Week 8 - Making Do

Two weeks without Harry Shipp has caused some issues for the Flyers but he's back and everyone's healthy!

Starters
Quincy Amerikwa
Giles Barnes
Perry Kitchen
Sasha Kljestan
Drew Moor
Luke Mulholland
Gonzalo Pineda
Nick Rimando - GK
Robbie Rogers
Harry Shipp - C
Luis Silva

Subs
Gaston Fernandez
Hector Jimenez
Carlos Rivas

Reserve
Rodney Wallace

Week 7 Lineup - Late

Nothing much to say here. The team managed a 5-0 win finally last week even without the help of Harry Shipp. He's still out because Chicago has a ridiculously long break so here's hoping.

Starters
Giles Barnes
Perry Kitchen
Sasha Kljestan
Drew Moor
Luke Mulholland
Gonzalo Pineda
Nick Rimando - GK
Carlos Rivas
Robbie Rogers
Luis Silva
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Gaston Fernandez
Hector Jimenez
Quincy Amerikwa

Reserve
Harry Shipp

Week 6 Lineup vs Burud Town

Even after their best game of the season the Flyers can't catch points. And now Chicago is on a bye week leaving the team without top playmaker Harry Shipp. In addition, Gonzalo Pineda joins the subs out with a red card for a very high boot in his previous game. We'll see what happens.

Starters
Giles Barnes
Gaston Fernandez
Hector Jimenez
Perry Kitchen
Sasha Kljestan
Luke Mulholland
Nick Rimando - GK
Carlos Rivas
Robbie Rogers
Luis Silva
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Gonzalo Pineda
Harry Shipp
Quincy Amerikwa

Reserve
Drew Moor

Week 5 Lineup vs SC Canada

Whew. Almost missed getting this one up in time. Most of the team's here and we nabbed a point last week. Guess that's a place to start.


Starters
Quincy Amerikwa
Giles Barnes
Gaston Fernandez
Perry Kitchen
Luke Mulholland
Gonzalo Pineda
Nick Rimando - GK
Carlos Rivas
Harry Shipp
Luis Silva
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Robbie Rogers
Sasha Kljestan
Hector Jimenez

Reserve
Drew Moor

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

Week 3 Lineup vs. Union SC

I intended to post this lineup much earlier but pushed it back when the Dallas/Philly game was. I hope the commish finds that acceptable.

Playing without Rimando this week will likely be no fun. Let's see if we can manage 3 points for the first time this season. History vs the Union says yes.

Starters
Quincy Amerikwa
Giles Barnes - C
Gaston Fernandez
Perry Kitchen
Sasha Kljestan
Nick Rimando - GK
Carlos Rivas
Robbie Rogers
Harry Shipp
Luis Silva
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Gonzalo Pineda
Hector Jimenez
Luke Mulholland

Reserve
Drew Moor

Week 2: Linup vs OCZ

Week one was rough. Most teams got off to a slow-ish start and, while Nick Rimando put the Boys in Red on his back it wasn't enough to top the highest scoring team in week one. Below you'll find the Week Two lineup. With NYRB and DC not playing and Drew Moor still rehabbing (he'll be worth it!), the group gets kinda tight.

Starters
Quincy Amerikwa
Giles Barnes - C
Gaston Fernandez
Hector Jimenez
Luke Mulholland
Gonzalo Pineda
Nick Rimando - GK
Carlos Rivas
Robbie Rogers
Harry Shipp
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Perry Kitchen
Sasha Kljestan
Luis Silva

Reserve
Drew Moor

First Kick 2015

It's the first week of the MLS season and that means the First Kick for the BSL too. Rose City will start the new season in the Match of the Week against a stacked Spartans team as they slug it out against the 2014 BSL Cup Champions. Is there enough firepower on the roster? Will the team finally figure out how to start quickly?

All of this is, of course, predicted on the increasingly large assumption that a Player Strike doesn't kill the MLS season.

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

Subs
Quincy Amerikwa
Hector Jimenez
Luis Silva

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.

