In addition, the lineup for Week Ten versus the slow-starting Stoners is as healthy as we've seen all season. In addition, this is the first time the clubs have met since the Flyers claimed the BSL Cup from them in the postseason last year.

 Alan Gordon is still sitting in time out so he can think about his mouth and Paladini is on a bye with the rest of Chicago. Barring that, we've got a full lineup folks! Took long enough...

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
David Estrada (SEA)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Kekuta Manneh (VAN)
Zach McMath^ (PHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Alan Gordon (SJ)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Transaction: Team Building

Assuming front office approval, Rose City drops Frederic Piquionne (POR) and picks up Kekuta Manneh (VAN).

Week Nine: Getting Results

Rose City 6 - 5 Gateway United

Rose City finally lived up to its potential this season by dropping six points on Gateway United. The win evened up the lifetime series versus the Saints at 2-2-0 and marks the second high-scoring game in a row versus them after a 7-0 drubbing in the playoff semis last season.

Points came from everywhere this weekend showing that the team is built to score in a much more spectacular fashion than had been previously shown. A goal from Marco Di Vaio is expected and a save point from McMath is nice but the real story here is Rodney Wallace and Aurelien Collin. Both of these gentlemen were undrafted at the beginning of the season but steady minutes from Sporting and the Timbers respectively have made them plenty dangerous. Collin scored last week and Wallace has been threatening with several lasers from distance for a week or two as well. Three points of Collin was the crowning glory this weekend.

Collin celebrates his BSL hattrick.

This team is finally getting to where it should have been all season. Martin Rivero saw his first minutes of the season versus Houston this week, Marvin Chavez is finally back to full strength, and Alan Gordon has two more weeks on his slur induced suspension. It looks like this team really will hit the ground running for the second half of the season  and make a good challenge for a spot in the Majors Cup. The next two weeks are forgiving as well. Week ten features last season's nemesis the Pennsylvania Stoners still sitting in last place at 1-7-1. The week after sees Capital District come to town who at 1-5-3 are having what the league discribes as a "nightmare season". If the Boys in Red can take six points off of these two teams and head into the second half of the season on a three game winning streak and on sixteen points overall, it's reasonable to think they might just still be in it.

Week Nine: Gateway and Transaction

Gateway United is another strong team that's been struggling early this season. They've picked up some points in the last couple matches though, so this one is important for Rose City. It's crunch time. If the Boys in Red can't start picking up points and rapidly climb the table, half a season isn't going to enough to end up back in the playoffs.

The good news is this, most of the injuries are over. Martin Rivero is looking good to return in another week or two. Alan Gordon is healthy but took himself out for another three weeks. Marvin Chavez played his first minutes last week versus Portland and should only look more and more dangerous from here on out. Seattle has a bye this week, but most of the team should be available in the next one to two weeks. Then, finally, we can see what this team can do as it's currently assembled.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Alan Gordon (SJ)
David Estrada (SEA)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

In addition, the Flyers are dropping Chris Tierney (NE) for Danny Cruz (PHI).

Transaction

Pending league approval, Rose City drops Frederic Piquionne (POR) for Michel Garbini (DAL).

Rose City 1 - 1 Zodiac

Rose City continues to have trouble putting enough points on the board to squeak out wins but perhaps a tie versus the usually high scoring Zodiac was the most to be hoped for this week. Aurelien Collin showed his class with his score this week and he'll need to do even more for this team to pull itself out of the cellar.

Collin asks for some supporter input.

The last few weeks have been rough, ending up on the wrong side of a pair of 2-1 results. In many ways, this season mirrors the last except with Rose City on the wrong side. Last year's Championship team stayed on the right side of the table in the early-mid season by winning several one point games.

The lack of a solid keeper continues to plague the Flyers even after acquiring Luis Robles and though Patrice Bernier has been a big addition, Jack McInerney is making his own statement playing for someone else. Someone needs to start scoring consistently (and bye weeks need to be more forgiving). Marvin Chavez got his first look at the field this week and seemed solid enough that a start for his next match seems likely. Alan Gordon remains suspended and won't be back for three more weeks.

All in all, the Flyers have had some of the worst luck of any team this season. However, building the team on the backs of a bunch of broken players was perhaps not the best strategy to begin with. The next three weeks are games against Gateway, Pennsylvania, and Capital District who are all having rough seasons themselves. Perhaps it's time for the Boys in Red to go collect some points.

