USL Playoffs Review: Rhinos to Host Galaxy II for USL Championship
October 11, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release
LA Galaxy II Celebrates Playoff Win
(LA Galaxy II)
TAMPA, Fla. - The Rochester Rhinos will host the LA Galaxy II in the 2015 USL Championship this Friday night at Sahlen's Stadium as the Eastern and Western Conference champions were crowned this weekend.
Rochester advanced to its first championship game since 2006 with a 1-0 victory against Louisville City FC to win the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night. The 2015 USL Regular Season champions will now face the Galaxy II, who took a 2-1 victory against OKC Energy FC on Sunday night at Taft Stadium to reach their first championship game in club history.
FEATURED GAMES
Rochester Rhinos 1, Louisville City FC 0
The Rhinos advanced to the 2015 USL Championship as a goal by Vassilios Apostolopoulos earned victory in front of a crowd of 5,561 fans at Sahlen's Stadium. The center back scored the only goal in the 21st minute, as he put home the rebound of a header by Steevan dos Santos for his first goal in a Rhinos uniform. From there, the Rhinos' stifling defense took over as it limited Louisville's attack to only three shots for the contest. The league's leading scorers in the regular season, City was unable to find a way to get many clear chances at goal, as USL Golden Boot winner Matt Fondy was held without a shot. Rochester was reduced to 10 men with 12 minutes to go when dos Santos was sent off, ruling him out of Friday's championship game, but the Rhinos' defense held firm to maintain its undefeated record at home this season.
LA Galaxy II 2, OKC Energy FC 1
A pair of first-half goals led the Galaxy II to victory against Energy FC in front of a sellout crowd at Taft Stadium, as Los Dos earned a measure of redemption after falling in last season's semifinals. Ariel Lassiter's third goal of the playoffs gave the Galaxy II the lead in just the seventh minute as he tapped home a poorly cleared free kick from close range, and Andre Auras doubled the lead in the 23rd minute with an exquisite free kick from 25 yards into the left corner. While LA dominated much of the opening half, Energy FC rebounded strongly after the break, and got a lifeline with 25 minutes to go when Coady Andrews flicked home a header from Sebastian Dalgaard's corner kick. As hard as OKC pushed for an equalizer, though, it didn't arrive as Los Dos earned the chance to claim their first championship.
2015 USL PLAYOFFS
Conference Quarterfinals
Eastern Conference
Saturday, September 26
No. 4 New York Red Bulls II 4, No. 5 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2 OT
No. 3 Charleston Battery 2, No. 6 Richmond Kickers 1 OT
Western Conference
Friday, September 25
No. 3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 2, No. 6 Seattle Sounders FC 2 0
Saturday, September 26
No. 5 LA Galaxy II 1, No. 4 Sacramento Republic FC 0
Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference
Saturday, October 3
No. 1 Rochester Rhinos 2, No. 4 New York Red Bulls II 0
No. 2 Louisville City FC 2, No. 3 Charleston Battery 0 OT
Western Conference
Saturday, October 3
No. 5 LA Galaxy II 2, No. 1 Orange County Blues FC 0
Sunday, October 4
No. 2 OKC Energy FC 2, No. 3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 2
Energy FC wins 4-3 in a penalty shootout
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference
Saturday, October 10
No. 1 Rochester Rhinos 1, No. 2 Louisville City FC 0
Western Conference
Sunday, October 11
No. 5 LA Galaxy II 2, No. 2 OKC Energy FC 1
2015 USL Championship
Friday, October 16
No. 1 Rochester Rhinos vs. No. 5 LA Galaxy II, 7:30 p.m. ET, Sahlen's Stadium
Images from this story
 LA Galaxy II Celebrates Playoff Win |
United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 11, 2015
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