Sunday, March 30, 2014

Things are Looking Up

Rose City 3 - 1 Union SC

The Flyers extended their all time lead versus the Commissioner's club this week to 4-1-0. That's about as good as the news should have gotten for the Boys in Red. However, the club's late challenge to the result versus Gold Coast last week (originally recorded as a 1-1 draw) was successful after MLS awarded Lamar Neagle credit for what had originally been ruled an own goal. That lifts the Rose City to 2-2-0 this season with six points and a chance to be relevant.

The team's 2.2 APG could use some work but the win this week dragged them up to eighth place. That's the highest ranking so far this season and higher than the team finished in 2013. Still, there's a long way to go and a lot of games to play. Getting that APG up, keeping points in the box score instead of on the bench, and figuring out who's not seeing the playing time they were expected to is going to be the trick now. A point has been left on the bench three weeks in a row now. Versus the Union it didn't change the outcome, but last week (before the call reversal) it would have changed a draw to a win and the week before a loss would have been a draw. When asked, the Flyers GM had this to say.

"We've set ourselves up for a new problem this year. There is very little chaff in our 2014 draft group so figuring out who of the five or six guys near the bottom of the pecking order are going to sit any given week gets interesting. When no one is injured and every MLS team plays it's kind of drawing straws based on who's looked good recently. And with guys like this, every one of them will contribute five or six to the scoreboard by the end of the season. Not missing those points because they've maybe not produced in the last couple of weeks is tricky."

The real elephant in the room at this point is the crickets emanating from the spot big offseason signing Diego Fagundez is supposed to be occupying. The Revolution only just scored their first goal this week so something is going on with their team.

"We have faith in Diego," the GM offered. "You don't bag 20 BSL goals at the age of nineteen on a fluke. He'll get it sorted out and when he does, this team will be a lot more dangerous." The young Revolution striker has played all but one available minute for his MLS team so far and has twelve shots with five on goal. It would appear that everything is going right except the finishing. Look for that to change, soon.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Week Four: Di Vaio's Back

Not much time for now. The notables are these. The Flyers managed a point last week by some amount of luck. Beyond that, Marco Di Vaio is back and this week's opponent is the Commissioner's own Union SC. They're off to an even worse start on zero points after three weeks and, in Rose City's two years in the league, have yet to win a head to head. Lineup as follows.

EDIT: In addition, the team has a dispute with the league pending over an unrecorded goal from last week that would (if allowed) result in a Flyers win.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes
Aurelien Collin
Marco Di Vaio (C)
Diego Fagundez
Ned Grabavoy
Jeff Larentowicz
Drew Moor
Lamar Neagle
Jaime Penedo (GK)
Marcelo Sarvas

Subs
Maxi Urruti
Saer Sene
Jordan Harvey

Reserve
Robbie Findley

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Week Three: Good News/Bad News

The Flyers have dropped two games to start the season. That's the bad news. More of it, it could have been a tie last week if the managers had had more faith in Larentowicz. Finally, Giles Barnes has the week off. The good news however, is this. This is Di Vaio's last game sitting out. He's back next week. In addition, Collin looks like his old self with a BSL brace last week, Penedo is back from his bye week, and Sene continues to see more play than expected. Here's this week's lineup.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Aurelien Collin
Diego Fagundez
Robbie Findley
Ned Grabavoy
Jordan Harvey
Jeff Larentowicz
Lamar Neagle
Jaime Penedo (GK)
Marcelo Sarvas
Maxi Urruti

Subs
Saer Sene
Drew Moor
Giles Barnes

Reserve
Marco Di Vaio

Friday, March 14, 2014

Week Two Lineup

The Flyers fell in Week one 1 - 2 to the Zodiac but it was just that, Week one. There's a lot more football to played, hopefully with a slightly more optimal lineup. With that in mind, Marco Di Vaio won't be back until Week Four but good news is already appearing on other fronts. Saer Sene saw a quarter hour of play last week and should see more soon.

Lineup
Eric Alexander (NY)
Giles Barnes (HOU)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Diego Fagundez (C -NE)
Ned Grabavoy (RSL)
Jordan Harvey (VAN)
Drew Moor (COL)
Lamar Neagle (SEA)
Jaime Penedo (GK - LA)
Marcelo Sarvas (LA)
Maxi Urruti (POR)

Subs
Saer Sene (NE)
Jeff Larentowicz (CHI)
Robbie Findley (RSL)

Reserve
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)

C - Captain
GK - Keeper

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Week One: Lineup

The BSL Regular Season kicks off this week for a rejuvenated Rose City versus last years rookies, the Orange County Zodiac. The Flyers will be without Robbie Findley who's still working on some preseason knocks but is expected to be back soon. In addition, Marco Di Vaio will be sitting the first three games of the season due to the red card he earned during the fracas at the end of Montreal's only playoff game last year.

There's no better time for the team to step up and show that this year's version of the Flyers is a three dimensional team. Expect some combination of Giles Barnes, Diego Fagundez, Jaime Penedo, and Aurelien Collin to do the heavy lifting with perhaps some other names showing up in the box score as well. The lineup is as follows.

