Eddie Sebrango scored twice as the defending US Open Cup Champion Rochester Raging Rhinos defeated the Connecticut Wolves, 2-0 in front of 9,561 fans at Frontier Field in Rochester on Saturday night.
A very physical played game, particularly in the midfield and the matchup between Connecticut's Gustavo Villagra and Rochester's John Ball. But it was Wolves forward Kevin Wilson who was nabbed early on with a red card ejection, for throwing an elbow to Rochester defender Tim Hardy during a throw-in attempt in the 8th minute. Rochester capitalized on the man-advantage quickly, when Eddie Sebrango scored in the 13th minute off a feed from Ball. Much of the remainder of the first half was Rochester playing keep away, taking the 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Rhinos' midfielder Mike Kirmse sent a long ball into the Wolves end, where Sebrango and halftime substitute Onandi Lowe beat the Wolves offside trap. Sebrango, one on one with Wolves GK-Matt Chavlovich, sent a hard shot that went just under the right arm of the Connecticut 'keeper, giving Rochester a 2-0 lead in the 80th minute.
Playing a man down nearly the entire contest, Connecticut found it difficult to mount any sort of attack, but defender Gary Crompton almost caught the Rhinos napping in the 88th minute by sending a long lob on goal from 85 yards away. Rochester netmider Billy Andracki had to quickly backpeddle to make the save just 6 yards from the goal line.
Connecticut finishes off their 3-game road trip this Wednesday, when they visit the Long Island RoughRiders on June 7th. As part of an All-Day Promotion involving Long Island elementary schools, the match will start at a special time of 10:30am. The Wolves return home on Sunday night, June 7th, to play the RoughRiders at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in New Britain at 7:30pm. Gates Open at 6:00pm for the Pre-Game Entertainment (Northstar Acoustic D.J. Party)
http://www.ct-wolves.com