Week Eight Lineup

Last week was a loser, but once again only by a little. Watch this space for more analysis. Suffice it to say that Alan Gordon's red in Portland made this Timbers fan happy. However, it's making a lineup that was starting to come together awkward once again. He's out for four weeks.

EDIT: Now some late thoughts. It already appears that Aurelien Collin was a smart pickup. He's currently put the Flyers up 1-0 over the Zodiac who are this week's opponent. That's all the more important because this year's expansion club seems to be capable of putting up quite a few points no matter what's going on. We're going to need all hands on deck to pull this one out and none of our impact players from Montreal (pun intended) are available. Good news is that it appears that Marvin Chavez will be available this week. Hopefully he won't walk into a well-deserved red card the way Gordon did last week.


Starters
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)>
David Estrada (SEA)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Zach McMath^ (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales* (SEA)
Chris Tierney (NE)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
 Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Transaction

Pending the end of week seven play and league approval, drop Sanna Nyassi and pick up Daniel Paladini (CHI).

Week Seven Lineup

Last week, a badly depleted Rose City still came within one point of a tie versus a middling Alliance squad. The 2-1 loss hurt, but the goal in the near term remains staying in the hunt as players return from injury. Alan Gordon started his first game last week with a point after playing a few minutes the previous week. Teammate Marvin Chavez and Colorado's Martin Rivero both look to be returning in the next two weeks or so as well. Finally Portland, Montreal, and Seattle both play this week. The play from newly acquired keeper Luis Robles is troubling, but Philly's Zach McMath is still with the team even while he engenders little confidence himself. Look for the Flyers to be competitive with Gold Coast this week and get back to .500.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
David Estrada (SEA)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Zach McMath^ (PHI)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Mauro Rosales* (SEA)
Chris Tierney (NE)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Week Six Lineup

This week's gonna take some work; that's for sure. Montreal has a bye week in MLS which means no Marco Di Vaio and no Patrice Bernier. Sanna Nyassi's out of the question as well. Seattle too is not playing this week due to CCL commitments so you won't see Mauro Rosales either. That means that, once again, the Boys in Red are looking a little thin. Not everything is bad news though. Alan Gordon got limited minutes last week and is expected to see even more (maybe even starting) this week with San Jose. Winning this game would continue a great trend for Rose City, leaving the team at .500 and in a good position to head up the table as more of the injured players return to their respective lineups. Alliance is at the same record and, generally speaking, has had issues scoring this season so it's not impossible to see the Flyers come out with a "W".

Starters
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
David Estrada (SEA)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Luis Robles (NY)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)

Reserves
Zach McMath (PHI)

Flyers Fall, Week Five

Rose City 2 - 3 Burud Town

The Flyers are no longer perfect versus Burud Town. A close match in which some new members of the team got on the board didn't end the way Rose City wanted. Still struggling with injuries to several key pieces, the Flyers are still averaging two points a game. While not great, that's going to keep the team in the running until the rest of the team gets back to fitness. Once the full force is available you can expect a fight to the end versus anyone and everyone in the league.

Week Six features a match against Alliance who are also on six points. Their PPG is slightly lower, but it remains an interesting match. The winner is likely to move up in the standings while the loser continues to fight for a grip.

Week Five Linup

It's refreshing to have your team up and running at full capacity. That's exactly what it feels like this week for the Flyers with Portland playing again, even though the team's major injuries haven't sorted themselves out yet.

"We're getting stronger by the week," the Coach said when asked. "Once the injured guys get up to speed, expect us to be really dangerous." Expect this team to contend strongly for the Majors Cup. Still missing Marvin Chavez, Martin Rivero, and Alan Gordon on injury, the Flyers are none the less riding a two game winning streak after starting the season poorly. This week they face an undefeated Burud Town who put a hurting on the strong looking OC Zodiac. No doubt about it, everyone will have to contribute if the Flyers are to remain perfect against the Stags. It's no time for the Bernier magic to stop, and newly acquired keeper Luis Robles will have the chance to add to the board.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
David Estrada (SEA)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Luis Robles (NY)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Martin Rivero (COL)

Reserves
Zach McMath

New Superstar? Week 4 Review

Rose City 2 - 1 Union Southern California

The Flyers squeeked it out again this week with a 2-1 decision versus the Union. They move to 3-0 all time versus the Commissioner's Club. But don't think this celebration comes without some introspection. There were quite a few lucky breaks for the Boys in Red, formost among them Jose Correa's deflected shot tallied as an Own Goal for Jalil Anibaba of Chicago. Jeff Laurentowicz did everything in his power to ruin the scoreline as well.

