Like the Rough Riders defense of their Divisional Championship, their season continued to slip away yesterday against the Rochester Raging Rhinos with a 3-1 loss. The loss, their 15th and team record, snapped a one game wining streak. As if the condition of the field was not bad enough, the referee Peter Kokolski did not help the matter.
Right from the beginning of the match, Long Island was battling both the turf and the ref. Just as the fans were starting to set in, the Rhinos tallied the first goal of the night. Martin Nash gave Rochester the early 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. Once again, the Riders were playing from behind. On the season, the Rough Riders have scored only 10 goals in the first half, while allowing 21.
Long Island managed to dictate the pace of play, but they still could not find the back of the net with any of the shots. No matter how hard they pushed the ball, or how quick they unleashed their shots, none would cross the line to tie the match.
Then when it looked like the Riders were going to go down with out a fight, they were infused by new blood. Christopher Nicholas, a recent addition, provided a much needed spark off the bench.
Seconds after replacing Derek Etienne, Nicholas pushed the ball forward. Soon after crossing midfield, Nicholas dribbled through two Rhinos and carried the ball across the top of the box, then after faking out a third defender, he hit a cutting Stephen Franzke. Before Franzke could get a shot at the net, the Rhinos keeper, Bill Andrecki cut his feet out from under him. With perhaps the only right call of the night, Kokolski awarded the Riders with a penalty kick.
While Fernando Fernandes was setting up his shot, Andrecki looked over to the bench, which told him the guess right. The only problem was Fernandes went left to tie the match at 1 all in the 68th minute. As Long Island was celebrating the goal, Andrecki had a few choice words to his teammates on the bench for their advice.
It did not take long for Rochester to score the game winner, bouncing back just a few seconds after the goal. Before the Rough Riders could protect the tie, the Rhinos carried the ball down the right side of the field. Then Jamel Mitchell crossed the ball into the box, and what looked like an easy clear then turned into a goal. Instead of a chance to clear the ball out of danger, Ronan Wiseman lost his footing, and Stoian Mladenov had a clear shot at net. Mladenov had little trouble beating Oscar Mejia for the goal in the 69th minute.
Things did not get better for the Riders as they began to lose possession of the ball and often got caught without numbers behind the ball. The only thing that stopped a blow out was the team defense of Carlyle Myrie, Steven Danbusky, Mersim Beskovic, and Franzke.
To cap off the win, Rochester scored the third goal with eight minutes to go. Kirk Wilson crossed the ball to a wide-open Tommy Tanner at the back post who headed the ball under a diving Mejia.
Long Island closed out their home portion of their schedule with a 3-6-3 record. They will now close out their first losing season in team history with two road games. The first will be up in Rochester against these same Rhinos on Saturday, September 8 at 7:35 p.m., after playing the Toronto Lynx the previous day at 7:00 p.m.
If the Rough Riders remain in the hands of owner Frank Boulton, it is a lock that they will be dropped to the D3 for next season. The move would end the 8-year run of the only professional men's soccer team. It's hard to understand how the Riders would still be able to compete at that level operating at their current level. It is time for new blood to re-energize the organization.