Rose City is Back in Action

To anyone wondering, consider this confirmation that the Flyers will stick around in the BSL for the upcoming season. With Marco Di Vaio retired, all DP slots are up for grabs. Make any reasonable offer. Draft picks and allocation cash will be considered.

Look for an announcement regarding the team's Retention Player soon.

2014 Year in Review

The 2014 BSL Season is over and now, it's time to take a look at how things shook out for the Rose City Flyers. In many respects the season was a success, but there are certainly areas that could be improved upon. The team finished the regular season 11-10-1 for a 34 point total and just outside the playoff places.

The Flyers continued their unfortunate reputation as a usually low-scoring club finishing the regular season with a Ppg of 3.0 and Majors Cup Qualifying with a slightly higher 3.5. Once the postseason commenced though, things became better. Over the five game Majors Cup competition, the team averaged a Ppg of 4.6. This is in keeping with, or a slight improvement over the last two seasons for the team and hopefully a positive trend. However, it's considerably behind the top performing clubs who averaged much nearer to 4 or slightly over it.

Players combined well this year to leave the team with five field players with double digit BSL points along with goalkeeper Jaime Penedo on ten of his own. Beyond that, there were several other players who managed to contribute a few goals of their own. However, a few issues might be mentioned as well. Marco Di Vaio, worth nearly 20 BSL points on his own last season hauled in only 11 points this season on his way to a well deserved retirement. Add to that the fact that the offseason's premier acquisition, New England's Diego Fagundez, who was supposed to bring some youth to the squad and hold over long term as a new DP managed only 10 himself and you'll quickly see that it took almost two players to do the job of one last year. This by no means means that Fagundez won't be back for the Rose City next season, but he's by no means the slam dunk that was hoped for. Several field players might have had a few more but for some lingering lineup failures that the Flyers front office can't seem to shake off. There's always a couple it seems.

Giles Barnes - 11pts; 6 goals, 5 assists

Drafted in the third round, Barnes seemed to be the first indication of a significantly improved draft from the Flyers. He's lived up to his billing and performed similarly or better to many players drafted at similar slots including besting former Flyer Mauro Rosales by several. He's performed well enough, especially given the Dynamo's slide to the bottom of the league all season that retaining his services is worth considering for next season.

Marco Di Vaio - 11pts; 8 goals, 3 assists

We've already discussed Di Vaio and it's clear that he's not performed to the level he did last season. Retaining him also appears to be out of the question unless he changes his mind about retirement. Let's just say that this is about the minimum performance that a DP should provide to seem like they were worth it and we wish Marco the best as he heads back to Italy to be with his family.

Lamar Neagle - 11pts; 6 goals, 5 assists

Drafted 74th at the beginning of Round 7, Lamar Neagle's point total has almost certainly been helped along by the general good form of the Seattle Sounders attack this season as well as, specifically, his strike partners in Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey. However, that doesn't mean he wasn't criminally under-drafted. He shouldn't have been available any later than something like 40th and the Flyers have appreciated his contributions.

Eleven points doesn't happen by accident in the BSL however. He's scored a few goals but dishes to his friends as often. Guys like Neagle are clearly the backbone of any healthy BSL club. A couple of Robbie Keanes or Dom Dwyers don't get your team there on their own. You need some guys like Neagle. Underappreciated, drafted in the mid rounds, and willing to show up when your big name DPs don't necessarily.

Does he have the makings of a DP selection? Well, he's already beaten his personal record for BSL points and expecting the Sounders to contend for the Supporters' Shield again next year seems like a coin flip at best. It might be worth thinking about, but don't expect it.


Diego Fagundez - 10pts; 4 goals, 6 assists

Compared to Neagle above, Fagundez was acquired at pretty high cost. In order to acquire his rights the Flyers dished out a very valuable Round 1 pick and were unable to sell the DP slot he occupied on the open market. That DP slot is potentially worth a Round 1 slot itself along with a small amount of allocation cash. Players also acquired in that round include Jermaine DeFoe, Blas Perez, and Kelyn Rowe. These guys compare similarly or more favorably. That said, Fagundez was picked up in part because he was worth 20 BSL points in the 2013 season and he very well could be again. But he has to find the field again in New England for that to ever end up happening again. DP next season, possibly.






