MATCH PREVIEW #5: The Hunger for Wins Grows

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Expect to see some goals in the "Game of the Week" on May 1st. That's because
Union S.C. (ranked #1) in offense plays against Burud Town (tied for #3). Both clubs have winning records currently. The most interesting fact can be found in the early season depth these clubs have shown. These two more than any other in the BSL have obtained scores from several different players in their lineups. While Dwayne DeRosario has been arguably the 2nd best starter behind Edson Buddle to start this season, he has not had to do it alone and that may prove to be most important this week. DeRo will be on the road in Rio Tinto Stadium this weekend were Toronto is winless. Infact several Union S.C. players will be on the road this weekend. Will this pose a problem for the Blues? On the other side, Burud Town has all their
Revolution hopefuls at home against a winless F.C. Dallas squad. The Stags have 3 Crew players traveling to Qwest field. But, the most interesting game for Burud Town will be the KC/HOU match, where Burud Town has 4 players battling it out.

The C.D. Gunners will try to make it 3 straight wins. They send team captain Juan Pablo Angel to the worst MLS defense in D.C. The MLS schedule does not bring all good news as McBride faces a tough Chivas defense and Montero faces a tough Crew defense. Gateway United through all the success of last year was never able to defeat the C.D. Gunners. With the clubs recent struggles now would be a great opportunity to get the season going and seek out a little revenge. The Saints completed a trade and tested the free agent market. With 3 new players on the roster will any of this help. Perhaps Gateway United is just a ticking time bomb waiting to erupt.

Gold Coast F.C. will hope to bring its "A" game when it faces St. Louis. The Suns have been an inconsistent bunch so far and will not have an easy task this weekend. All they have to do is take down the undefeated Cure who are hungry to get back on the right track after a mediocere game 4.

The most important match-up will be between Montgomery County and New York. Both clubs sit at the bottom of the standings. A win in game 5 and things will look a lot better, but the loser of this game will be frustrated to say the least. The Greeks have been extremely busy trying to get the right players to turn things around. The Monarchs have been more patient. If you're scoreboard watching, this might be the one to watch to see who turns their season around.

POWER RANKINGS: Week 4

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It was a down offensive week in the BSL with the exception of one team in Union S.C. For this reason and many others the Blues are the #1 ranked team in the power rankings. Union S.C. has scored 13 points in the last 2 games. This is the first time the Blues have been ranked #1 in the power rankings in their history. Dropping to #2 is St. Louis. The Cure did not have the best of games last week but can hardly complain about having 10 points in the standings in only 4 regular season games. The rest of the league pretty much stayed in similar places to where they were ranked in week 3. Ranked 8th for the 2nd week in a row is New York. The Greeks really need to start obtaining some points in the standings soon. Otherwise only Majors Cup qualifying will be within reach.

Cure/Greeks make a deal of their own

There is definitely something in the air. Yet another BSL trade has just been completed. This time the leagues first place team, the St. Louis Cure, have sent Fred over to the New York Greeks in exchange for Dane Richards.

Both players are eligible to play for the new clubs as soon as game 5 of the season.

Suns and Saints complete a 4-player deal

It appears as if trading season in the BSL is in high gear. This time Gateway United and Gold Coast F.C. inked out a 4-player swap. Going to the Suns is Galindo and Jankauskas. In return the Saints will be getting Alvarez and Lenhart.

Not quite done with making moves, Gateway United also released Luis Landin for Corey Ashe. Gold Coast also released Joe Cannon for Justin Braun.

All players will be available for their new clubs in game 5 of the season.

GAME 4: Union S.C. continues recent assault, Cure still undefeated.

BOXSCORES

What did Union S.C. do for an encore after having arguably the best game in the clubs history? The Blues did one better. In game 4 verses New York, Union S.C. once again scored first and early when Steve Zakuani fired a bullet from about 15 yards out for goal. Sebastian Letoux's goal was assisted by Alejandro Moreno of the Greeks and the score was 2-1. Ballouchy equalized for New York minutes later. With the score 2-2-, the Blues offense took over and scored 5 more times including Sasha Kljestan's first goal of the season, and Donovan Ricketts 4th clean sheet of the season. Also 2 Substitute players had goals that did not count. A total of 8 Union S.C. players scored including newly traded for O'Brien White. For the 2nd week in a row Union S.C. lead the BSL in scoring. The 7 points scored is the clubs new record outdoing last weeks previous high of 6 points. The Blues are now the #1 offense in the league averaging 5.00 points a game!