The question instead, since the scoreline remained in the Flyers favor is this? Just how much value did the team pickup with Patrice Bernier? Will he continue to prove to be the goal hound the team needs while the injured players get up to speed? Will the magic stop if (when?) the Montreal Impact lose some of their early season sparkle? In the club's opinion having the combination of Bernier and Di Vaio makes all the difference.

Di Vaio and Bernier celebrate after combining for the game winning strike.

"Being able to potentially pick up two points off one well executed play like we did this weekend is big game," the Flyers coach offered when asked. "It's not as easy as it looks to put a true goal scoring run together so being able to double up like that is invaluable."

Week Five sees the Flyers, now coming off a two game winning streak face a hot Burud Town. The team is undefeated at 3-0-1 so far this season and looked impressive in taking down the previously unstoppable OC Zodiac 6-3 in Week Four.

Haves and Have-nots

This post will be a bit more topical. I don't know how many other league owners truly read all the other team blogs, but I at least pop in from time to time to see what's up with the other teams. Hopefully this will get seen.

I'll be up front. I think most of the changes to the league since the previous year have been good. I spent a lot of last year wondering about how to create value for defensive players within the BSL and our illustrious commissioner answered the call of duty before I even asked. I think those rules are going well. I have little to complain about except for the current condition of my team, for which I really only have myself to blame. There's one niggling issue that's bugging my about the current league setup though. I'm not sure I have a perfect fix available, or even an imperfect one, but I'd like to begin a discussion.

The new roster setup (15 players, 11 starters, 3 subs, 1 reserve) is pretty excellent all around and the expanded roster makes sense to include defenders (who are still under-represented in the BSL) however, the way the reserve rule has been implemented has resulted in what looks, to me, to be an issue. There are currently 12 BSL teams and 19 MLS teams. If you consider that not every MLS team has a top-notch starting keeper we're suddenly looking at a pretty tight supply of decent keepers who will get steady minutes. This problem is amplified by the way some teams have setup their rosters. Several teams are using the "reserve" slot to essentially horde a solid MLS level keeper. They never see play unless the first choice has a bye week. Essentially this reserve keeper serves two purposes. 1) Make sure you still have a top level keeper in case your first choice guy gets hurt. Go ask Colorado's Matt Pickens what that's all about. It happens and it make sense to prepare. And 2) make sure that a good percentage of other BSL teams you play against don't have the same solid keeper you do. This strikes me as an issue that needs solving.

Let me be clear. Nowhere in the current rules does it say this is forbidden. I'm not calling anyone a cheater. I'm simply suggesting that this feels a bit more like gaming the system than I'm comfortable with (perhaps similar to the totally legal but discouraged use of last minute bids on bidding wars). I have no clear suggestion on how to solve this problem and asking teams who are participating in this practice to voluntarily drop their second keeper gets tricky too. I just think we should have a civil discussion. Am I the only one seeing this or am I making some sense? Anyone have any ideas? Or am I just being whiny? Let me know in the comments.

Week Four: Rough One

There's no doubt about it. The early schedule hasn't been kind to Rose City with regards to their injured players or which MLS teams get early season breaks. This week, it seems that half the team won't take the field anywhere. Portland and Philly have bye weeks leaving the team without Harrington, Piquionne, the newly acquired Wallace, or keeper McMath in addition to the already injured guys. At least it looks like no one else has received a National Team call-up.

"We've just got to go out and set up the guys who will be on the field to make the plays," the Flyers Coach offered when asked about the situation. "It seemed to work out for us okay last week. Bernier came in, played off Di Vaio and helped us put some points on the board. Rosales ought to see more minutes this week too. We've got some heavy hitters available."

In addition, the Flyers are announcing now, pending league approval, the waiver of Kwame Watson-Siriboe (RSL) for David Estrada (SEA).