Jeff Larentowicz - 10pts; 3 goals, 1 assist, 6 shots on goal

Larentowicz makes Fagundez seem like even more of a bust. Mostly viewed as older and a bit washed up, he was picked up as late draft filler in Round 12 and outstripped all expectations. He spent the first part of the season in the midfield for the Fire putting a few things on frame and generally looking okay but then adapted quickly when called into action as a converted centerback. Only then did he really started putting shots on goal which is a bit amazing if you know anything about how the Fire's season went. This sort of transformation is as likely to be a bust as a boom so the team's really glad he worked out. Still, he's 31 and on the back end of his career.


Jaime Penedo (GK) - 10pts; 4 save points, 6 clean sheets

Choosing a GK in the BSL is a tricky proposition. Last year, the team ended up stuck with Zac McMath when every reasonable keeper was grabbed in between two Rose City picks. Even more tricky, since roughly half the points your keeper will earn are from Clean Sheets instead of saves which means there's a tension between having a keeper who plays for a team likely to get a lot of sheets or one who's back line is just porous enough to allow for a lot of potential saves each game. The preference of some BSL teams for keeping a backup keeper in the reserve slot as well makes this even harder. Penedo is a reasonable keeper for a good team with a solid back line. Just that made him worth ten points this season. But it's definitely possible to do better. Still, you never know when a solid league GK will turn sour as with guys like Tally Hall and John Busch this year.

Eric Alexander - 7pts; 2 goals, 5 assists

Alexander was a solid pickup in Round 9 who had been overlooked by other BSL owners less familar with him. No longer playing for the Portland Timbers, it was still clear that Alexander was talented and getting time in the midfield for the Energy Drinks. At that point in the draft it seemed like a no brainer just based on the fact that he'd regularly see the field. Many other picks from a similar range can't say the same.

Maxi Urruti - 7pts; 5 goals, 2 assists

For every Round 7 or Round 9 steal, there's a guy that you're over-hyped on. After spending our Round 1 grabbing Diego Fagundez the first actual pick in Round 2 was used to pick up the Argentine Urruti who's definitely talented but spent a good chunk of the season sharing the starts with the Timbers new DP Fenendo Adi. Both have proved to be dangerous for the real Rose City but the shared play time has cut into the potential for Urruti to really score it big with the Flyers. He might be worth a DP pickup but only if something truly shakes up the duality of his relationship with Adi in Portland.

Drew Moor - 6pts; 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots on goal

Drew Moor was the third to last pick in the 2014 draft. That makes his six points look especially good and it gets even better when you realize that he rode the Flyers reserve slot for the entirety of the Majors Cup after picking up a season ending injury in Week 22.

Aurelien Collin - 4pts; 4 shots on goal

This guy, behated by many an MLS attacking corps, was the Retention Player for the Rose City for 2014. He didn't perform as well as the previous year but he did put a few points on the board and, without something crazy happening, that's exactly what you want your RP to do.

Rodney Wallace - 3pts; 3 goals

Wallace was a revelation for the Flyers lasts season. In fact, he was one of the few bright spots. He opened up the attack on Portland's left wing after Caleb Porter saw fit to drag him from the darkness of his play at left back. He poured on both the goals and assists and, when his ACL popped in the Timbers' final game of the postseason versus RSL, the Flyers were sad to know that he wasn't a wise choice for RP going into this year. That said, most teams have some chaff that doesn't quite work out and, when Wallace began looking like he was ready to get back to playing the Rose City grabbed him for Marcelo Sarvas who, while he put some points on the board later in the season had been a big snooze until then. The upside, Wallace will be the frontrunner for the 2015 Retention Player assuming nothing changes about his position with Caleb Porter's squad.

