Rochester Rhinos

United vs Rhinos
Temas to meet for Open Cup

D.C. United blank Rhinos in USOC
GERMANTOWN, Md. -- D.C. United began their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign by fending off a spirited challenge from the Rochester Rhinos at the Maryland Soccerplex on Tuesday night, grabbing a 2-0 win on the strength of a rare free kick brace from defender Marc Burch.

The MLS side looked disjointed at times and left it late as the score remained 0-0 until the final stages, but Burch's powerful left foot proved the difference on two set pieces as D.C. coach Tom Soehn got away with resting most of his everyday starters following Sunday's draining 4-1 win against Los Angeles.

Rochester fielded a starting lineup with several faces that would be familiar to MLS fans, including goalkeeper Scott Vallow, Ugandan veteran Tenywa Bonseu and former Real Salt Lake midfielders Luke Kreamalmeyer and Leslie "Tiger" Fitzpatrick. The Rhinos were arrayed in a 4-5-1 formation spearheaded by Mauricio Salles, the big Brazilian striker leading Rochester in both goals and assists this season.

But a red card in the Rhinos' previous Open Cup match against Pittsburgh denied player/coach Steve Guppy the chance to put one over on his former club, the English winger having spent an injury-plagued spell with United in 2005.

United ran out a young first XI, albeit one sprinkled with experience. Luciano Emilio captained the side, leading the line alongside Francis Doe, backed by an entirely new midfield of Rod Dyachenko, Dan Stratford, Ryan Cordeiro and Quavas Kirk.

Zach Wells remained between the pipes for D.C., but he was fronted by a reshuffled back line as Devon McTavish and Marc Burch manned the central spots together for the first time, flanked by Gonzalo Martinez and rookie Pat Carroll.

A long D.C. throw into the Rhinos box in the first minute opened up a close-range header for Dyachenko at the far post, but with the goal gaping, the Russian-born playmaker tamely bounced his effort into Scott Vallow's arms.

With plenty of big bodies and willing legs in midfield, the match quickly took on a scrappy, direct character heavy on high, speculative balls and crunching challenges.

Dyachenko did better with his next look at goal, cracking a sharp volley that was destined for the left side of the net before Vallow shuffled to his right to parry the shot wide in the 12th minute.

But Emilio was handed his side's best chance of the early going when he seized on Vallow's poor pass out of the Rhinos box in the 25th minute, jinking left, then right before whistling a shot inches over the crossbar.

But the play kicked off a sequence of D.C. dominance as the MLS side finally got the ball on the turf and began to string together passes. Doe capped a mazy run deep into the box with a quick shot that tested Vallow's alertness at the near post, then Emilio flashed a glancing header wide on the ensuing corner kick.

Cordeiro was coming into the game now, seeing more of the ball along the left flank, and he soon popped up again to reach Kirk's cross after it had floated over Emilio, snapping a right-footed half-volley on target that forced Vallow to produce another impressive save.

D.C. boss Tom Soehn made a host of changes at the break, yanking Stratford and Emilio to insert regulars Clyde Simms and Fred into midfield as the Brazilian took on a free playmaking role alongside Dyachenko. Soehn also handed new signing Craig Thompson his United debut in place of Martinez, which prompted another rejiggering of the back line as Carroll and McTavish paired up centrally.

Fred made an impact almost immediately -- though probably not the sort he'd prefer -- when Cordeiro chased down a loose ball along the endline inside the Rochester box and spotted the Brazilian's late run to the far post. But with Vallow at his mercy, Fred snatched at Cordeiro's pass and skied his shot way over the top.

McTavish's poor clearance bounced right to Fitzpatrick in the 54th minute, leading to a good chance for the Rhinos as the dreadlocked midfielder swung the ball wide to Danny Earls on the left, who curled a teasing cross to the far post that Kreamalmeyer clipped just wide of goal.

The USL-1 side was growing in confidence as the scoreless deadlock lingered, and Salles' physical presence and relentless harrying seemed to be discomfiting the United defense. He found space at the top of the box to unleash a stinging left-footed shot that arrowed towards the upper corner of the goal, only to carry just wide and clang off the support stanchion behind the net.