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
David Estrada (SEA)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
YP Lee (VAN)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Chris Tierney (NE)

Subs
Michael Harrington (POR)
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Reserve
Martin Rivero (COL)

Bernier comes through for Rose City

Rose City 4 - 3 Second City

The Flyers' new signing, Patrice Bernier came through for the club just in time in week three. The Boys in Red are now 3-0-0 all time versus Second City and lead scoring 11-6.  There was quite the scrum mid-week as Bernier became available in a bidding war originally triggered by the league arrival of Seattle's new DP Obafemi Martins. While the bidding for Martins was too rich the Flyers, Bernier seemed just right.

This week's hero.

"He's a great, strong player with a good group behind him," the Flyers' coach said after the game. "There was some concern that he'd take a while to find his place in the squad, but he just showed up, put on his kit, and got to work. We're very glad to have him."

For Bernier's part, he had this to say, "The bidding during the middle of the week isn't something I like to think about. I just want a club that's going to back me all the way so that I can get to work and that's who the Flyers are. I was worried that such a rainy climate would throw me off my game, but it doesn't seem to be an issue." The new player was all smiles after the game.

You really can't discount what Bernier has already done for the club. The defending champions started the season with two losses. Without Bernier's help, week three would have been a tie with Second City (released Jack McInerney scored one goal while on wavers).

At this point, the club is also getting a better feel for the whole roster. Several draftees who were expected to get regular club minutes actually aren't. Hector Jimenez of LA has been replaced on the roster for next week with Portland super-sub Rodney Wallace. The club would also like to announce at this time that, pending league approval they'll be releasing Rafael de Sousa of DC to pick up Kansas City's Aurelien Collin. Finally, with Bernier's arrival and DP Marco Di Vaio, the club is feeling especially Montreal influenced. Any reasonable offer for the services of Sanna Nyassi or any of the club's injured players (Alan Gordon, Martin Rivero, Marvin Chavez) will be considered.

Transaction

Drop Hector Jimenez(LA) for Rodney Wallace(POR), after play is finished for the week.

Week Three Lineup and Chat

UPDATE: Rose City put in the winning bid on Patrice Bernier of Montreal who will be suiting up for the Boys in Red this week! Having fresh, healthy bodies is important and Bernier put up 17 points last BSL season. Unfortunately, this means Jack McInerney will be leaving the Rose City almost as soon as he arrived. We thank McInerney for his effort and wish him all the best.

Rose City fell again last week to a team they would normally have been able to punish. The 2-1 scoreline versus the Spartans was painful. Anytime you get a line like that, getting a point is possible, but as it is, too many guys are injured right now. Mauro Rosales didn't play last week because Seattle had CCL commitments and that hurt too. I found myself almost wishing that Donovan Ricketts hadn't had such a spectacular save versus Di Vaio in the Portland/Montreal game. In any case, we're continuing to move forward. Guys are getting closer to game fitness, and in the mean time, the team is doing things to address the thin roster. In addition, Rosales plays this week in a fiery game versus Portland. On the Portland side of the equation, Frederic Piquionne has arrived and may get some late game minutes.

The Boys in Red host Second City this week who are sitting on 6 points. It'll be a tough match but not one that's out of reach. They scored just two last week after a Mike Magee hattrick vaulted them to a
5-1 win over the Union in week one. Every Rose City fan knows just how clutch Magee can be, but don't expect that sort of performance from him again this season.

The posted roster is not final until game time. Several discussions are happening, including the bidding war for Patrice Bernier. Keep your eyes open and watch this space.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Hector Jimenez (LA)
YP Lee (VAN)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Mauro Rosales *(SEA)
Raphael De Sousa (DC)
Chris Tierney (NE)

Subs
Kwame Watson-Siriboe (RSL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Alan Gordon (SJ)

Reserve
Martin Rivero (COL)

Week 2 Lineup

Last week was a tough way to start off the season. Scoring only one goal is definitely a shadow of last season and it looks to get no better this week. The front office employed a strategy during the draft that, while expected to pay off in the long run means that several high profile players are unavailable in the immediate term. Martin Rivero, Alan Gordon, and DP Marvin Chavez are all unavailable due to injury. Frederic Piquionne, expected to do major damage for Portland before the end of the season is still sorting out visa issues, and Mauro Rosales and the Sounders have no action in MLS this week due to CCL commitments. This is where the rubber hits the road. Guys like McInerney, Lee, and Tierney are going to have to step it up and help Marco Di Vaio carry this team until the rest of the heavy lifters return to the lineup.

