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)