In the "Game of the Week", the ShowMe Cup showdown saw underdog Gateway United get off to a great start thanks to 2 Jeff Cunningham goals. However, that would be all the Saints could muster as once again the offense could not get it going. Undefeated St. Louis countered with an assist from Patrick Nyarko and a clean sheet from Nielson to tie it up 2-2. Both the clubs heavy hitters, Buddle and Donovan could not get it done under rainy conditions. The Cure's RSL connection failed to put up any numbers and the Saints Sounder duo of Ljundberg and Noonan blanked not once but twice this week. All in all both clubs had opportunities to win it and both should be happy with the tie. St. Louis remains the only undefeated club in the BSL at 3-0-1.

In the match up between Burud Town and Montgomery County, the scored stay 0-0 for a while. Then newly acquired Perovic scored the games first point. The Monarch's countered with a Schelotto goal and the score stayed 1-1 until late. Will Hesmer scored the game winner with his brilliant showing stopping many shots to record the shut-out. Late in the night and in the Chivas game as well, Chijindu added another goal to make the final score 3-1, but the match was already over before that goal with the Monarch's roster already used up. It was a big win for Burud Town getting a full 3 points in the standings. Montgomery County has now lost 3 in a row since winning opening day and appears to be playing worse with each passing week.

Gold Coast and Capital District came into their match both having just had great results from their players last week. But, this game would not have the same results for either side. The Suns began the scoring with an Alonso assist, but minutes later Montero's outstanding free kick equalized 1-1. Juan Pablo Angel gave the Gunners their first lead early Saturday, and to much surprise it proved to be the game winner. It wasn't pretty, but the victory brings the Gunners even at 2-2-0 on the season and gives them a 2 game winning streak. The Sun's loss also puts them even at 2-2-0.

MATCH PREVIEW #4: The battle's continue.....

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The "Match of the Week" features the derby from Missouri. BSL leaders, the Cure, will look to stay undefeated when they go up against Gateway United. A key one on one match-up will be during the Galaxy game. If St. Louis' leading man Buddle scores, if might not do them any favors if Donovan delivers the assist for the Saints. All of the Cure's RSL players have to travel to Crew Stadium, a place RSL hasn't had much success at. Also of note, Seattle plays twice this week giving them 180 minutes of action. So far the Cure have not had any close matches. Does this one have what it takes to go down to the wire all the way to Sunday?

Burud Town will get its first chance to test their new look roster against the Champions. For a club that performed very well until game 3, the Stags have been very active in the trade market. Montgomery County meanwhile has held firm with the exception of adding Palmer to their roster. Will he start in game 4 for the Monarchs?

Union S.C. may be confident, but still has concerns with Sasha Kljestan. He is expected to remain in the starting line-up, but has contributed nothing so far. As mentioned before, the good news is Zakuani and Evans will have 180 minutes to make something happen and Conor Casey loves playing against New England. The Greeks may have the benefit of seeing their RedBull players go up against and expansion Philadelphia defense, but in the opposite standard, their K.C. players are going up a stingy L.A. defense this week.

Capital District will no doubt be watching the SJ/CHV game. The club has Thornton protecting against a hot Earthquakes offense, while at the same time teammate Ryan Johnson will try to score against him. Going against the Gunners is Gold Coast F.C. The key to the match for the Suns might come early, when Dallas/Seattle hits the field. The Suns might want to score early in this one and build up a lead with McCarty, Alonso, Nyassi, Levesque.

Burud Town is not done making deals

One day after striking a trade with the New York Greeks, it seems Burud Town was not yet finished. The Stags have just completed a deal sending O'Brien White to the Blues for Geoff Cameron. The club got its nickname for being "secretative" but, this secret club is making a lot of non-verbal noise as of late.

Both of these players will be available for their new clubs beginning in game 4 that starts Thursday.

