GAME 11: The race for the Honors Trophy is currently real close

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This weeks set of games was highlighted by the no-holds-barred fight between D.C. Forever and Montgomery County. Both teams went back and forth with each other every step of the way with neither team ever more than 1 point ahead at any given time. The 6-6 tie beats the old record of 11 total game points. Both teams had 5 starters contribute to the score sheet. Both teams even left a goal on the bench. For a while it looked as if the Monarchs 9 game unbeaten streak would be over with D.C. Forever holding onto a 6-5 lead with very little time left in Sundays action. But, with 15 minutes left to play, Kenny Cooper scored the equalizer extending the unbeaten streak to 10 games.

On the stat sheet the match between the leagues top offense verses the leagues worst offense had the makings of a blowout. Capital District did win the match and move back into first place in the standings, but Motor City put up an impressive fight scoring 4 points. With 9 games to left to play the Gunners currently hold a slim edge for the Honors Trophy which would also give the team the first round bye from the playoff semi-finals.

Gateway United got its 2nd win a row defeating Union S.C. easily 5-1. The Blues had been looking good the last couple of weeks seeing a spike in offense, but could only manage 1 point in this match.

The Garden State Kickers struggled again in the very same way it did last week, but managed a 2-1 victory over Gaithersburg City. Also for the second week in a row Dave Vandenberg had an assist left on the bench.

MATCH PREVIEW #11: Double your pleasure

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Things are about to get even more interesting as BIGTIME teams will have double value for their games. As if it wasn't enough that the league will being its stretch run towards determining its playoff teams, now BIGTIME teams will be earning points towards qualifying for the Majors Cup tournament in October.

Several teams have streaks on the line coming into game 11 of the schedule. While some will be trying to extend their unbeaten ways, others will try to end their lack of success.

MLS games started on Wednesday this week and several players will be playing twice. Good luck.

POWER RANKINGS: Week 10

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The see-saw between the Montgomery County and the Capital District continues. This time its the Gunners who are #1 for the 5th time this season, matching..... you guessed it, the Monarchs.

Inching ever closer to these two is Union S.C., now that the teams recent moves have been paying off it might not be too long before the Blues could be the leagues most wanted team.

Several other teams seem to be stuck in mediocity. With stellar play one game and sub-par play in another match. Can any of them catch fire and make a move for a playoff spot/Majors Cup spot?

GAME 10: Standings leaders all keep pace with each other

BOXSCORESUnlike the previous week, there were no comebacks, and no drama for many of the games. The closest match-up came between Montgomery County and Garden State. The Monarchs were only able to get a goal from Nate Juqua and an assist from Omar Cummings, but that would end up being enough, as the Kickers only managed a goal from Chris Rolfe on Sunday and wasted Dave Van den Bergh's assist on the bench. Montgomery now has a 9 game unbeaten streak.

Keeping pace in the standings Capital District showed its #1 offense with the weeks best by getting 7 points. There opponent D.C. Forever got 2 assists from Brad Davis but the rest of the line-up blanked.

Union S.C. also remained 2 points within the lead of the standings with a 4-2 win. The difference was a pair of Dichio assists. Motor City is now on a 6 game winless streak.

Gateway United got a goal from each of its big 3 of Donovan, Lopez, and Casey to carry the team to a 3-1 victory of Gaithersburg City.

Next week begins Majors Cup qualifying. Every team in the league gets a fresh start.

MATCH PREVIEW #10: The season comes to its mid-way point.

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It's an interesting time in the BIGTIME season. Game 10 will mark the middle of the regular season. For the teams on top, after this weekend the pressure will be enhanced to maintain their leads. - The match of the week is the 4-4 rematch between Montgomery County and Garden State. These two teams are in similiar situations again, as the Monarchs are currently sitting in first place and the Kickers are within striking distant, but still looking for a season changing game. - Hoping to rebound from their first loss in a month, Capital District goes up against hard to predict D.C. Forever. - Now that Motor City has ended its 4-game losing streak, the team will now try to get a full 3 points in the standings when it faces a new and improved Union S.C. The Blues have tinkered with their line-up once again and are hoping to avoid the need for any come-from-behind heroics. - Finally, Gateway United will get its chance at redemption when it faces Gaithersburg City. The Saints have given up on Joe Cannon and are hoping Zach Thornton will be the change the team needs to end all its 1-point defeats.

POWER RANKINGS: Week 9

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For the fifth time this season Montgomery County is #1 in the power rankings. Thanks to a 4-3 win, the teams 6th victory.

Capital District fell to #2, as it appears its kryptonite is Union S.C. Two of the Gunners three losses have come from the Blues.

Meanwhile, D.C. Forever is once again making a claim to be the leagues darkhorse even though the last time such a claim was made, the team laid an egg the very next game.

Gateway United has lost more 1 point games than anyone else in the league and that is costing the team in the standings.

Gaithersburg City has really seen an increase in team APG the last 4 games and has gone 2-2 in that time. A stat that bolds well when the league begins Majors Cup qualifying.

GAME 9: No lead was safe as comebacks were mounted everywhere

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It was an exciting week of games in the BSL as all the games were highly contested. We start with the match of the week. Early on it appeared as if the league's #1 team would be cruising to their 5th straight win after taking a very quick 2-0 lead after the morning Saturday game. By mid afternoon that lead had grown to 3-0 for the Gunners. However, everything changed after the nightcap when Atiba Harris and Eduardo Lillingston came through for 4 points and one of the Gunners points was taken away to close out Saturday. The final result was a huge victory 4-2 victory for the Blues.