As United were pressed forward more eagerly in search of openings, Burch stamped his mark on the match in the 78th minute, from a blistering set piece nearly 30 yards out. Fred's direct run at goal drew the initial foul by Scott Palguta, but there was no doubt about the free kick taker as Burch stood alone over the ball.

He'd produced a screamer of a set piece that had banged off the crossbar in the final stages of Sunday's 4-1 win over the L.A. Galaxy -- yet this time Burch kept his effort low and it paid off, as Vallow was partially screened by the bodies in front of his goal and could not get down in time to keep the shot from skimming into the far corner of the net for a 1-0 United lead.

But the University of Maryland product was not done yet. Dyachenko earned another set piece, this one even closer to goal, and Burch strode forward and smacked another low bid that took a fortuitous deflection off the Rochester wall, wrongfooting Vallow to push the score to 2-0.

The Rhinos quickly tried to fashion a response and Wells had to be alert in the 86th minute, quickly changing direction to paw Matthew Delicate's bouncing effort away from goal. But that would be the last real chance for the USL-1 outfit, sending United on to the quarterfinal round, to be played at the Soccerplex in a week's time, when they will face the winner of the Chicago Fire-Cleveland City Stars match.

Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.

Rochester Rhinos (0-1-0) vs. D.C. United (1-0-0)
July 01, 2008 -- Maryland SoccerPlex; Germantown, MD.

Scoring Summary:
DC -- Marc Burch 1 (unassisted) 78
DC -- Marc Burch 2 (unassisted) 85

Rochester Rhinos -- Scott Vallow, Nate Craft, Tenywa Bonseu (Rey Angel Martinez 86), Scott Palguta, John Ball, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Danny Earls (Hamed Diallo 82), Tiger Fitzpatrick, John Menyonger (Matthew Delicate 59), Ze Roberto, Mauricio Salles,

Substitutes Not Used: Harrison Chase, Alfonso Loera, Juan Pablo Reyes

D.C. United -- Zach Wells, Pat Carroll (Domenic Mediate 7, Gonzalo Martinez (Craig Thompson 46), Devon McTavish, Marc Burch, Quavas Kirk, Rod Dyachenko, Dan Stratford (Clyde Simms 46), Ryan Cordeiro, Francis Doe, Luciano Emilio (Fred 46),

Substitutes Not Used: Dane Murphy, James Thorpe, Mike Zaher

Reserves reward Soehn's faith

GERMANTOWN, Md. -- D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn faced a tricky task in his team's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup opener against the Rochester Rhinos on Tuesday night.

Much of his squad was dinged and drained from an intense league match against David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy on Sunday afternoon. But the club is keen to make some noise in the 2008 USOC after last season's disappointing crashout, and Rochester's visit to United's home away from home, the Maryland Soccerplex, clearly presented a potential banana peel for D.C.

So Soehn took a measured gamble, giving his reserves a chance to make an impression while mixing in a bit of quality from the first team. For three-quarters of the match, the results of his gambit were obscured by the Rhinos' workmanlike resistance -- and some patchy performances from his own side.

"It wasn't the prettiest game. By no means," said Soehn after United's 2-0 escape. "We put a lot of energy into the game on Sunday and we tried to limit how many guys we had out there from that game, and tried to manage through it."

Fatigue even haunted a striker who hasn't worn his United uniform for weeks. Francis Doe finally returned from African World Cup qualifying duty over the weekend, but was less than fresh in his first-ever 90-minute match for D.C.

"I'm still tired because of the flight, because it was like a 14-hour flight," admitted the Liberian international.

But as is often the case when squads from different levels meet in the Open Cup, a flash of top-class quality won the day for United as Marc Burch put one of Major League Soccer's most fearsome left feet to good use, netting two late free kicks to deliver a D.C. win.

"He can hit a ball like nobody's business and he did a good job," said Soehn of his young defender. "Anytime it's a little moist out there, you hit them hard and low. One was a deflection, but he hits it with so much pace you're not sure where it's going. It's a real asset for us."

Against the Galaxy, Burch made his way onto many highlight reels with an effort that didn't even find the net as he cracked a long-distance free kick off the woodwork in the match's late going. On Tuesday night, a different tack helped him outsmart Rochester 'keeper Scott Vallow, who had an otherwise remarkable night in goal with five saves.

