Week 22: Does It Matter or Too Little Too Late?

With Gateway two points up and playing the freebie in Ohio this week, this likely doesn't matter for anything more than pride and potentially Majors Cup seeding. Missing the lineup last week was a boneheaded move (brought on by a busy schedule) but the way it turned out it would have been worth one point and still not enough. The games that really sunk any shot at the Playoffs this year were weeks seven and eight. Who would have guessed at the time? Still, this team has had a remarkable comeback and that's something to celebrate. Di Vaio's the captain for one last run.

Starters

Giles Barnes

DaMarcus Beasley

Aurelien Collin

Marco Di Vaio (C)

Diego Fagundez

Jordan Harvey

Drew Moor

Lamar Neagle

Jaime Penedo (GK)

Maxi Urruti

Rodney Wallace 

Subs

Jeff Larentowicz

Jair Benítez

Eric Alexander

Reserves

Peguy Luyindula

Week Twenty: Freebies?

Last week didn't go as planned. The Flyers triumphant return to the post-season will have to wait at least another week or two thanks to a Landon Donovan hattrick and some poor luck versus Gateway United. That said, the week wasn't all bad. The team is still very much in contention for a spot in the Majors Cup (2nd place currently), maintained their place on the league table (5th, though the breathing room is all but gone), and picked up DaMarcus Beasley who, while he might contribute before the season's out, really bodes well for next season more than anything.

This week Burud Town comes to play, maybe. They haven't posted a lineup in almost a month and honestly, the Flyers will take it since the only two games remaining after than are versus the Battle and Zodiac.

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)
Maxi Urruti

Subs
Rodney Wallace
DaMarcus Beasley
Peguy Luyindula

Reserve
Jair Benítez

Flyers Push Majors Cup Advantage

Rose City 5 - 3 Gold Coast

The Flyers took another major step toward some sort of post season appearance this week with another win. This time, they defeated Gold Coast and, in the process, put themselves four points clear of their nearest playoff rival and took first place in Majors Cup Qualifying. This was also the Flyers 30th win all time and tenth this season.

"We're in our third year in the league and we're averaging ten wins a season at the moment. That's pretty good if you ask me," the Flyers general manager said when asked. "We've still got four weeks to go too. There's a lot of room to add to the team's reputation as a top club in the league."

Next week, Rose City faces Gateway United who sit exactly four points back in the Honors Trophy table. Winning there could go a long way toward earning the Boys in Red their first simultaneous appearance in both post-season tournaments.

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.

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 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).

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.

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.

Flyers Win! Flyers Win!

Rose City 4 - 2 Pennsylvania

Rose City wins! The Flyers claimed the BSL Cup this weekend through their trademark combination of good play and good luck. There was No Pity on the Stoners this time as the Boys in Red doubled up for a score of 4 - 2. Points came from all sorts of places including goals from Marco Di Vaio and Mauro Rosales, an assist off of the streaking Darlington Nagbe, and a clean sheet for Josh Saunders. Pennsylvania got a Save Point from Gspurning and an assist from Robbie Keane but players who are normally dangerous like Kei Kamara and Emilio Renteria were strangely quiet.

This is the second playoff game that Rose City has dominated against a team they failed to beat in the regular season. Both Pennsylvania and the vanquished Gateway United got maximum points off of the Flyers during regular season play. Rose City remains undefeated in Playoff play at 2-0-0.

It truly has been a dream season for the expansion club. The Flyers went all season without losing two in a row and finished 15-7-2 including Playoff play. The club got started slowly following a 3 - 1 loss and a lineup failure in week one but strong play and even stronger luck to finish the first half of the season with several 2 - 0 and 1 - 0 wins kept the Flyers in the midst of the Playoff hunt the whole time. It's hard to say which half of the season was better. The team ended the period before Majors Cup Qualifying in first place. Ultimately the team's APG would be much stronger in the second half of the season but stronger play by the rest of the league as well would deny Rose City a spot in the Majors Cup. They're the first team since the BSL's inaugural 2009 season to win the BSL Cup while not qualifying for the Majors Cup. Asked about it, the teams coach had this to say:

"We went out this weekend and did what we could. Are we disappointed that we didn't qualify for the Majors Cup? Sure. Everybody wants to play as much football as possible and now our season's over. We would have liked to win the Honors Trophy too. But to come into an established league like this and win a major piece of hardware in your first season? That really speaks to the quality of the organization and the types of players we have playing for this team. I'm proud to coach them. I'm proud to lead them. Thanks."

The team also wanted to make clear that they're very open to trade talks and negotiations on the off season. The coach and front office insisted that there was still room for improvement in the Rose City and that this year's champions would be back even stronger next season.

"We know what it takes to play in this league now. We're not just scrabbling in the dark like we were at the beginning of the year. You can be we'll be back and back with a vengeance," the coach offered when asked. "We made do with the tenth spot in the draft order last season. Something tells me we'll make it work again."

BSL Cup Champions - Rose City 2012

BSL Cup Final Lineup

What it's all about.

As much rollicking fun as the semifinal game was this week, it's really a means to an end. This team has been after one thing since their inception into the BSL at the beginning of the season, and that's hardware. One more win for a team that already has fourteen this season and they can put that star above the newly redesigned badge. However, there's one big hurdle before that. That hurdle's name is the Pennsylvania Stoners.