Starters
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Hector Jimenez (LA)
YP Lee (VAN)
Jack McInerney (PHI)
Zach McMath^ (PHI)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Mauro Rosales* (SEA)
Raphael De Sousa (DC)
Chris Tierney (NE)
Kwame Watson-Siriboe (RSL)

Subs
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)

Reserve
Martin Rivero (COL)

Week One Lineup

It's official! We're hours from game time for the BSL's fifth season. The title defense is on for the Flyers and first up is the Game of the Week versus Alamo City who feels like an old foe at this point. The series between the two clubs is tied and has been high scoring thus far. In the two games last season, the teams combined for eleven points. The Boys in Red will be headed up by the familiar sight of Mauro Rosales at captain while some of the squad get settled in and get fit. Some strategic decisions were made during the draft to acquire players who may be unavailable for an early game or two.

Starters
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Hector Jimenez (LA)
YP Lee (VAN)
Jack McInerney (PHI)
Zach McMath^ (PHI)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Mauro Rosales* (SEA)
Raphael De Sousa (DC)
Chris Tierney (NE)
Kwame Watson-Siriboe (RSL)

Subs
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)

Reserve
Martin Rivero (COL)

As you can see, the club had some good pickups in the 2013 draft. There are undoubtedly guys still in camp who won't make it very far into the season, but there could be diamonds in the rough too. Can Frederic Piquionne see significant minutes with the Timbers after getting picked up today? So far the gamble of signing the then trialist with the 107th pick looks good. But he'll need to score goals. How will the new Defender rules work out? Rose City spent a good amount of time evaluating guys who play in the back but will that work be enough? If it is, it will likely be thanks to the work of guys like Chris Tierney and YP Lee. Finally, how long will it take to get injured DP Marvin Chavez back up and running? How long will Martin Rivero take for that matter. These are both players capable of scoring on any given week.

For now more questions are available than answers. Stick around to find out.

New Players Trickle In

After a mild draft day goof-up (last season started with an LF, remember) Rose City got off to a solid start along with the rest of the league yesterday. The Flyers picked up San Jose's seasoned Alan Gordon, the fiery upstart in Philly, Jack McInerney, and a potential bomb in Raphael de Sousa, DC United's new DP Striker from Brazil.

Jack McInerney

Gordon has been a standout in the no-one-left-behind race for strongest forward on last year's Supporter's Shield winning 'Quakes. Pair him with a recovering Marvin Chavez, and sometimes when the Earthquakes score once, Rose City will score twice.

McInerney was a breakout in what was an otherwise down year for Philadelphia last season. With Sebastian Le Toux back in the mix for the Union, the young striker may see fewer minutes, however, he should make up for it in stronger technical play and things he can pick up from the aging Frenchman.

Finally, de Sousa is a bit of an enigma to much of the league still, but he's worth a DP salary and coming out of Brazil. You can bet he won't be sitting out many games and will be using some fancy footwork to try and find the back of the net for DC.

For the moment, these are your new Flyers. Welcome to the team boys, there's plenty more on the way!

Di Vaio announced as final DP Selection

In a short note today, Rose City has followed through on their initial offseason plans and labeled Marco Di Vaio as their third and final Designated Player. The club was in some negotiations, but it seems that Di Vaio's short season here last year hasn't convinced the other BSL managers of his value yet.

Di Vaio, giving the people what they want!

"We're very glad to have our three biggest names from our first successful season back with us," the Flyers' manager said when asked about this latest advancement. "These are quality guys who show up every week and give it their all. Having three guys like this that you know you can count on, and who haven't jumped ship from MLS or had their circumstances change in any substantial way since the previous season, that's what gives a team stability. It's important."

Di Vaio will take Rose City's final Designated Player slot. Mauro Rosales and Marvin Chavez were previously named the teams first two DPs.

Nagbe Shipped to Gateway United

In a move that's sure to spark some league discussion, Rose City is prepared to announce that they're shipping Darlington Nagbe to Gateway United in exchange for Gateway's second round pick. That second round pick falls as the 21st player taken in this year's BSL Draft and, as the manager of the Flyers indicated, the talent level in MLS has risen to the point that that could be a valuable spot.

Nagbe puts one in versus the 'Caps.

"With this move, we now control two of the first twenty three draft slots for the coming year," the spokesperson for the Flyers FO said. "Our manager is right. There's an incredible depth of talent in MLS and the pool only got deeper with the BSL's new rules about defenders. We think that we're going to do well."

