2009 Year in Review

The very first year of the BSL was both an experiment and an experience. The goal was simple, establish a guideline of rules, obtain enough teams, and complete a full season with a modest degree of success. Season one accomplished all of this and more. Exceeding all expectations, the league and its founding teams made this quite an exciting season.

2009 should be remembered for quite a few interesting storylines. Some could call this the year of the C.D. Gunners. While the team did not win the BSL Cup, future operators will be hard pressed to amass 15 wins and 47 points and finish the year off with an APG over 4 points. Also an 11 game unbeaten streak is quite impressive. Ofcourse, the envy of season one has to be Montgomery County. The team nicknamed the Monarchs, also had an 11 game unbeaten streak before being crowned the BSL's first league champion.

2009 will also be remembered for its second half warriors. If ever someone feels their season is done they will have to look no farther than the feats accomplished by Gateway United and D.C. Forever. Gateway United, nicknamed the Saints, lost only 1 match the entire second half of the season after sitting in 6th place. The clubs outstanding stretch run qualified them for the playoffs and the Majors Cup where they made it all the way to be a finalist. D.C. Forever, nicknamed the Bandits, overcame a slow start to come within 1 point of making the playoffs and used its strong second half to qualify for the Majors Cup as well.

Not all teams have happy tales to share for 2009. Union S.C., nicknamed the Blues, was the last team to lose a game going 4-0-3 to start the season and held a playoff position for 3/4's of the season. But, the teams year long weak offense eventually caught up with them, costing the club to miss all post season play.

The Majors Cup tournament provided hope to several clubs who were not on top of the standings. One such team to benefit from the fresh opportunity was the Garden State Kickers. While the club never did get it going in the standings, it did manage to grab 12 points in its last 10 games, enough to qualify for the Majors Cup and edge out the BSL Champions.

Dallas can't be stopped, Wins the Majors Cup Trophy

2009 MAJORS CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
FC DALLAS        5
GATEWAY UNITED   3

BOXSCORE

Who would have thought that losing Kenny Cooper would have been so good. Dallas has completely turned around their season and raced up the Major League Soccer standings in the last few months. At the same time, little did they know they were competing in the Majors Cup against some very good BSL clubs.

Dallas went up against Gateway United for the final game in the tournament and compiled another strong offensive showing with 5 total points. The Saints kept the game close but did not get any scores from the teams big guns like Donovan, Casey, and Lopez. It was still a great season for Gateway United having advanced this far in the Majors Cup and ofcourse also making the BSL playoffs this season.

With the trophy going to an MLS team, this shows all BSL team operators that the Majors Cup no "gimme" and is every bit as hard as winning the BSL Cup or the Honors Trophy.

Gateway and Dallas prevail in the MC Semi-Finals

BOXSCORES

Majors Cup 2009: Semi Finals
Gateway United  4

Columbus Crew   0

The Saints began the game on Wednesday with a goal from perhaps the teams unhung hero, Jeff Cunningham and took a very quick 1-0 lead. Then on Friday, Landon Donovan added another goal to give them a 2-0 lead. This would turn out to be all the team would need as Columbus was shocked at Crew Stadium failing to put up any points and had their 24 game home unbeaten streak snapped. Meanwhile, Gateway United kept adding on points thanks to Conor Casey's penalty kick on Saturday. Then on Sunday Claudio Lopez added in an assist for good measure to end the match at 4-0. The Saints will now advance to the Majors Cup Final in pursuit of the teams first trophy.

Majors Cup 2009: Semi-Finals
C.D. Gunners  1

F.C. Dallas   4

The Hoops didn't have the best game on Wednesday, but Cunningham's goal came with 2 assists and Sala added a clean sheet and before the weekend arrived Dallas had a 4-0 lead. Capital District meanwhile had a weekend worth forgetting. The teams first goal was taken away, when Santos connected on Saturday. The re-play clearly appears as if his kick is the final strike, but ten minutes later the scorekeeper changed it to an own-goal. Then a few more minutes later Padilla scored. However, Padilla was placed on the bench for the Gunners, so the score remained 4-0. Fredy Montero played a near perfect game and came about 2 inches from scoring a goal of his own with the keeper away from his net. As if that wasn't enough, Juan Pablo-Angel nearly scored a goal in his game in the 50th minute. The chances were there but only Ryan Johnson could put up a point for the 2009 Honors Trophy winners. So the Majors Cup Final will feature the last remaining BSL and MLS teams. It is also a rematch of the 12-6 score fest which F.C. Dallas won and the only match Gateway United has lost in this tournament.

Deadlines and dates during the 2009/2010 offseason

The conclusion of BIGTIME season one is 10 days away where the third and final trophy of 2009 will be announced with the Majors Cup winner. Even though the league will go on break for the winter, there are some updates to remember during the offseason.

HISTORY: The 2009 Year in Review

-Posting in the end of October.

RSVP Deadline

- Returning team operators need to info the commission of their return by January 31st, 2010.

New Team Enrollment Period

- In the month of February the league will look for any new teams needed to replace possible vacancies. Invitations will be placed on Bigsoccer.com, Blogger.com and various MLS fan sites during this time. First come first serve, so if you have any friends who want in, have them drop a message before February to get a team first.

Designated Player Deadline

- Returning teams have until March 1st, 2010 to choose their designated player. BSL teams that failed to pick a DP or trade it to another BSL operator by this time will be forced to draft in Round 12 with the new teams. (Returning teams with a DP or 2 first round picks, do not need to participate in Round 12 of the draft)

2010 BSL Draft

- Round 1 begins the first week of March 2010. An email will be sent with a more specific start date.

2010 Season schedule

- Announced the second week of March 2010. (20 game regular season, BSL Cup playoffs, Majors Cup tournament)