Sports stats

USL Rochester Rhinos

Rhinos Clinch 1st Round Playoff Bye

August 30, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rochester Rhinos News Release


Rochester, NY - The Rochester Rhinos won their third straight United Soccer League (USL) match this afternoon, defeating Saint Louis FC 2-0 at Sahlen's Stadium. Colin Rolfe (4') and Tony Walls (35') provided the goals, both of which were assisted by Kenardo Forbes, and the Rhinos top ranked defense held Saint Louis FC to four shots in the match to post their team's 15th shutout of the season. USL leading keeper Brandon Miller earned his league record tying 11th shutout and lowered his number one ranked goals against average to 0.51.

With the win, the Rhinos are now 15-1-8 (53 points) in the USL (10-0-2 at Sahlen's Stadium) and have now clinched a first round bye in the playoffs. The Rhinos move eight points ahead of second place Louisville City FC in the USL Eastern Conference and have lowered their magic number of points to win the USL regular season title to four. Rochester holds the first tiebreaker over Louisville having recorded a win and a tie against City this season. Saint Louis FC drops to 6-11-8 and are now officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Rhinos coach Bob Lilley made four changes from the team that beat Harrisburg 4-0 at home on August 22, including the return of Miller in the Rochester goal and forward Colin Rolfe seeing his first start since July 18. Saint Louis FC coach Dale Schilly made just one change from the side that lost to Richmond 2-0 on August 22, slotting in Kentaro Takada into midfield for Gregg Cochrane.

A beautiful sunny and 79 degree day greeted the teams at Sahlen's Stadium and it did not take long for the sun to shine on the Rhinos with the first goal of the match. Pat McMahon reached an errant St. Louis pass in their attacking third ahead of Parker Maher and fed short to Forbes, who found a streaking Rolfe at the top of the box. The veteran striker made no mistake, beating St. Louis FC keeper Alec Kann low from 18 yards to put the Rhinos ahead 1-0. The marker was the third of the season for Rolfe and his second against St. Louis, having scored the only goal in the Rhinos 1-0 road win on April 18.

The Rhinos kept the pressure on the visitors with Forbes, Jonny Mendoza, Alex Dixon each having chances to extend the lead over the next 20 minutes. Rochester suffered a blow midway through the half as Rolfe picked up an injury and could not continue, being replaced by Christian Volesky, who himself had not seen action since August 1st due to injury.

The Rhinos doubled the lead in the 35th minute on a picture perfect corner kick. Forbes took the corner on the right, tapping a short pass to Mendoza who stopped the ball for Forbes to cross with his off left foot, swinging it in to the far post. Rhinos captain Tony Walls eluded his man in the box and headed the cross into the back of net for his fourth goal of the season to make the score 2-0, Rochester. The Rhinos back line stonewalled the St. Louis attack throughout the first half, not allowing a single shot to be taken and the teams went to the locker room with Rochester ahead by the same 2-0 score.

Saint Louis FC looked to get back into the match in the second half as Kingsley Bryce got the visitor's first shot of the match in the 53rd minute, a header that went wide of the target. Ten minutes later, Maher forced a save from Miller on a shot from just outside the box. The Rhinos themselves nearly got number three on the afternoon on two occasions midway through the half, but both Mendoza and Onua Obasi were denied by Kann.

St. Louis' best chance to score fell to Bryan Ceisiulka in the 88th minute as his volley from 20 yards forced Miller to tip the ball over the crossbar. The teams were tied with four second half shots apiece, but the Rhinos managed the final 45 minutes well to earn the 2-0 win. During the Rhinos' four match August homestand, the team took 10 out of a possible 12 points to restore their eight point margin at the top of the USL.

The next Rhinos match is Saturday, September 5th in Richmond against the Kickers at City Stadium kicking off at 7 pm ET. The next Rhinos home match is Saturday, September 12th at 7:05 pm against Toronto FC II at Sahlen's Stadium. Tickets for all Rhinos home matches, including playoff tickets and group sales tickets, are currently on sale and can be purchased by calling (585) 454-KICK (5425), online via Ticketmaster, by visiting the MVP Health Care Box Office at Sahlen's Stadium during business hours or by visiting rhinossoccer.com.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 30, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Rochester Rhinos Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central