Nagbe was one of the team's stand out young players, scoring five points in the regular season and two more in the playoffs to help Rose City lift the BSL Cup in their inaugural season. In addition, he could carve an even deeper path through defenses this season with his mentor, Caleb Porter, arriving at the helm of a reinvigorated Timbers team.

"Yeah. Parting with him's tough, no doubt about it," the Flyers manager agreed when asked about the controversial move. "We all sat down and had a chat and the conclusion was that, outside of our DP selections, that the only way to succeed in this league is to have a strong draft. Although he's a good player, he hasn't really hit enough of a stride to be in the discussion for our final DP slot so we took the value where we could find it. We wish Darlington all the best and would love to see him playing for the Boys in Red again in the future."

How many more moves will be made before the deadline for the Flyers? Will they look to move up the draft charts once again? Can they successfully defend their hard won silverware? Stick around. It's going to be a wild ride.

Rose City Announces Two DPs

The Rose City Flyers are proud to announce that they're tentatively marking Marvin Chavez and Mauro Rosales as two of this upcoming season's Designated Players. Both players were key in the club's success last season and they don't appear to be going anywhere either for Rose City or their respective MLS teams.

Chavez

Rosales

Obviously, should something happen to either of these players (injury or transfer) before the BSL DP deadline, the club could choose someone else. However, it looks good to see both of these outstanding players suiting up for the Boys in Red again this season.

"Having a significant part of our offense back wearing our colors again this season is a truly great place to start," the Flyers coach said when asked about the announcement. "Both Mauro and Marvin put up numbers last season and were always a threat to score at any moment. Nothing about how they're being played in MLS seems to indicate that we should expect anything different from them this year."

Working on Next Season

It's still early in the offseason but if you ask the Flyers Front Office, it's never too early to get to work. The biggest problem the team suffered last season was inconsistency. Sometimes the team would go off  like in their 7-0 BSL Cup Semi-final stomping of Gateway United. Other times, the whole team would fizzle like in the numerous games in which they scored only one or two points. This is the reason that the Flyers finished what was an otherwise impressive first season with only a 2.5 APG. So what can be done to improve the squad overall while solving this problem as well? Let's break it down.

Step One - Improve the overall quality of the squad.
The big names on the Flyers' roster definitely delivered this season. First and foremost, Mauro Rosales put up 13 points through the regular season and BSL Cup play. Marvin Chavez put up 9 points of his own.  Finally, Marco DiVaio managed six points from his first start during week fifteen onward.

On the other hand, the squad had several regular contributors who either failed to score, or only found the back of the net once. Guys like Steven Beitashour, Adam Moffat, Justin Braun, Alejandro Moreno, and Kosuke Kimura regularly took up starting spots but never seemed to put up points.

This is the big rub. Having stars who put up major points can send you far in this league. But it doesn't get you far enough. Stars get hurt, they don't make their MLS team's lineup because of CCL play, or their MLS team simply has a bye week and you have to make do without them. That's where overall squad quality comes in. Having a whole roster of guys who can score on any given week, even if they don't score every week, makes the difference. They win you games your stars aren't playing in. And they win you games against teams who can match you star for star, but don't have the squad depth you do. Darlington Nagbe scored five times during the regular season and added two more during the post season. Mike Magee put five on the board as well. These types of journeymen players do the hard work behind the scenes.

Step Two - Stay Spread Out
One of the ways a team's stars don't play is if their MLS team has a bye week. Nobody from that team's playing. Sometimes this plays to a team's advantage if they get to dodge the opposition's big star. Sometimes it goes the other way. In any case, when combined with an all around quality squad, making sure the team doesn't take a major hit from any given bye week a team can put up more points than its opponents. Generally, having more than a couple players from a single MLS team on the roster is a poor idea. As a result, not only is putting together a BSL winning squad about finding quality for your full squad of players, it's about finding it among many different MLS teams so that you have access to that quality all the time.

What it boils down to is learning how to evaluate players at all levels of the game. How much playing time can they expect with their club? How often do they score? Are they assist machines and so, score in BSL play as often as many of the top level strikers in MLS? These are all questions that budding managers for BSL clubs would do well to pay attention to. Sometimes it's hard, but spending time to become a great talent evaluator is one of the best ways to end up at the top of the table.