Week 4: vs the CD Gunners

Well, the Boys in Red are 0-3 to start the season and that's never good. Still, with a full 19 games to go, no one is out yet. With every team in MLS playing this weekend this ought to be a fun one. Carlos Rivas is out with a slight injury and Luis Silva and Drew Moor are looking more and more ready for game time.

Starters
Quincy Amerikwa
Giles Barnes - C
Gaston Fernandez
Perry Kitchen
Sasha Kljestan
Luke Mulholland
Gonzalo Pineda
Nick Rimando - GK
Robbie Rogers
Harry Shipp
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Luis Silva
Hector Jimenez
Carlos Rivas

Reserve
Drew Moor

Announcements

Rose City is pleased to announce the first offseason decisions for the club in 2015. Rodney Wallace will be returning to the Flyers as the club's 2015 Retention Player. His injury during the first part of the season and subsequent undrafted status make this a possibility. Wallace has been doing strong supporting work for the Flyers for two years now.

Giles Barnes - Rose City DP

In addition, Giles Barnes will be occupying one of the team's DP slots. His strong work ethic and the increased competition that the now Western Conference Houston Dynamo will face makes him a good choice to keep around. The team's second DP slot is available for trades and the team is actively looking for first and second round draft picks.

Feel free to make offers. All resources are available including player rights, allocation money, and the team's final DP slot.

EDIT: The club has just come to an agreement with the owner of the CD Gunners for the team's extra DP slot and other considerations. The deal earns the Flyers a second pick in the third round of the draft. Other resources are still available to make trades with further teams.

Week Seventeen: Stringing them Together

Here's where things get really interesting folks. The Flyers play the CD Gunners this week and, though the Gunners haven't had the strongest season, they're not slouches either. Playoff positions are tight and points are needed to make up for the start of the season if the boys are to stay where they are in that race.

MCQ standings are a different story. The Flyers share the top spot with Orange County and are seven points up on their closest competitors. That hasn't clinched a spot just yet, with six weeks left in the season, but it does provide some breathing room and a good hope that the Boys in Red will see some sort of postseason action. Stay tuned for this one.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes
Aurelien Collin
Marco Di Vaio
Diego Fagundez (C)
Jordan Harvey
Jeff Larentowicz
Peguy Luyindula
Drew Moor
Lamar Neagle
Jaime Penedo (GK)

Subs
Rodney Wallace
Ned Grabavoy
Maxi Urruti

Reserve
Raul Fernandez

Just Keep Rolling

Rose City 2 - 0 Pennsylvania

Count the Flyers lucky on this one. Scoring only two goals is a quick way to lose games in the BSL but Giles Barnes and Eric Alexander got it done this week. That puts the Flyers riding a seven game winning streak back into relevance headed into a big match against the CD Gunners with just six weeks left in the season. Expecting the streak to end sooner, rather than later is a good idea but a loss next week could drop the Boys in Red back out of the playoff race. A few more wins will be required to really lock things up this season.

MCQ standings are a bit more solid. The Rose City continues to share the honor of only remaining club undefeated in qualifying with the OC Zodiac and the next two teams trail by seven points each. That's not an iron-clad grip yet, but with the weeks winding away quickly it could turn into one without much notice. Expect the next few weeks to really resolve things for a lot of teams in both sets of standings.

Week Six: CD Gunners

Week five didn't go so well. Every guy on the club is capable of scoring, but they can't seem to do it all at the same time. Second City got their first win off of the Flyers and that leaves the Rose City in ninth. This week is the CD Gunners who look good but not great. Is this the week the Flyers figure it out?

Two big things to keep in mind this week. One, Collin is sitting out his bye week with the rest of SKC. That's one proven scorer off the field. Two, Fagundez hasn't figured out how to hit the back of the net yet, despite an attractive looking bicycle attempt in play last week.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes
Marco Di Vaio (C)
Diego Fagundez
Jordan Harvey
Jeff Larentowicz
Drew Moor
Lamar Neagle
Jaime Penedo (GK)
Saer Sene
Maxi Urruti

Subs
Marcelo Sarvas
Ned Grabavoy
Robbie Findley

Reserve
Aurelien Collin

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 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 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 21 Lineup

It's all about the Majors Cup Qualifier now that Rose City has qualified for the BSL Playoffs. And that's where we get to the lineup this week. In order to qualify for the Majors Cup, the Flyers need to win their last two games of the season. They also need either the Stoners or the Gunners to lose both of their final games. It just so happens that the CD Gunners will be in town this week for another Match of the Week to battle our boys in red. This is the best chance Rose City has to make this happen. Everything else is out of their hands now.

In other news, Hamdi Salihi has been picked up in place of Dan Kennedy barring approval from the BSL Commissioner. Until approval, this lineup could change. Kennedy is a strong keeper, but the weak Chivas back line prevents him from putting up the best numbers. We thank Dan for all his hard work for the club.

Starters
Steven Beitashour
Marvin Chavez
Marco Di Vaio
Mike Magee
Adam Moffat
Mauro Rosales (Captain)
Hamdi Salihi
C.J. Sapong
Josh Saunders (Keeper)

Subs
Justin Braun
Darlington Nagbe
Kosuke Kimura

Rose City Clinches Playoff Spot!

