Palace Falls 2-1 To Rochester

Published on June 12, 2010 under U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
Crystal Palace Baltimore News Release


Rochester, NY - Crystal Palace Baltimore dropped the middle game of their three-game road trip tonight, as they were defeated by the Rochester Rhinos, 2-1. Isaac Kissi scored first for Rochester in the 44th minute, and then added another goal five minutes into the second half, giving the home side a 2-0 lead. Baltimore clawed back to within one after 70 minutes, as Neto scored his first goal of the season. The win improved Rochester's record to 5-3-3, while Palace Baltimore dropped to 3-6-2.

The visitors had the first scoring opportunity at the eight minute mark, as Mathew Mbuta delivered a nice pass to Neto on the edge of the penalty area. Neto showed off his fancy footwork, but his low bouncing shot was easily held by Rochester goalkeeper Scott Vallow. Rochester responded two minutes later, as Andrew Hoxie worked his way around Andrew Marshall near the endline. Hoxie managed to find Darren Spicer inside the box, but his effort was sprayed wide left.

On 20 minutes, Rochester pressed again, as Alfonso Motagalvan received a pass which he controlled nicely with his head, finding the feet of Hoxie. The forward turned and fired a left-footed shot, but the ball went across the face of the goal and off to the right. Two minutes later, Isaac Kissi found himself with space inside the six-yard box, but his tame effort was grasped by Palace netminder Evan Bush.

In the 29th minute, Aaron Pitchkolan was booked for a rough challenge against Mathew Mbuta. The resulting free kick from the left side was fired on target, but Vallow barely had to move as he easily clutched the ball to his chest. Head Coach Jim Cherneski sent on Gary Brooks to replace Santiago Fusilier in the 32nd minute. The Argentinian was the victim of a hard tackle from Jonathan Greenfield earlier in the match. Brooks made his presence felt five minutes before the end of the half, as he received a well delivered cross from Neto, but his header caused little concern for Vallow, who made an easy save.

One minute before the break, the home side broke the deadlock. Hoxie collected the ball deep in Baltimore territory. With Shaun Pejic guarding him closely, Hoxie managed to slide a low pass to the feet of Isaac Kissi. Kissi pirouetted around defender Andrew Marshall, and then drilled a low shot past Evan Bush for his first goal of the season.

As the second half commenced, heavy rain started to fall in the area. However, the weather did little to dampen the spirits of the Rochester players. In the 50th minute, the combination of Hoxie to Kissi struck again. Rich Costanzo delivered a long pass to Hoxie, who made a lovely backheel pass to Kissi. With Bush off of his line, Kissi calmly dribbled around the stranded goalkeeper and slotted home his second goal of the match.

Baltimore looked to respond quickly after falling behind by two goals. On 56 minutes, Randi Patterson fired a low shot from 30 yards out, but the skipping ball found its way right to Vallow. Ten minutes later, Gary Brooks charged to the penalty area and left the ball off for Andrew Marshall, but his attempt sailed wide right. In the 69th minute, Palace continued to put on the pressure, as Lucio made a dazzling move around Jonathan Greenfield. From 25 yards, Lucio struck the ball low and hard, and Vallow made a spectacular diving save, turning the ball around the left post. Baltimore would finally get their goal off of the resulting corner kick. With 20 minutes remaining, Patterson got his head to the ball inside the penalty area, where it found the feet of Neto. The Palace captain calmly put the ball past Vallow, and the visitors cut the deficit to 2-1.

Baltimore looked for a quick equalizer, as time was starting to slip away. Mbuta's long-range blast in the 73rd was no trouble for Vallow, while Takuro Nishimura's effort two minutes later sailed harmlessly onto the top of the net.

Rochester looked to pad their lead in the final ten minutes, as Motagalvan found Anthony Hamilton just outside the box. The substitute's left-footed strike went wide left of the Baltimore net. In the 83rd, Ryan Heins made a nice turn in the Palace half, and his low right-footed shot had to be parried away for a corner by Bush.

In the last minute of regulation time, Baltimore's corner kick sailed into the box, where the Rhinos gained possession. A mistimed pass was quickly pounced on by Lucio, but his shot deflected off the face of Rochester defender Troy Roberts.

After four minutes of stoppage time was announced, Palace knew they had to create one quality opportunity to salvage a point in the standings. In the third added minute, Mathew Mbuta sent a high cross into the box, where Neto chested the ball down nicely. From the top of the box, Neto set his sights on goal, but Vallow reached out to make the save and preserve a 2-1 victory for the Rhinos.

Palace Baltimore will take a short break from league play, as they face the Richmond Kickers of the USL Second Division in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday. Baltimore will finish out their road trip Saturday night at 7:00 pm against the Carolina RailHawks.

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U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Stories from June 12, 2010


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