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 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

Week Sixteen: Flyers vs. Union

The boys are headed to Southern California to take on the Union for the second time this year in a game that could (if other results fall correctly this week) put the Flyers into a playoff spot for the first time this season. The Union have had dismal luck against the 2012 BSL Cup winners since their entrance into the league with Rose City owning the matchup 3-0-0 on an aggregate score of 10-6.

A few important guys are missing this week, mainly due to MLS byes. Some injuries could still be an issue but it's a pretty clear roster. That's good because the Gold Cup is about to mess with rosters big time, MLS and BSL alike.

Other league games are a big deal for the Flyers this week as well. Fourth place Spartans take on a number one Alamo City side that doesn't look to be losing any time soon so a win for the Rose City could put them even on points. 1612 will likely still have a slight apg advantage but a great week by the Flyers and a dismal one in New York could flip that as well. Six points hasn't been an uncommon score of the Flyers recently. In addition, Burud Town and Orange County, who are numbers three and two respectively go head to head this week and both of them continue to look catchable. Root for the OC in this one simply because the Stags are closer to the Flyers in the standings. Finally, MCQ standings are really volatile right now as well. APG is all that separates the 4th to 6th spots on the table while teams as far up as third and as low as ninth could realistically do a lot of moving there this week. Keep your eyes open and pull for your Boys in Red.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Teal Bunbury (SKC)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)

Subs
Eric Hassli (DAL)
Rodney Wallace (POR)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)

Reserve
Luis Robles (NY)

Shootout in B-Town

Rose City 5 - 5 Burud Town

This week's match turned out to be a track meet. Rose City jumped out quickly with a hat-trick from Marco Di Vaio. Contributions from Bernier and Rodney Wallace drove the score to five. Unfortunately, Burud Town got two points from their quebecois player as well in Andrew Wenger. Couple that with another strong week from Colorado rookie Deshorn Brown and some fancy footwork from David Ferreira and we were tied at five going into Sunday. Rose City had hope that Mauro Rosales would play the hero, but Seattle were undone dramatically in their own 4-1 loss to the LA Galaxy.

Hat-trick Hero.

The result isn't the greatest but one point is better than none. Other results this week put Rose City five points back of both third and fourth place and let Second City jump them on the table again. The good news is that Second City is only one point ahead and that next week's opponent is Alamo City who've been trading between first and second place all season. A win there could do some good in climbing into the playoff picture. Finally, the draw puts the Flyers in third place in Majors Cup Qualifying with a 1-0-1 record and a 4.5apg.

Week Thirteen: Cracking the Playoffs

The next two or three games are especially important in the Rose City. A strong showing now could shove the Flyers into the playoff positions if they keep racking up points and improving on their already solid APG. It all starts this week with the season's second match versus Burud Town who currently own third place. Add in the fact that there's just five points separating the two teams and this one has consequences.

The Flyers currently own the lifetime series 2-1 but the Stags won the last meeting 3-2 after an injury riddled Rose City team came storming back to tie most of the way through the week. However, a lot has changed in the Flyers camp since Week Five. Since then, Alan Gordon has returned (and left and returned again) to the pitch as have Marvin Chavez and Martin Rivero. Daniel Paladini, Danny Cruz, and the newest pickup Eric Hassli have all donned the Red for the first time since that week five match as well. Mauro Rosales and the Sounders have (re)discovered what scoring is. And finally, Rodney Wallace has begun receiving major minutes for the Timbers and has proven to be the potent weapon no one but he, the Costa Rican national team, and apparently Caleb Porter knew he could be. All in all, this is a different team than the Stags saw just a few short weeks ago and that's a good thing because playoff positions are starting to firm up and competition for the Majors Cup began last week as well.

In addition, pending league approval, the Flyers will be dropping Michael Harrington (POR) and picking up Jaime Castrillon (COL). If approved, appropriate edits will be made to the roster before game time.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Danny Cruz (PHI)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Eric Hassli (DAL)
Zach McMath (PHI)
Martin Rivero (COL)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Daniel Paladini (CHI)
Jaime Castrillon (COL)
Kekuta Manneh (VAN)

Reserves
Luis Robles (NY)

Flyers 4 - 2 Second City

Flyers 4 - 2 Second City

Second City is now 0-4 versus the Flyers all time and the matchup is starting to look like one the Stars will worry about every time it comes up on the schedule. In a dramatic game this weekend, the Flyers faced down the Stars and jumped them in the league table as well, putting the Boys in Red in fifth overall. This is an especially encouraging result given that Di Vaio, Bernier, and Rosales all sat out this week due to MLS byes and minor injury. Points came from Rivero and Chavez along with Zach McMath's Clean Sheet/Save Point double.

