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 Sixteen: Looking for Seven

The Flyers are on a six game winning streak. It's really the only reason that the Boys in Red are still relevant this season, but that doesn't change the fact that they're planning to make a run for it. Currently sitting in fifth which is the last (and new) playoff position for the Honors Trophy, it'll take a lot of luck and some skill too to stay relevant there. The streak has, however made the MCQ a more realistic possibility. The Flyers are one of two undefeated teams left in MCQ and will retain their second place position there even if they lose this week.

This week's opponent is the long-running Pennsylvania Stoners and the series is currently tied 3-3. The Stoners have had a rough season and can't really catch the Flyers anywhere on the table, however three points are pretty needed to stay in place for the Honors Trophy. Capital District is currently two points ahead with Gateway just one behind. Lots of possible positions could change based on this match and a few others.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes
Aurelien Collin
Marco Di Vaio
Diego Fagundez (C)
Jordan Harvey
Drew Moor
Lamar Neagle
Jaime Penedo (GK)
Maxi Urruti
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Jeff Larentowicz
Saer Sene
Ned Grabavoy

Reserve
Raul Fernandez

Flyers on a Winning Streak

Rose City 5 - 2 Pennsylvania Stoners

Rose City's officially on a winning streak. Two wins in a row in convincing fashion leave a big question about upcoming Majors Cup Qualifying. Can the Flyers actually play spoiler in the second half of the season? It all starts next week with a rapid rematch versus the Spartans who should be out for blood after the Flyers killed their shot at the record books.

Week 11: Wild Ride

Last week was one wild ride. A win versus the league's top team is a big deal and the team that showed up for that match is the one the front office saw when they were drafting. Let's be honest though, the Flyers are out for the Cup this year just from owner apathy in the first third of the season. It's all about the Majors Cup now and if that's true then this week, the last before the break, is pretty much a throw away. That said, we'd like to rack up some more allocation cash, and show that last week wasn't a fluke.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes (C)
Aurelien Collin
Marco Di Vaio
Diego Fagundez
Raul Fernandez (GK)
Ned Grabavoy
Jeff Larentowicz
Drew Moor
Lamar Neagle
Maxi Urruti

Subs
Saer Sene
Marcelo Sarvas
Jordan Harvey

Reserve
Jaime Penedo (GK)

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 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)

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.

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.

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

Week Nineteen Wrap Up

Rose City 5 - 3 Second City


Rose City finished the week with an impressive win over Second City. Marco Di Vaio scored his first MLS goal and got two points in the BSL with the goal and an assist. Bringing Di Vaio in is starting to look like a really smart move from the Flyers front office. He's producing, helping the club's still low APG and will be a genuine threat all next season if the club can hang onto him. Three more points came from Rosales, the Captain, Mike Magee, and a clean sheet from Josh Saunders.

More interestingly is what's shaping up at the end of the season. Alamo City and Pennsylvania are tied in the standings with 40 points but they appear along side one another next week in the Game of the Week. This could give Rose City some room to slide into a position to threaten the Honors Trophy, but no one seems to be talking about it! It's true that these two excellent teams would need to show some bad form for the final three weeks of the season, but Rose City isn't out of it yet!

Continuing the post-season implications, a win or tie next week should clinch a playoff birth for the boys in red. They currently sit in 3rd in the Standings with 37 points and 6th in Majors Cup Qualifying with 13. The last three weeks of the season could make all the difference for the Flyers both for the Honors Trophy and a chance to participate in the Majors Cup. To that end, we look to Week Twenty.

Gold Coast visits in Week Twenty, carrying a record of 6-10-3 and 21 points. While they're not contending for a playoff spot, pride is still on the line and the team has scored at least two points in each of their last four outings. Tune in here for all the news, scores and lineups.

Week 12 Linup: Majors Cup Qualifying Begins

It's another Game of the Week here in week twelve and it's never felt quite like this. This game is as close as it gets to "for all the marbles" when we're only halfway though the season. A win will move the Flyers into a very comfortable first place, a loss will definitely hand that spot back to this weeks' rival, the Stoners. Can Rose City come out on top against a team that put eight points on them just a few weeks ago? Either way, this one is starting to have rivalry written all over it.

Starters
Steven Beitashour
Justin Braun
Marvin Chavez
Dan Kennedy (Keeper)
Kosuke Kimura
Darlington Nagbe
Mauro Rosales (Captain)
Bjorn Runstrom
C.J. Sapong

Subs
Mike Magee
Adam Moffat
Marco Di Vaio

Alejandro Moreno was dropped mid-week for Steven Beitashour. He's been pairing strongly with Marvin Chavez and Chris Wondolowski in San Jose.

Keep on keepin' on!

Rose City 2 - 0 Gold Coast


The Flyers managed a win once more in the Week 11 Match of the Week over Gold Coast. The question remains though, averaging only 2.2 points per game, can they keep doing it? That's been the talk in the league as the team jumped into first in both standings and the power rankings this week.

"It's certainly not a number that I'm happy with," Rose City's coach said when asked about it. "We left another point on the bench this week with Kimura and that one's on me. He'd been getting minutes and not producing so I sat him down. In hind sight, he should have at least been the first sub. He would have made it onto the pitch then. But it's still an issue we're working on. With Di Vaio coming in in the next week or so and Rosales getting his feet under him finally, I still think we're a team that's going to get better over the next few weeks rather than worse."

Several members of the team have been underperforming as of late. Alejandro Moreno has tallied only one point all season during a week five loss. C.J. Sapong hasn't scored in several weeks either after proving central to the team's early progress. Justin Braun was also expected to provide more offense than he has, tallying a single assist so far.

So the question remains. Is Rose City the real deal? The club improved to 8-3-0 and first in both the standings and power rankings this week so for the moment it looks to be the case. That said, the Majors Cup kicks off next week providing every club a fresh start.

Look to see the Flyers try to continue their dominant streak as they once again take on the Pennsylvania Stoners in the Match of the Week. Four weeks ago, Rose City took an 8-0 thrashing by this same team and a win by the Stoners this week would put them back into first in the standings on APG alone.

Week Six Results

Rose City 2 - 0 Second City

Rose City got it done once again with some quality from both inside and outside the net. They were aided by a Lineup Failure on the part of Second City, but didn't need it as they shut out Stars. Points came from Kennedy's clean sheet as well as an assist from Darlington Nagbe.



"I'm very happy with where we are at this early point in the season," the Flyers coach said. "We're an expansion club that's getting points both at home, and on the road and that's a big deal. We're averaging 2.5 points a game. That's what I'd like to improve on. All the top clubs average four to five and that's where we need to be if we really want to be considered one of the big boys. We're working on it, and it should improve on its own somewhat as we get Bill Hamid and Mauro (Rosales) back into the lineup. These guys can both bring down multiple points each game. It should help."

Rose City improves to 4-2-0 and sits in fourth place in the standings and fifth place in the Power Rankings. Next week will tell a story as the Pennsylvania Stoners come to town. The Stoners are nipping at Rose City's heels in the standings and actually sit fourth in the Power Rankings.

"It's an opportunity for us to go out there and look good and get a win against a quality opponent," the manager said. "And maybe to show whoever does those rankings how wrong they are."