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.

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

2012 Year in Review

It's the end of the 2012 BSL regular season, and what a season it was! Rose City started the season off as one of the new kids and now they're a respected club, vying for the BSL Cup. The club struggled to put points on the board at times but seemed to have it when it counted. A season average of 2.5 points per game is well below the other playoff clubs but the Majors Cup Qualifying standings indicating that the club is inching toward 3 points in the second half of the season. The Flyers ended the season a respectable 13-7-2 with 41 points from regular season play. It's good enough for fourth place in the BSL and that final coveted playoff spot.

Many different players contributed to the success of the club over the long season but several stand out. Both captain Mauro Rosales and standout Marvin Chavez tallied nine points over the course of the regular season. Dan Kennedy provided six during his stint with the club; and Mike Magee, C.J. Sapong, and Darlington Nagbe all added five of their own. Late comer Marco Di Vaio tallied four himself. You'll find the total for all club contributions below. The club would have finished even better but for a few lineup failures throughout the season. Clearly the club's Front Office has some work to do to improve itself in the off season just as much as the players. Speculation is already running rampant in the Pacific Northwest as to who might stay with the club for next season as its first Designated Players.

Marvin Chavez - 9pts

Given point totals and performance when the club needed it the most, the Flyers Front Office as well as the owner and general manager are proud to announce Marvin Chavez as the first Rose City Flyers FC Most Valuable Player this year. Chavez's handiwork at feeding other player for assists made him invaluable to Rose City. His name is being discussed both inside and outside the organization as a possible 2013 Designated Player.

Mauro Rosales - 9pts

The club's captain was hurt for a good portion of the beginning of the year but more than made up for it with his prolific goal scoring and assist creating abilities. Mauro combined with just about everyone else on the Sounders roster it seems to put points on the board. His creativity on the field is a big reason why he ends the BSL regular season with nine points . He holds the captain's armband well and is also in discussion as a potential 2013 Designated Player.

Dan Kennedy - 6pts

Dan spent only part of the season with Rose City, joining the club when Bill Hamid took off for international team duty. With Hamid injured coming back, Kennedy picked up the slack and provided the team quality points when they sometimes were few and far between.

Mike Magee - 5pts

The Galaxy striker was solid if not outstanding for the team the entire season. He provided a boost to the scoreline regularly while not putting up over the top numbers. The front office suspects that Mike would put up bigger numbers on an MLS team that needed him more. The Galaxy simply have too many big names for a solid but not flashy striker to stand out.

Darlington Nagbe - 5pts

Nagbe had a hot and cold season. He started off with a point in week two and followed it up with a brace two weeks later. Then the Timbers striker/midfielder seemed to go cold. His next points come in Week 22 where he managed a goal in both games that week. The front office remains convinced that the young player has a future in both MLS and the BSL. The question remains though, will he meet his potential? The BSL playoffs and potentially next season are the only way to know for sure. 

C.J. Sapong - 5pts

Another young striker who seemed on and off this season. Sapong scored several times in the early going and then seemed to go dead. The front office would like to see Sapong again next year. Who knows whether it will happen or not?

Marco Di Vaio - 4pts

The Italian striker looks to be the real deal in both MLS and the BSL providing four points in a few short weeks for the Flyers. He's currently under investigation in Italy for any part he may have played in the ongoing match fixing scandal. Conviction could result in a one year ban but it's unknown whether that would extend to MLS play or not. If that's cleared up in a positive way, he might also be DP material.

Josh Saunders - 3pts

The club's current keeper came in when it was needed. Here's hoping he adds to his total during the playoffs.

Maicon Santos - 3pts

Santos initially appeared to be the biggest mistake Rose City could make in the early going. He was dropped from the roster in order to pick up a player who made no impact. Scoring a hat trick in his final game, he went on to add several points to games for other teams before seemingly drying up. This might still be the biggest mistake the Flyers front office made all season.

Kosuke Kimura - 1pt

The one time Colorado backline man had more points than this. The coach always seemed to put him on the bench at the wrong time.

Alejandro  Moreno - 1pt

This was the biggest disappointment of the season. The Chivas striker was supposed to be a prolific scorer for the Flyers, driving them past their competition. Instead, he turned out to be a big flop.

Bill Hamid - 1pt

A good keeper who's schedule just never seemed to line up with the Flyers. He's done well and the team wishes him all the best.

Steven Beitashour - 1pt

Adam Moffat - 1pt

Justin Braun - 1pt

Lineup, Week Fourteen

So Rose City has managed it again. Say what you will about this year's hottest new team, they seem to get just the right amount of points. Most of the time. The Flyers finished off the Blues in week thirteen in a tight 2-1 win. Adam Moffat found the back of the net and C.J. Sapong put up a point for the first time in several weeks. But are they going to put up enough points down the stretch to stay where they are? Or is there an inevitable crash coming? Will Marco Di Vaio prove to be as strong a pickup as the team hopes when he arrives after the transfer window opens next week? Only time will tell.

Week fourteen is an exciting rematch with Gateway in another game of the week. The Saints gave Rose City a startling jolt into the BSL with a 3-1 win in the Flyers first ever league game at the beginning of the season. Let's see if Rose City can turn the tables this time.

Starters
Steven Beitashour
Marvin Chavez
Dan Kennedy (Keeper)
Kosuke Kimura
Mike Magee
Adam Moffat
Darlington Nagbe
Mauro Rosales (Captain)
C.J. Sapong

Subs
Justin Braun
Bjorn Runstrom
Marco Di Vaio

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.

Diamond in the Rough

Rose City 6 - 4 Union SC

Rose City came up big in week four with six points and a win over the struggling Union SC. A pair of braces, first from the departing Maicon Santos and then Darlington Nagbe made sure the Flyers were in it to win it and Sapong make sure the job was finished.



"We really went out and did the job. I think we're proving that you don't need a big pile of DPs to be competitive in this league," the Flyers head coach was quoted as saying at the end of match presser. Addressing the departure of Santos he had this to say: "Sure, we evaluated Maicon incorrectly. We screwed up and he's obviously capable of strong performances. We appreciate that there aren't any hard feelings and that he went out and played his best game for us knowing it was his last. We wish him all the best wherever he ends up."

Santos was unceremoniously dropped to make way for league newcomer Bjorn Runstrom. "We wanted to find someone we believed could bring the fire up top. Little did we know, we had him all along," a member of the front office said on condition of anonymity. "Now we can only wish Maicon Santos good luck and hope that Runstrom can be the heavy hitter in this league we were looking for."

Rose City is now 3-1-0 and sitting in third in the league tables. Off to a good start.

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.