POWER RANKINGS: Week 3

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Still on top of the power rankings are the St. Louis Cure. It's pretty simple really. Until someone can beat them or until they beat themselves, the Cure are #1 most wanted. The stats are amazing and if sustained would shatter the Gunners 2009 records. There is still a very long way to go. Who's number 2? Would you believe Union S.C. Yes, the Blues are rocking and the clubs owner is on cloud nine. Still haunted with the memories are repeated 1-1, and 2-1 results from a year ago, Union S.C. has 13 points scored in 3 games. Next, the biggest gainer this week is Capital District. Little do we forget that the Gunners owner knows a thing or two about scoring points and appears to be breaking out of the early funk. The club got its first win, but is now averaging 4.00 a game.

New York and Burud Town come to an agreement

Sitting 8th in average points per game, the New York Greeks are making moves. Just recently the clubs owner pulled the trigger on a trade to get Santino Quaranta. In exchange the Greeks are sending Marko Perovic to Burud Town.

The players will be available for the new clubs in time for game 4 of the season.

GAME 3: Cure stays perfect at 3-0, while Blues break club record

BOXSCORES
The "Match of the Week" did not disappoint. Montgomery County began the scoring when Keller delivered a clean sheet. Then one of the Gunners Designated Player's earned their keep, when Juan Pablo-Angel delivered with 2 goals. It could have been 3, but he missed on one of his penalty kick opportunities. The lead increased when Brian McBride added a goal and assist of his own. The clubs traded points the rest of the way. The Monarchs would need their DP, Omar Cummings to come up big on Sunday. Spoiled from all of last years come from behind heroics the expectations were their but the last minute scores did not arrive. The victory gives Capital District its first win of the young season and avoided the club from getting their first 3 game losing streak ever.

St. Louis remained perfect as they dominated the match from the start over New York. The Cure scored early with a Roger Torres assist and also got numbers from Convey and Nyarko before big bad Edson Buddle closed off the night with another 2 goals. St. Louis is averaging 5.33 points in its first three games! The Greeks countered with a Joel Lindpere assist, but that was lone score and are now the last BSL club without a win on the season.

Trying to keep pace with the league leader was Burud Town. The Stags brought a 5 point average of their own into the game against Gold Coast F.C. and fell flat. The club did strike first with a Brad Davis assist, but that was it. Gold Coast countered quickly with a Pat Onstad clean sheet, and then took the lead minutes later with an Oduro goal. Later on the Suns distanced themselves with goals from McCarty and Beckerman. The 4-1 win is Gold Coast' best win to date and best offensive display so far. It was the win the club was looking for and puts them into 3rd place in the standings. As for Burud Town, after 2 great weeks where several players on the field and on the bench were putting up numbers, the roster showed weakness for this game at least.

Coming into the game against Gateway United, the club from Southern California was feeling as confident as it ever has and that confidence just grew a little more. Union S.C. came out firing with not one, not two, but three points straight out of Thursday. Then before the Saints knew it, a 4th score was delivered by Evans on Saturday's first offering. The Blues had a 4-0 lead fast and furious. Gateway United tried to counter back with a goal from Marco Pappa and an assist from Donovan but could not rebound any further. Union S.C. got its first win against Gateway United 6-2. This marks the first time Union S.C. finished with the highest score for a gameday and the 6 points is also a Blues club record.

MATCH PREVIEW #3: Another player grabs the league's attention

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The next set of games begin tomorrow! For the third week in a row, Montgomery County is in the "Match of the Week". This time the Monarchs will play in a rematch of the BSL Cup Final against the C.D. Gunners. The pressure is on the Gunners. The club has yet to win a game (0-2) and has never lost 3 in a row in its history. However, their record is a bit misleading. You see Capital District is averaging 3.5 points in its first 2 games and has had the lead in both games as well. The Monarchs in retrospect are averaging 3.0 points in their first 2 games which is also decent, but the teams average fell in week 2 instead of increased and has had two very different looking games. It should be a great match to watch these NECC rivals battle it out.

The next question is can the St.Louis Cure stay undefeated? So far its been a dream start to the season. The Cure lead the league in every statistical category and will now face off against the New York Greeks who tappered a bit last week and are searching for the clubs first win.

Coming off an impressive offensive outting, Burud Town will look to possibly move into 1st place in the standings with another win. Standing in the way is a more humble Gold Coast squad. The Sun's are looking for a break out performance and might need such a performance to challenge the Stags.

Finally, Union S.C. will try and send Gateway United a clear message when these two clubs meet up. The Saints have been the better of this rivalry so far, but the tide may be changing according to the Blue's front office.