Another game waited until the 70th minute on Sunday to determine an outcome. Motor City was clinging to a 2-1 lead, desperate to try to end its 4 game losing skid. Only 1 player remained for the Kickers to seal the deal. True to his MVP form, Guillermo Schelotto put one behind the net to salvage a point for Garden State in the standings and end the game with a 2-2 tie.

Montgomery County built up a 4-0 lead including 2 goals from Josh Wolff. Then the west coast results started coming in and Gaithersburg City was on the comeback trail as well. First a clean sheet from Kevin Hartman and then a couple of late scores from Santino Quaranta. In the end the comeback fell a point short as the Monarchs held on for a 4-3 win and are now back in first place in the league.

A late goal by Luciano Emilio broke a late Saturday 2-2 tie with Gateway United to give D.C. Forever a 3-2 lead. Several players could have gotten the equalier for the Saints on Sunday, but no one could deliver.

MATCH PREVIEW #9: Plenty of opportunities for redemption

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Last week D.C. Forever had a rematch against a team it had beat impressively only to have the tables turned in the rematch. This time its D.C. Forever that has the chance to seek some revenge as the team goes up against Gateway United. The last time these two meet, the Saints went on a rampage for an 8-2 victory. Can D.C. Forever find redemption?

The match of the week has to be Capital District verses Union S.C. Both teams currently hold 2 of the 3 possible playoff spots. While it is still early in the season, games like these could really hold a key roll in how the season transpires. The suddenly vibriant Gaithersburg squad will try and continue its new good fortune against Montgomery County and Garden State will try to keep the momentum going by perhaps handing Motor City its 5th straight loss.

POWER RANKINGS: Week 8

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The C.D. Gunners were able to maintain their spot as the league's most powerful team. It's the teams second straight week as #1 and 4th time overall this season as numero uno. The only other team to possess being #1 in the power rankings so far has been Montgomery County. However, while the Monarch's have shown a vulnerable side as of late, the Gunners are being consistent. The rest of the league's teams have all had flashes of brilliance and flashes of mediocity.

GAME 8: Team strengths and weaknesses on full display

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There was plenty of news to go around this weekend in the BSL. So much that there really isn't a top story. We will start with Gaithersburg City who had the teams best game in the teams short history. Thanks to a pair of goals from Dwayne DeRosario and lots of other contributors from the teams starting line-up G-City has climbed out of the cellar of the standings for the first time. The win also is sweet revenge over D.C. Forever who embarrassed G-City the last time they played each other.

If that was not enough, the grind it out, never say die team from Southern California finally took a pounding on the scoreboard. Once again Union S.C. failed to mount much of an attack, something its team operator remains astonished by, scoring a mere 2 points this weekend. However, this time Garden State took advantage of the situation and bombared the opposition with an assault. When the smoke finally cleared the score read 6-2, but it could have been worse as 2 goals from Rojas were left on the bench. The loss ends Union S.C. unbeaten streak of 7 games.

Things do not look so pretty for the Motor City. For the second game in a row they have suffered a 3-0 defeat and have now lost 4 in a row. Motor City is now at the bottom of the standings and has the leagues lowest APG. Their opponent, Montgomery County, extended its unbeaten streak to 7 games and remains only 1 point out of first place. The Monarch's have not lost since opening day to the very team they are chasing.

Finally, the match of the week between Capital District and Gateway United proved to be worthy of the label. The Gunners got their 2nd victory over the Saints this season with another balanced attack. Like so many of the teams games, several players contributed to the score sheet keeping the Gunners in first place and giving them a four game winning streak as well. Gateway United had a decent game, but it was not enough this time around.

MATCH PREVIEW #8: Some teams get first chance at revenge

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This should be a wonderful set of games as some teams will have their first chance to get revenge against the very teams that previously beat them. The match of the week is between Capital District and Gateway United. Both teams possess plenty of firepower and could end up lighting up the scoreboard. This week will give Gaithersburg City the chance to turn the tables against D.C. Forever, who defeated G-City 5-0 earlier in the season. Motor City has the task of trying to end its 3 game losing streak when it goes up against Montgomery County. Garden State will try to deliver a loss to still unbeaten Union S.C.

POWER RANKINGS: Week 7

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The three week reign that Montgomery County had as the top ranked team in the league has ended as there there is a new APG leader in BIGTIME. The C.D. Gunners have been able to post solid numbers as of late and are now the new #1 team in the power rankings.

Another team making positive strides is D.C. Forever. The team has really looked good in recent games and its record is showing improvement as well.

1/3 of the season is done and every team has played each other once. The first rematch's are upon us.

GAME 7: Gunners reclaim first place in soft weekend

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What happened to all the offense that was displayed last week? After witnessing a bunch of heated battles, this weekend saw almost everyone struggling to gather some points. This weeks leader was Capital District who had 4 points. The team could have had another 6 point outing but left Moreno's 2 goals on the bench. Still, the Gunners won their third in a row and have recaptured first place in the standings for the first time since starting the season 2-0-0.

The much anticipated match-up between Union S.C. and Montgomery County stumbled as most of Union's games have done so far this season into a down and dirty 1-1 draw. Even with all the roster moves made by Union S.C. since the beginning of the season, the verdict remains that this team refuses to lose, but does it in unflattering fashion. Meanwhile the Monarch's suffered their worst offensive outing ever.

D.C. Forever used another clean sheet from Pat Onstad and a couple of assists from Brad Davis and Terry Cooke to defeat the Kickers 3-1.

Gateway United broke its string of hard luck losses with a 3-0 win over Motor City. This is the first time Motor City has been shut out. Meanwhile, the Saints got an assist from newly aquired Freddy Ljundberg.