Sports stats



USL Rochester Rhinos

Rhinos Move to Sixth in Wild Playoff Race

August 23, 2014 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rochester Rhinos News Release


The Rochester Rhinos and Harrisburg City Islanders played to a 2:2 draw in Sahlen's Stadium on Saturday, August 23rd 2014. Rhinos midfielder Tony Walls opened the scoring off of a set piece in the 8th minute to give the home side a 1:0 lead. Harrisbug City Islander's goalkeeper Nick Noble was sent off for a last man challenge on the Rhinos Alex Dixon in the 33rd minute leaving the visitor's to play the rest of the match down a goal and down a man. Harrisburg City Islander's striker Clesio Bauque scored two goals while the visitors were down a man in the last ten minutes of the first half, before Rochester's JC Banks scored the equalizer from the penalty spot in the 54th minute. Harrisburg City Islander's midfielder Yann Ekra recorded an assist on both goals.

The Rhinos opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Rochester's left back Onua Thomas Obasi and holding midfielder Tony Walls stood over a free kick 25 yards out in the middle of the field. Obasi ran over the ball with a left footed dummy run, but Walls struck his right footed shot into the upper left corner of the visitor's net to give the home side a much needed one goal lead.

Harrisburg drew level in the 37th minute. City midfielder Yann Ekra played a long ball into the Rhinos penalty area from forty-five yards out. The ball sailed over the head of Rochester center back Kyle Hoffer, but bounced in front of rookie goalkeeper John McCarthy. During the missed communication in the home side's penalty area, Islanders striker Bauque got on the end of the ball, took a touch around McCarthy, and finished into the empty net.

Five minutes later Bauque scored his second goal in similar fashion. This time Ekra played a perfectly waited ball from 35 yards out that split Hoffer and fellow center back Babacar Diallo. Bauque ran on to the ball at the top of the Rhinos box, and shot the ball under McCarthy to give the visitors the lead.

Rochester leveled the score from the penalty spot through Banks in the 54th minute.

Rochester started from the kickoff like they were a team that needed three points from Saturday night's match, and put together their best opening 10 minutes in Sahlen's Stadium this season. After the Rhinos had an early goal disallowed for offside, Walls headed a Banks corner kick off of the crossbar on a corner kick in the sixth minute. Two minutes later the Rhinos had their second corner kick of the match. City was able to clear the ball from their box, but only as far as Rochester striker Alex Dixon at the top of the box. Dixon was knocked to the ground with the ball at his feet, and head referee Ryan Slack blew his whistle to signal the free kick that led to the opening goal.

Bauque put the visitor's only chance of the first 15 minutes on goal. Bauque found space down the Rhinos right flank, and drove a ball on frame from 25 yards out that McCarthy was able to easily deal with at the near post.

The Rhinos consolidated their defensive shape after the goal, but continued to be the look for and create opportunities to score. Rochester captain Tyler Rosenlund played Banks through down the right side of the Islanders penalty area in the 20th minute. Banks hit the ball first time, but couldn't put his effort on target and it sailed past the near post. Ten minutes later Rhinos right back Pat McMahon slipped Rosenlund through down the right side of City's box, but Harrisburg midfielder Ekra was able to recover to knock it over the end line for a corner kick. Banks took Rochester's ensuing corner kick, and found Hoffer at the near post, but Hoffer could not keep his effort on target.

Banks played Dixon in on goal, but Harrisburg All-USL PRO goalkeeper Nick Noble was able to come off his line and make a breakaway save in a precursor to one of the major talking points of the match. One minute later Banks flicked a ball on for Dixon to play him through again. Once more Noble came off his line aggressively, but this time Dixon was able to touch it around the Islanders goalkeeper. Noble went to ground and tried to get a hand on the ball, but he took Dixon down with him. Head referee Slack ruled that Noble fouled Dixon as the last man, and sent him off in the 33rd minute. However, Slack did not judge the foul to have occurred in the box so there was no penalty kick. Walls put the ensuing free kick on goal from 18 yards out, but substitute goalkeeper David Flynn was able to parry the ball over the cross bar in his first action of the match.

Harrisburg used the red card as motivation and scored two goals in the final ten minutes of the first half.

Rochester entered halftime up a man, leading seven to three in shots, and six to zero in corner kicks, but trailed two to one in the only measure that mattered.

The Rhinos came out of half time with a sense of urgency as they looked for the equalizer. Mendoza opened the first half with a shot on goal in the 46th minute. Six minutes later Obasi made a run down the left flank, and dropped the ball to center midfielder Alec Sundly in City's penalty box after playing a one-two with Mendoza. Sundly got his shot on target from 14 yards out, but Flynn was able to dive to his left to make the save.

Rochester started the sequence that created their equalizer in the 53rd minute. Mendoza had the ball at his feet in the middle of the park 35 yards out before he dropped a ball over the top to Dixon on the right side on the Islander's penalty area. Dixon drove a cross into City's box that Rosenlund helped on to the head of Banks. Banks attempted to head the ball down and on goal, but his effort hit the arm of City defender Richie Marquis, and head referee Slack pointed to the penalty spot.

The visitors responded by putting the Rhinos under pressure with their pace immediately after the conceded the equalizer. Bauque gave the home side a stern warning before nearly scoring the equalizer on the hour. Bauque had the ball at his feet and accelerated past Hoffer and into Rochester's penalty area. Bauque bent his shot around McCarthy and left him to watch as the ball bounced off of the round post and directly into the grateful arms of McCarthy. Five minutes later Bauque accelerated past Obasi and into the home side's penalty area, but this time he could not put his effort on target.

The match slowed down over the next ten minutes. Heading into the last 15 minutes of the match the home side was up a man with fresh legs in key attacking positions after a cycle of substitutions, but the visitors remained electric on the counter attack through Bauque.

Rochester had the first chance to find the match winner in the 82nd minute. Rhinos substitute Levi Houapeu held up play at midfield with his back to City's goal before getting the ball wide to Banks running down the right flank. Banks took his first touch into the middle of the park and was in behind the Islander's back four. Banks dribbled into the visitor's box before crossing the ball to substitute Minh Vu, but Vu couldn't get his effort on target.

The home side had a corner kick in stoppage time that Harrisburg was able to clear, but Rhinos substitute Lance Rozeboom was able to settle the ball and serve it back into the box. Banks won the fifty-fifty ball and put his header on target, but it was right at Flynn.

Four minutes of stoppage time came to an end with no further scoring opportunities.

At the beginning of the night nine teams were The result momentarily moves Rochester into a tie for sixth in the USL PRO table with Charleston Battery on 33 points while City remains two points above the Rhinos and Battery on 35 points. There are four more matches involving seven teams in the playoff hunt that remain to be played on Saturday night and Sunday.

The Rochester Rhinos will travel to Harrisburg on Saturday, August 30th at 7PM for the return leg of their 2014 series with the Islanders. Rochester will conclude the 2014 USL PRO regular season in Sahlen's Stadium on Sunday, September 7th at against the Wilmington Hammerheads at 4:05PM.

Tickets for any match on the Rhinos home schedule will be available by by calling (585)454-KICK (5425), by visiting the MVP Health Care Box Office at Sahlen's Stadium, or by visiting ticketmaster.com. Rochester Rhinos season tickets, flex packages and group ticket sales are also currently available.

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 23, 2014


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.

OurSports Central