Rose City 2 - 2 Gold Coast

Rose City clinched the third BSL playoff spot with a tie this week versus Gold Coast. It came down to the wire, but with many of the Flyers major players sitting out for one reason or another, Mauro Rosales delivered with two points in the final MLS game of the week.

The Flyers move into fifth in Majors Cup Qualifying, but are five points off of the CD Gunners and the Stoners. Someone is going to have to have a very bad two weeks for Reds to slip into contention there.

"I thought we played pretty well for having most of our big name guys sitting out this week," the Flyers coach pointed out. San Jose had a bye week so no Marvin Chavez or Steven Leinhart and Marco Di Vaio had returned to Italy to answer questions in the ongoing match fixing scandal there. It came down to Rosales.

"Obviously we'd like to have a stronger all around team next year," the coach said when asked about next season. "Being able to get points from anyone on the field isn't something we've excelled at and several players who were supposed to be big have been a bit of a let down. But we got the job done. It's our first season in the BSL and we'll be in the Playoffs."

Next week the Gunners come to town for another Match of the Week and provide the best opportunity this team will have to squeak into the Majors Cup as well. Either the Gunners or Pennsylvania need to lose the last two of the season and Rose City needs to win both to make it happen. Beating the Gunners in Week Twenty-one would be the way to start.

Marco Di Vaio - Bidding War

Marco Di Vaio, currently with Bologna in Serie A is coming to MLS with the Montreal Impact and that means, Rose City is bidding on this prolific scorer. With discovery rights turned in, the club has found itself in a bidding war with Burud Town and CD Gunners.

"This is a bidding war I think we can win," the head of Rose City's front office said. "We're a young club putting up points and it's an opportunity for Marco to come in and be the key man of the franchise. It's something a lot of players of his calibre dream of but it's much harder to achieve in Europe. He can do that here and we want it to be as a Flyer."


Bill Hamid, who hasn't seen a start since the first week of the season, is currently on offer for the  bidding war. Bidding ends a 5pm PST on Sunday, the Sixth to find out where this keepers' menace will land. Look for it to be with Rose City.

Week 2 Gets Results

Rose City 3 - 0 CD Gunners

Rose City dropped the defending champion CD Gunners in week two, 3-0. It what was sure to be a tough match, but the Flyers put things together to grab the points they needed while the Gunners struggled to find the net.

"This is the result we've been looking for", the Flyers captain Moreno said. "We got on the board last week and, leaving front office issues aside, didn't put up the numbers we needed. This week, things looked much better."



CJ Sapong is looking to be one of Rose City's MVP players with two goals in two games. Darlington Nagbe followed up with a goal of his own off of a bad clearance, and the assist from Mike Magee cleared things up for good. Asked about how the club was forming up, the coach had this to say.

"I think we're coming along nicely. Even with the loss last week, we put points on the board and knew we had a team that could get things done. We're a young team with a lot of talent and I think that talent showed this week with the scores from Sapong and Nagbe. We're in a good position for the next two weeks because our roster is quite spread out in regards to which MLS teams players belong to. We're not going to get burned by the Galaxy's two week bye. We're looking forward to our meeting with the Quest next week. We're both expansion franchises trying to find our footing and I think we can get the jump on them with a little hard work."

Rose City is now 1-1-0 all time in the BSL and have scored five points total. Bill Hamid will remain on National Team duty for the next two weeks most likely.

Week 2 Lineup

In an effort to fix what was broken last week, the front office for Rose City is posting their week two lineup a day early.

"We know who we're starting already. We've taken a look at who's playing who, what's going on around the league, and we want to do everything we can to support our boys. Here it is."

With Bill Hamid out of the picture on National Team duty with the U-23s preparing for Olympic qualifying, Dan Kennedy has signed a temporary deal with the club to hang out in the net. "We have every confidence in him and are glad he could help us out in a pinch," the Flyers general manager said. "This week's a big game. The Gunners are a serious team and for that, you need a serious keeper. Dan Kennedy can be that keeper."

Starters
Dan Kennedy (Keeper)
Justin Braun
Bright Dike
Mike Magee
Adam Moffat
Alejandro Moreno
Darlington Nagbe
Mauro Rosales
C.J. Sapong

Subs
Marvin Chavez
Maicon Santos
Bill Hamid (Keeper), out with National Team Duty

EDIT: Sammy Ochoa has been dropped from the roster.

2012 Season Schedule Announced

The 2012 BSL Season has been announced! It's a riveting twenty two games featuring a first kick between the Flyers and Gateway United and a challenging second week staple versus current BSL champions the CD Gunners. Other teams have quite a few strong matches scheduled in the early season as well. The schedule as it currently exists looks to separate the strong teams early and Rose City looks to be one of those teams.


The front office for the Flyers also wants to unveil the new kits the team will be playing in at this time. Featuring a red and black split and the team's official sponsor, Powell's City of Books, the club is very excited to get to work in the new duds.

Work is ongoing toward determining who the player is who will be chosen as the club's Expansion Draft pick. In any case, through careful negotiation, Rose City FC will have three players on its roster before the regular draft gets under way and the general manager and front office feel very positive about that.

See you at First Kick!