Chavez goes 1 on 1.

"The club has really developed some depth in the last month or so and now that our injury issues are mostly in the past, we can take anyone, anywhere. We've shown that anyone on the team can score from Captain Rosales to guys like Wallace and Collin. Top of the table, here we come!" the Flyers coach exclaimed in an exuberant press conference after the match. Rose City started slow this year, sitting as low as tenth place in the league before the boys found their form and their health.

Now comes the hard part. The Flyers picked up nine points in the last three weeks off the backs of some of the league's less excellent teams as they needed to. Now comes back to back games against Burud Town and the league-leading Alamo City. If Rose City can find a way to get at least four points from those two games they should be contending for the playoffs and looking good in the Majors Cup standings as well. It's crunch time.

Edit: In addition, pending league approval, Rose City is dropping David Estrada and picking up Eric Hassli.

Flyers Fall, Week Five

Rose City 2 - 3 Burud Town

The Flyers are no longer perfect versus Burud Town. A close match in which some new members of the team got on the board didn't end the way Rose City wanted. Still struggling with injuries to several key pieces, the Flyers are still averaging two points a game. While not great, that's going to keep the team in the running until the rest of the team gets back to fitness. Once the full force is available you can expect a fight to the end versus anyone and everyone in the league.

Week Six features a match against Alliance who are also on six points. Their PPG is slightly lower, but it remains an interesting match. The winner is likely to move up in the standings while the loser continues to fight for a grip.

Week Five Linup

It's refreshing to have your team up and running at full capacity. That's exactly what it feels like this week for the Flyers with Portland playing again, even though the team's major injuries haven't sorted themselves out yet.

"We're getting stronger by the week," the Coach said when asked. "Once the injured guys get up to speed, expect us to be really dangerous." Expect this team to contend strongly for the Majors Cup. Still missing Marvin Chavez, Martin Rivero, and Alan Gordon on injury, the Flyers are none the less riding a two game winning streak after starting the season poorly. This week they face an undefeated Burud Town who put a hurting on the strong looking OC Zodiac. No doubt about it, everyone will have to contribute if the Flyers are to remain perfect against the Stags. It's no time for the Bernier magic to stop, and newly acquired keeper Luis Robles will have the chance to add to the board.

Starters
Patrice Bernier (MTL)
Aurelien Collin (SKC)
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
David Estrada (SEA)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Luis Robles (NY)
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Rodney Wallace (POR)

Subs
Marvin Chavez (SJ)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Martin Rivero (COL)

Reserves
Zach McMath

New Superstar? Week 4 Review

Rose City 2 - 1 Union Southern California

The Flyers squeeked it out again this week with a 2-1 decision versus the Union. They move to 3-0 all time versus the Commissioner's Club. But don't think this celebration comes without some introspection. There were quite a few lucky breaks for the Boys in Red, formost among them Jose Correa's deflected shot tallied as an Own Goal for Jalil Anibaba of Chicago. Jeff Laurentowicz did everything in his power to ruin the scoreline as well.

The question instead, since the scoreline remained in the Flyers favor is this? Just how much value did the team pickup with Patrice Bernier? Will he continue to prove to be the goal hound the team needs while the injured players get up to speed? Will the magic stop if (when?) the Montreal Impact lose some of their early season sparkle? In the club's opinion having the combination of Bernier and Di Vaio makes all the difference.

Di Vaio and Bernier celebrate after combining for the game winning strike.

"Being able to potentially pick up two points off one well executed play like we did this weekend is big game," the Flyers coach offered when asked. "It's not as easy as it looks to put a true goal scoring run together so being able to double up like that is invaluable."

Week Five sees the Flyers, now coming off a two game winning streak face a hot Burud Town. The team is undefeated at 3-0-1 so far this season and looked impressive in taking down the previously unstoppable OC Zodiac 6-3 in Week Four.

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 8 Results

Rose City 2 - 0 Burud Town

We're on a tight schedule here with Week 9 just around the corner. That doesn't mean we can't celebrate the good work the club did in Week 8 though. While it's true that Burud Town hasn't put up a great showing to this point in the season, three points is three points and Rose City got them all on the back of Marvin Chavez this week.

"Marvin's a hard worker above all," the Flyers Coach said when asked about the players two point performance this week. "His position with San Jose behind Wondolowski makes him dangerous especially off of assists. But he's more than capable of putting the ball in the net himself too.

Rose City are riding high once again as they claimed the 3rd spot in the Standings and look to remain in the playoff hunt. The team is winning, but can they keep it up? Will two or three points a game serve them well enough? That's the question for now.

Rose City is currently 5-3-0 and in 3rd in the standings. Alamo City is up next and they're looking to snap a two game losing streak.