"I was sick of hitting the crossbar, so I hit it low," joked Burch. "It seemed like we were controlling the play, we were knocking it around, and we looked good out there, but we weren't really getting any real chances. ... So I figured a free kick or a rebound or something was going to be how someone was going to score."

As Soehn was quick to acknowledge, some of D.C.'s young reserves underwhelmed, but for all their hard running, the Rhinos were unable to exploit the few openings they crafted.

"More or less, they were playing a lot of balls over the top," said Soehn. "I don't know that that unsettled us -- I think there were stretches of the game where we didn't knock it around well enough, and coughed it up in spots."

United will now have a longer respite before hosting the Chicago Fire in am Open Cup quarterfinal match at the Soccerplex in a week's time, as United look to avenge the Fire's 3-0 victory in the 2006 Open Cup semifinals.

Rhinos rally past Vancouver 3-1

ROCHESTER, NY -- Rochester continued the Fourth of July celebrations with a win over the second place Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night. Rochester who trailed 1-0 at the half, came back with three goals of their own to get their second win of the season against Vancouver, 3-1.

Rhinos midfielder Ze Roberto was the offensive hero supplying two of Rochester three goals on the night.

Vancouver started the match off in flying fashion, scoring the first goal of the match just ten seconds from kickoff. The play was started with a ball played to Vancouver midfielder Justin Moose, who took the ball downfield before slicing a diagonal ball through to forward Nick Adalery. Addlery calmly took the ball in stride and slotted a shot past Rhinos’ keeper Scott Vallow from 15 yards out.

After the early excitement, play was slowed down and much of the first half was battled out throughout the midfield. Rochester applied much of the pressure, forcing six corners, all of which were easily handled by Whitecaps’ keeper Jay Nolly. After the opening shot, the Vancouver attack could not break the Rhino defense, only forcing Vallow to make two very comfortable saves.

Scott Palguta came close to tying the game in the 44th minute but his header sailed wide ending the half with Vancouver ahead one-nil.

The Rhinos repaid the favor with an early goal of their own to start the second half. Just 34 seconds into the half midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer won the ball in the box before dropping it off to fellow midfielder Roberto, who hit a one-time shot from just outside the area into the lower left hand corner of the net.

The Whitecaps had an opportunity to re-claim the lead just three minutes later but former Rhino Eduardo Sebrango was denied on the line by Rochester newcomer Ross Smith, before the rebound was then pounded over the net by Vancouver defender Lyle Martin.

Starting in the 53rd minute, Mauricio Salles had three solid attempts on goal, including a blast from 25 yards out that was just pushed wide by the Vancouver goalkeeper, but could not find the net.

The Rhinos took their first lead of the game in 71st minute on a volley by Johnny Menyongar. Menyongar volleyed a long cross from Danny Earls who started his first match at defense as a Rhino.

Rochester was looking to add some insurance in the 80th minute when Tiger Fitzpatrick took a long shot, but it was easily saved by Nolly. Vancouver had a chance for the equalizer but Jason Jordan’s attempt was straight to Vallow.

Rochester almost made it 3-1 in the 87th after sub Rey Martinez forced Nolly to make a pressured save, but Menyongar sent the rebound high and wide.

The Rhinos did finally found find that coveted third goal in the 89th minute after Matthew Delicate pressured the Vancouver keeper as he attempted to handle an errant pass back from his defender. The loose ball was retrieved by Martinez, who sent it back to Roberto, who chipped the ball inside the far post. Steve Guppy almost added a fourth in stoppage time but his effort traveled wide of the post.

The win improves the Rhino’s record to 3-5-5 and 2-1 against second place Vancouver. Also with the win Rochester pulled within one point of Puerto Rico for tenth place in the standings. Rochester will host the Seattle Sounders on July 11th with a start time of 7:35 p.m.

United Soccer Leagues announced the USL First Division and USL Second Division Team of the Week honors Tuesday for Week 12 of the season, honoring Rochester’s Ze Roberto and Charlotte’s Jorge Herrera as the Players of the Week, respectively.