Jordan Harvey - 2pts; 2 shots on goal
Ned Grabavoy - 1pt; 1 assist

Flyers Win, Add to Trophy Case

Rose City 4 - 3 Union SC

If Marco Di Vaio has been less spectacular as the DP and Captain for Rose City this year than last there are a lot of reasons. He's started fewer games overall but he's just not put up the same numbers. For a guy who ended last season on 20 MLS goals to not even be in double digits makes for a lot more work for a team that was expecting a lot from him. But none of that mattered this week. Di Vaio's brace was the deciding difference between the Flyers and the Union in what's certainly the two sides' closest matchup in quite some time.

"Yeah. I think it's fitting," the Flyers manager said when asked after the game. "We're playing in the championship. We're clearly both strong clubs and it came down to the wire. Marco's retiring at the end of the season and so, to go out like that with a brace for the club feels right."

The Rose City built up what seemed an insurmountable 4-0 lead by Saturday only to have the Union come roaring back. Three unanswered scores left the result in doubt until, with the last MLS game of the week featuring zero Union SC players, the result was locked in.

In addition to Di Vaio, Giles Barnes scored in both of Houston's games (only one counts) and Rodney Wallace pushed one in for Portland vs San Jose. The Flyers remain undefeated in postseason play and successfully swept the 2014 Majors Cup 5-0-0 becoming the first club (BSL or MLS) to win a Majors Cup by winning every game of the tournament.

2014 Majors Cup Champions - Rose City

Majors Cup Final Preview and Lineup

This is it. It's the last week of the season for absolutely everybody and it's all on the line for the Flyers versus the commissioner's team, Union SC. Each team has a BSL Cup to their name (2012, and 2010 respectively) but only one can add hardware to the case.

Rose City has done very well historically against Union and have to be considered the favorites going in. They've scored more points every week of this tournament and bested the opposition 3-1 in the group stage. Including that win, the Boys in Red are 3-0 vs the Union this year and 6-1-0 all time. Don't expect that to change. The Flyers are a perfect 4-0-0 in the Majors Cup so far, and undefeated in postseason play.

On a lighter note, this does look like it will be Marco Di Vaio's final match in the BSL. The team thanks him for his contribution the past two years and wishes him all the best.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes
DaMarcus Beasley
Marco Di Vaio (C)
Jordan Harvey
Jeff Larentowicz
Peguy Luyindula
Lamar Neagle
Jaime Penedo (GK)
Maxi Urruti
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Aurelien Collin
Jair Benitez
Diego Fagundez


Reserve
Drew Moor

Rose City Advances to Finals

Rose City 6 - 3 Orange County

After dropping both games against Orange County this season by one point, the Flyers showed up in the Majors Cup Semifinal. Outscoring the opposition 6-3 in a game where they trailed by two for a long period, they remain undefeated in postseason play and now stand 4-0-0 in this year's edition.

Six points came off of strong play by the full group including braces from late season superhero Rodney Wallace and low round draft pick Jeff Larentowicz. Jaime Penedo added a save point as well as an assist from the hard working Lamar Neagle.

Rose City will now advance to it's first Majors Cup Final alongside first time finalist Union SC. They've only lost to the Commissioner's team once in their three years in the league and have already bested them three times this season including a battle two weeks ago in the group stages. Once again, a BSL club will take home the hardware. Look for it to be Rose City.

Majors Cup Semifinals

The Semi-Final game is vs the BSL's Orange County Zodiac. Like all teams from California, they deserve no quarter!

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes
DaMarcus Beasley
Marco Di Vaio
Jordan Harvey
Jeff Larentowicz
Peguy Luyindula
Lamar Neagle (C)
Jaime Penedo (GK)
Maxi Urruti
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Diego Fagundez
Jair Benitez
Aurelien Collin

Reserve
Drew Moor

Flyers Sweep Group Stage

Rose City 4 - 0 New York Red Bulls

Rose City kept their unbeaten postseason streak alive and got out of their group at 3-0-0 to earn the top seed after they took down the New York Red Bulls this week. That's now five postseason games that the Flyers have participated in, and they've come out on top in all of them. Staying that way though is about to become a very tall challenge.