The Stoners are a club that has given everyone fits all season. With twelve regular season wins of their own and a 5-1 win over Alamo City in the semis that was almost as convincing as Rose City's own semi result, this club doesn't give up. Past history (what little of it there is for the Flyers) doesn't look good either. Pennsylvania won both regular season meetings between the clubs including a brutal Week Seven 8-0 thrashing. But that sort of hurdle is one the Boys in Red are familiar with clearing already. Gateway United won both of their regular season meetings with the Flyers this season too. It didn't help them much in last week's semifinal.

Keeping all this in mind, you wouldn't expect too many changes from last weeks killer starting squad. You'd be right.

Starters
Steven Beitashour
Marvin Chavez
Marco Di Vaio
Kosuke Kimura
Mike Magee
Darlington Nagbe
Mauro Rosales (Captain)
C.J. Sapong
Josh Saunders (Keeper)

Subs
Adam Moffat
Justin Braun
Hamdi Salihi

Rose City Crashes Honors Trophy Winners' Party

Rose City 7 - Gateway United 0

The Saints may be holding the 2012 Honors Trophy, but the Flyers were on a quest for some hardware of their own this week in their Semifinal match. Not only did the Boys in Red put up a season record seven points, but the usually potent Gateway offense laid a goose egg. In what can only be described as  an overt romp, Rose City put the hurt on a stumbling and unprepared Saints team.

"We've been telling people all season that we're the real deal," the Flyers' coach offered at the post game press conference. "Everyone goes on and on about how we don't put up enough points. But truly, we've got it when and where it counts. I couldn't be prouder of the team. Now excuse me. I have to go wash some Powerade out of my hair."

Saunders dives for a Save

For Rose City's offense, it started early and didn't stop. Marco Di Vaio, the most recent big addition to the squad, put up a point early in the week. Little did he know it was already the game winner. Later that same night Mauro Rosales came alive offering three assists in Seattle's own 6-2 romp over MLS side Chivas USA. Darlington Nagbe came in for his third point in as many games after that. Finally, Josh Saunders put the cherry on the top of the sundae with both a Clean Sheet and five Save Points versus an FC Dallas offense that couldn't seem to find the back of the net. With the win, Rose City has officially pushed past a Semifinals game that has been a stumbling block for many BSL teams.

Next week is the Finals and the Flyers will face a Pennsylvania team that is rapidly becoming a natural rival. Like Gateway before them, Pennsylvania managed to down Rose City twice during the regular season including a first time meeting even more lopsided (8-0) than the Flyers' win this week. You can bet that Rose City will be looking for a little retribution. But more importantly, they'll be looking for some hardware.

Lineup: Semi-finals vs. Gateway

This is it. The Semis kick off tomorrow and Rose City will have another go at Honors Trophy winners Gateway United. They lost both games this year to the club so there's no doubt it'll be a tough road. However, there are some things on the Flyers side. As the Commissioner so kindly pointed out, the boys in red haven't lost two games in a row all season. Granted, week 22 was a win so that might not mean anything. Likewise, Honors Trophy winners are 1-2 all time in their campaigns to take the BSL Cup as well. The really important statistic here however is APG. The Saints average roughly two points more per game than Rose City. It's really going to come down to what sort of night the Flyers have. Will they score one or two points, like they so often have? Or will it be the five or six we know they're so capable of? A lot of that comes down to contributions from middle of the pack guys. In order to snatch a win from the league's top team, Rose City will need production from guys like Mike Magee, Darlington Nagbe, and C. J. Sapong who've been spotty at best all year.

"We've got to put up points, and lots of them. There's no way around that," the Flyers coach said after Monday practice. "We've done it before this year. Six points in week four, five in weeks fifteen and nineteen. We can't leave any points on the bench or allow anybody to come on for the other guys. One thing we've been this year is a pretty clean team. I think we can take this with a lot of effort and a bit of luck."

Starters
Steven Beitashour
Marvin Chavez
Marco Di Vaio
Kosuke Kimura
Mike Magee
Darlington Nagbe
Mauro Rosales (Captain)
C. J. Sapong
Josh Saunders (Keeper)

Subs
Justin Braun
Adam Moffat
Hamdi Salihi

Lineup Week 15

Last week was a 6-3 loss to Gateway. At least we scored more than our average. This week Marco Di Vaio makes his first start for Montreal! Allez!

Starters
Steven Beitashour
Justin Braun
Marco Di Vaio
Marvin Chavez
Kosuke Kimura
Mike Magee
Darlington Nagbe
Mauro Rosales
C.J. Sapong

Subs
Bjorn Runstrom
Dan Kennedy
Adam Moffat

First Kick Result and Announcement

First Kick is over and Rose City didn't get the result they were hoping for, falling 3-1 to Gateway United.

"Gateway is an excellent team and they deserve all the credit with their win. Our boys showed spark and energy and we still expect to be a team to be reckoned with going forward," a sober Flyers manager said during the post-match presser.

The Flyers would at least have been at only a one point deficit if not for a late lineup penalty. It was not a good way to start their first BSL season.

"The boys on the pitch certainly did their part," the manager continued. "We have to do ours here in the office so that we can give them every chance to win and we failed this week. We expect our supporters to hold our feet to the fire and we vow to not let them down again. You can bet our lineup will be posted well ahead of time for Week 2."

Finally, Rose City announced the signing of free agent Adam Moffat to continue to build up their roster barring approval by the commissioner's office.

EDIT: In accordance with the 12 player roster limit, Rose City is releasing Josh Wolff as well.

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!