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USL Rochester Rhinos

Rochester Visits Pittsburgh Wednesday Night

September 15, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Rochester Rhinos News Release


ROCHESTER, NY - The Rochester Rhinos travel to Pittsburgh for their final away match of the 2015 USL Regular Season on Wednesday September 16th 2015 at 7PM. The Rhinos have clinched the 2015 USL Regular Season Championship, and Rochester has secured the number one seed in the USL Eastern Conference playoffs that begin on the weekend of September 25th to 27th. Pittsburgh Riverhounds currently sit in seventh place in the USL Eastern Conference table - one point behind sixth place Richmond Kickers, but the Riverhounds have a match in hand.

The Rochester Rhinos entered last Saturday night's penultimate match in Sahlen's Stadium against Toronto FC II unbeaten at home during the 2015 season. However, the Rhinos and TFCII ran into a much more difficult opponent than either one anticipated as they ended up running into the awesome forces of the power of nature. After a day of steady, and at times heavy, rainfall the playing surface in Sahlen's Stadium was left waterlogged and unplayable as pre-game preparations began on Saturday night. As a result, neither team was able to take the field for warm-ups due to unsafe playing conditions, and the stadium clock counted down to kickoff without any participants on the field of play. The officials appeared one more time a half hour after kickoff was scheduled to start, but ruled the field to still be unplayable after checking it for a second time. At 8:05PM it was announced that the match was officially postponed, and would be rescheduled for a date and time to be determined.

Without a match to play on Saturday night, Rochester Rhinos head coach Bob Lilley's objectives remain similar to those he entered the TFCII match with.

"It was definitely kind of a strange outcome on Saturday night with Toronto (FC II), and not being able to get that game in, but our objectives for our last three matches are still the same." Lilley said. "We want to play well in our last three games, and we want to enter the playoffs playing well. There's always something to play for."

While it is far from the focus of Lilley's charges entering their final three matches of the 2015 regular season, there are still milestones that the Rhinos could achieve before the end of the season. Rochester goalkeeper Brandon Miller has set the USL Regular Season Record in Shutouts after keeping a clean sheet in the Rhinos 0:0 draw with Richmond Kickers on September 5th. While Miller does not have enough games left to match Pat Onstad's club record of 16 clean sheets set in 1998, the Rochester Rhinos can still match the 1998 team record for goals conceded. The 1998 edition conceded 15 goals, while their 2015 counterparts have only conceded 12 goals with three matches left to play. On the offensive end of the pitch, the Rochester Rhinos have never featured a double digit goal scorer in the USL era, but have strikers Steevan Humberto Fortes dos Santos with eight goals and Christian Volesky with seven goals, both close enough to make the prospect a possibility for the first time in 2015.

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds enter Wednesday night's match with a much more dramatic story line playing out as their fight to qualify for the 2015 Eastern Conference playoffs continue. Pittsburgh will enter Wednesday night in seventh place in the table - one seed and one point behind Richmond Kickers for the sixth and final spot in the playoff field. The Riverhounds hold a match in hand over the Kickers, but that match will not be resolved on Wednesday night as Richmond hosts Toronto FC II in their season finale at Kickers Stadium. To further complicate matters for Pittsburgh, Harrisburg City Islanders sit one point behind the Riverhounds, and they play FC Montreal on Wednesday evening. Anything less than three points in Highmark Stadium for Pittsburgh would leave the Riverhounds in a dire position entering their last match of the season against the City Islanders on Saturday night.

The Rhinos next match is in Rochester against New York Red Bulls II on Saturday, September 19th 2015 at 7:05PM in Sahlen's Stadium. Single game tickets to the match are currently on sale and can be purchased by calling (585)454-KICK (5425), online via Ticketmaster, or by visiting the MVP Health Care Box Office at Sahlen's Stadium during business hours.

Rochester Rhinos playoff tickets, flex packages, and group sales tickets are also currently on sale and can be purchased by calling (585)454-KICK (5425), online via Ticketmaster, or by visiting the MVP Health Care Box Office at Sahlen's Stadium during business hours.

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