The Flyers will face the recently crowned Honors Trophy Champion OC Zodiac in the Semis and their championship is no fluke. The team is packing guys like Dom Dwyer, Gyasi Zardes, and Kelyn Rowe who all threaten to score (sometimes more than once) a week. It could also be argued that the Flyers' group was the weaker of the two. Both the Zodiac and the other team to make it out of Group A, Sporting KC have higher APGs for their Majors Cup run than Rose City does.

It's always great to be in the postseason but pretending that a loss in the Semis would be okay isn't really correct. It's going to sting if the Flyers go down, but you can bet they'll not go down without a fight.

Majors Cup Week Three: Pushing for the Semis

The last week of the Majors Cup group stage is here and, as previously written, the Flyers are likely to advance. It'd take some seriously bad luck to not get there. Still, a win isn't assured against an often high scoring team like the New York Energy Drinks.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes
DaMarcus Beasley
Aurelien Collin
Marco Di Vaio (C)
Jeff Larentowicz
Peguy Luyindula
Lamar Neagle
Jaime Penedo (GK)
Maxi Urruti
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Diego Fagundez
Jordan Harvey
Jair Benitez

Reserve
Drew Moor

Rose City Remains Undefeated in Postseason Play

Rose City 3 - 1 Union SC

The Boys in Red topped Union SC 3 - 1 in Majors Cup play this week. They move to 6-1-0 all-time versus the Commissioner's team, remain undefeated in all postseason play, and now control their Majors Cup group.

"The play was really superb," the Flyers coach offered when prompted today during the team's cool-down session. "But we've got a lot of work to do still. We're not even definitely in to the Semis yet."

It's true, too. Some unfortunate results down the table mean that while the Flyers are in the driver's seat and could advance even with a loss next week, they're not through just yet. Beyond that, the field is chock full of teams pouring on five, six, or more points seemingly every week. The other side of the table is now resolved and both teams that are going through, Sporting KC and the OC Zodiac, are standing on a better PPG than the Rose City.

"PPG has never been our strongest statistical area," the coach said. "But this game is almost as much luck as anything else. Getting to the Semis and then winning the Cup will involve a bit of it. Maybe we'll go off or perhaps one of our opponents will have an off week. All we can do is play our best at this point and be proud of what we've accomplished this season."

Next week the team faces the New York Red Bulls, that ugly morass of marketing hubris, who have one more goal in the competition to date than the Flyers. It's going to be a close one for sure but the Boys in Red have done most of the hard work already. The dice are weighted heavily in their favor regardless of results.

Majors Cup Week Two

Week Two features the Commissioner's own Union SC who the Flyers are 5-1-0 all time against. Will this be the usual beatdown or will a Union team that has looked stronger this season fight for their first piece of hardware in a long time? Expect this one to be a fun ride. Hold on.

Starters
Eric Alexander
Giles Barnes
DaMarcus Beasley
Marco Di Vaio
Diego Fagundez
Jeff Larentowiz
Peguy Luyindula
Lamar Neagle
Jaime Penedo (GK)
Maxi Urruti
Rodney Wallace

Subs
Jordan Harvey
Jair Benitez
Aurelien Collin


Reserve
Drew Moor

Rose City Takes Week One

Rose City 6 - 2 DC United

The Flyers continued their postseason winning ways in Week One of the Majors Cup with a 6-2 win over DC United that placed them in the first position out of Group B. Next week, Rose City takes on the Commissioner's team Union SC and a win would nearly clinch a trip to the Semis.

Scores from Giles Barnes, Maxi Urruti, Lamar Neagle, Marco Di Vaio, and a brace from Jeff Larentowicz off the bench got the Boys in Red their six points. Peguy Luyindula scored a PK that stayed on the bench.