Lineup
Eric Alexander (NY)
Giles Barnes (HOU)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Diego Fagundez (C - NE)
Ned Grabavoy (RSL)
Jordan Harvey (VAN)
Jeff Laurentowicz (CHI)
Lamar Neagle (SEA)
Jaime Penedo (GK - LA)
Marcelo Sarvas (LA)
Maxi Urruti (POR)

Subs
Drew Moor (COL)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Robbie Findley (RSL)

Reserve
Saer Sene (NE)

C - Captain
GK - Keeper

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Season Preview: Analyzing the Draft

The draft is over and the BSL season is preparing to kick off on March eighth along with MLS. Rose City will face last year's newbies Orange County in Week One and the Boys in Red are prepared to bring it. First though, let's take a look at the draft through the eyes of the Flyers coach.

Rose City's draft this year is almost certainly the best group put together to kick off a season in the three years the Flyers have been around. The inaugural draft class was downright bad as has been noted here and elsewhere. The first pick produced one point all season and the BSL Cup was won by the tireless work of guys who came on board in the middle of the season. Perhaps more important than anyone else from that group is Marco Di Vaio who still occupies one of Rose City's DP slots. Year two was a stronger class on paper, but too large a percentage of the picks spent time on the bench injured, especially at the beginning of the year. Guys like Alan Gordon and Martin Rivero, while having a strong pedigree didn't see the field often enough to make the impact they needed to.

This year's class appears to be different. There are a few risks that were taken in full knowledge, but, top to bottom, the group is far more capable of scoring goals in large quantities than any Flyers team before.

Marco Di Vaio (F - MTL) - The headliner, club favorite, member of the old guard. Di Vaio challenged for the Golden Boot in MLS last season, putting twenty goals in the net and he's expected to do it again. It may be Marco's last season of professional soccer, but he's still got it when it comes to finding space, hanging off a defender's shoulder, and putting it on frame. Look for him to put up numbers for Rose City.

Diego Fagundez
Diego Fagundez (F - NE) - The newcomer, the kid, the hope for the future. Fagundez is only nineteen, but he's already proven that he knows what he's doing. He scored twenty points in the BSL last year, just two short of Di Vaio, and he's the main target for the attack in New England. He's got a nose for goal and an entire, well improved New England team looking to get him the ball in dangerous spaces. Look for him to put up significant numbers this season and to stay with the Flyers for a long time to come.

Maxi Urruti (F - POR) - The wildcard. Urruti spent part of last season with Toronto before moving to Portland and joining the Timbers' forward corps. He scored just once. But he hasn't played anything close to a full season yet. With Ryan Johnson now plying his trade in China, Urruti is the closest thing the Timbers have to a target forward. Look for him to either be scoring big goals already or out on his ass inside of two months.

Giles Barnes
Giles Barnes (M - HOU) - The stalwart. Barnes isn't a forward, but that didn't stop him from being worth thirteen BSL points last season. He remains a steady rock in the midfield for Houston, one of MLS' most consistent teams. Look for him to make up for others when someone has a bye week or has to step out for a slight knock. He'll most likely be there all season long, chugging away. This guy was a steal for the fourth round.

Saer Sene (F - NE) - The risk. Sene won't be suiting up at the start of the season. He's still recovering from the horrific injury he suffered in the box last October. You're unlikely to see him in the Starting XI until at least May but, unlike the entire broken roster of last season, the Flyers are okay waiting this one out. He was good for ten points in just 1200 minutes last season so, if he even comes close to repeating that performance once he's back the risk will have been worth it. He was picked up very late.

Jaime Penedo (GK - LA) - The brick wall. Penedo rolled into LA last season and saved the Galaxy from themselves (and Carlo Cudicini). He performed well and, with a solid back line of guys like DeLaGarza and Gonzo in front of him and a full preseason with his team behind him, look for a lot of clean sheet points. No more keeper juggling for the Flyers. He was taken in Round Five while most others waited two or even three rounds later to pick up their netminders for just this reason.
Robbie Findley

Eric Alexander (M - RSL), Robbie Findley (M - RSL), Ned Grabavoy (M - RSL), Lamar Neagle (F - SEA), Marcelo Sarvas (M - LA), Jeff Larentowicz (M - CHI) - The boys. These guys are the meat of the club. They aren't flashy (though they all could become so, potentially) and they don't put up the numbers of guys that go in the first or second round but each of these guys are a threat to contribute to the scoreline any given week. This is a major improvement for Rose City who's previous rosters had a lot more chaff than this. Expect a higher APG this season mostly because of these guys right here. If anyone turns into a superstar, expect it to be Neagle, who had twelve BSL points last season. If anything stops him it'll be chemistry with Seattle's much turned-over roster.

Aurelien Collin (D - SKC), Jordan Harvey (D - VAN), Drew Moor (D - COL) - The defense. These three defenders all regularly get shots on goals or assists and, occasionally, will tap one in themselves on a set piece or a lucky sitter. They have the quality to cross into the box on the attack and pick up assists that way. They're also all extremely important to their teams. Collin did well enough last season to be Rose City's Retention selection. Expect them to see a lot of minutes. Don't look for them to score a lot, but every point counts.

Even the filler here, for lack of a better term, is of a higher quality than any previous Rose City team. Everyone has made a mark on the league and provides contributions to their home clubs. Even more importantly, they all saw regular minutes last season and, though that can sometimes change, it's an important starting place. You won't ever score points if you don't see the field. Were there guys who got away? Sure. That's the nature of the draft. However, there's a solid club here. Every season requires luck as well as skill, but this is a good jumping off point. There's a team in the now and some eyes cast toward the future as well. Look for Rose City to compete again. Sophomore slumps are for sophomores. If that's really true, look for a win over the Zodiac this coming weekend.