In other news around the league, it seems another free agent has grabbed the attention of several BSL operators. Joe Ngwenya was courted by not one but four different BSL teams. Burud Town, Montgomery County, Capital District and Gateway United all sent in request to the commissioner. The winner this time was Burud Town who made the request 2 hours faster than the Monarchs, 5 hours faster than the Gunners, and 6 Hours faster than the Saints.

POWER RANKINGS: Week 2

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For the 2nd week in a row, St.Louis is number one in the power rankings. For starters, the Cure has done little more than take down both the league's 2009 Honors Trophy recipient and the BSL's 2009 Champion. With those clubs out of the way the schedule might in theory get easier for this squad. The other undefeated club, Burud Town follows at #2. It always leaves an impression when you can throw up 7 points in a game and still have some points unused on your bench. The biggest jump in the rank's is Gateway United, who moved from 8th to 5th. The Saints haven't seen any production from its Chivas players and even Landon Donovan has been quiet, but still they managed to win scoring 4 points. Finally, Union S.C. did a lot more than just defeat its California rival. The Blues displayed a team with firepower. If you ignore the back to back blunders Union S.C. has had with leaving substitutes scoring points. The fact is the Blues are scoring points. Currently double what was accomplished last year and it could have been triple if not for the before mentioned blunders.

GAME 2: Rookies take the lead on the field and in the standings

BOXSCORES

Some new kids on the block hailed supreme in week 2 of the BSL. One of the league's new teams, Burud Town, used a rookie of its own in Zach Schilawski to score this weeks highest point total on route to the clubs first win in its history. Thanks to Schilawski's hat trick and 2 Dube assists and a couple of scores from others, the Stags defeated Capital District 7-5. The Gunners hung in there with 4 players of their own contributing to the score sheet and even got 2 points from Zach Thornton with his clean sheet and assist, but it was not enough to handle the onslaught from Burud Town. For the second week in a row the Stags also had the most players on any roster to score points. Once again the club left several points on its bench.

This was not supposed to be this weeks top story. The match of the week was between St. Louis and Montgomery County. The Cure did not miss a beat from its stellar first kick performance and did one better. Lead by another 2 goals from Edson Buddle, St. Louis tallied 6 offensive points to dominate the league champions the from the start. The clubs young keeper, Nielsen got a clean sheet, a brilliant move on ownership's part to start him, and several other players contributed with assists. Bobby Convey could have made it 7 points, but the Monarchs held firm with only 1 yellow card. As for Montgomery County, the club could not get it going outside of a Schelotto goal and John assist.

In the first California Cup match-up, Union S.C. showed its neighbors to the North how it's done. The Blues scored early and often and built a 4-1 lead by the middle of the match. The only downer for Union S.C. would be missing out on LeToux's 3 goals. Yes, for the second week in a row, the Blues put the wrong man on the bench and didn't get enough yellows to bring him in. Gold Coast did get 2 scores of its own to keep the scoreline decent.

Finally, Gateway United got its first win of the season defeating New York. The Saints got goals from Cunningham and Pappa, but its the assist from Coundoul that will be most remembered from this game. The Saints keeper gave up an own goal which is bad for his reputation, but great for Gateway United. Coundoul was credited with an assist for his error. The Greeks countered with a lone goal from Jamie Moreno who also benefited from a Goal Keeper error when he stole the ball from Seitz and laid it softly in the back of the net. Definitely worth another look on the highlight reel. The Greeks left 2 assists from the other Moreno (Alejandro) on the bench and even though the Saints gave up a red card in this game, it was Atiba Harris that came in as a substitute ahead of Moreno.

MATCH PREVIEW #2: First time match-up's across the board

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The wait will soon be over as BSL teams get ready to compete in the 2nd game of the season. The match of the week on April 10th comes between St. Louis and Montgomery County. One of these opening day winners has the opportunity to take control of the standings with another win. Meanwhile the first California Cup will get underway. Gold Coast got some bad news with the injury to Brian Ching and the clubs depth will now be tested early in the season. Can Union S.C. take advantage? Gateway United will try and get out of the cellar when it faces the New York Greeks who have made several changes to their line-up in preparation of this game including the signing of a former Saint, Claudio Lopez. Finally, the Gunners will look to reload, but will have a challenge ahead when they meet up against Burud Town.