Rhinos Blast Impact 2-0

Andracki Stonewalls Montreal’s Attack, Rhinos within 1 Point of First

J-P Altieri,
a-league.com Match Reporter
Rochester

ROCHESTER, NY, June 30, 2003 – Rhinos goalkeeper Bill Andracki has probably heard it all this year: he’s too old, or he can’t netmind like he once did, on and on. While he may not be the same ‘keeper he was in the past, Andracki played as if he was 21-years-old Saturday night, coming up with 4 crucial saves as Montreal peppered the veteran ‘keeper with 14 shots in a 2-0 Rhinos win in front of 11,624 jubilant fans.

Overall, this game cost Montreal dearly, since it would have put a 7-point gap between the Impact and the Rhinos in the Northeast Division. With the way the current table looks, and the fact that only the top two teams make the post-season, this is anyone’s division, and every point matters. Such is the reason why the Rhinos played so inspired on Saturday. Except for a small Canadian faction in the nose bleeder seats, the crowd was behind the home team for the full 90 minutes, due to their offense-minded ways and Andracki’s great defensive effort. The Rhinos understood what losing three in a row meant (3-2 [ET] last Friday and 1-0 last Sunday), especially to the same team. Losing was not an option.

Rochester set the tone early, when, in the 6’, speedy forward Doug Miller nearly put the home side ahead, but he failed to control the ball near the 6-yard box. The ensuing corner was knocked around and eventually cleared from danger’s way. Even in the 10’, when forward Ian Fuller left with an apparent hand injury (X-rays later revealed a break between the wrist and the elbow; a cast is required), the pace never slowed for Rochester. Montreal played the first 30 minutes on their heels, looking for holes in the Rochester defense that never seemed to appear.

Montreal’s best look of the first half came in the 31’, when defender Abe Francois crossed dangerously into the Rhinos’ goal box toward an onrushing Eduardo Sebrango, whose header narrowly missed over the bar. Rochester immediately responded with their own attack, building up the left, attacking Francois head-on.

Rochester was awarded a free kick from about 25 yards out in the 39’, and midfielder Stoian Mladenov, held scoreless all season, placed a beautiful shot past Impact ‘keeper Greg Sutton, who was cheating to his left on the kick. The ball dropped perfectly into the middle-right of the net, and Mladenov appeared to finally peel the scoreless streak monkey off his back.

Montreal quickly responded, but Andracki came up big with a valiant foot save. Rochester got another look at the Montreal goal before the break, but Sutton stopped midfielder Kirk Wilson’s header point-blank.

Rochester began the second half as it had ended the first: on the attack and pressuring Montreal in their own end. A few Mladenov free kicks were good ideas, but never amounted to much, since defender Bill Sedgewick was always a step or so behind on each delivery into the goal box.

Montreal forward Eduardo Sebrango, a former Rhino who scored the Impact’s winner at Frontier Field last week in a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind overtime win, streaked into the Rhinos’ goal box in the 54’, but again Andracki denied him a good look at the net and turned his shot away.

Andracki again came up big in the 60’, acrobatically turning Montreal midfielder Mauro Biello’s shot over the bar. Frustration was apparently mounting within the Montreal camp, as suddenly the team threw bodies forward at the Rochester goal. Corner kicks were the only thing the shooters could muster, however, as Andracki held his ground and the defense played tight and smart.

Several long balls out to Miller nearly dropped the Impact further behind, but Sutton kept getting pieces of Miller’s low, hard shots to deny the striker his 10^th goal of the season.

On the other end, Andracki suddenly became much busier, turning away shot after shot from hungry Impact forwards and midfielders. Superb saves on Biello in the 71’ and another in the 81’, where Montreal actually put the ball in the net after kicking it out of Andracki’s hands, proved that Rochester meant business and were not going to break down in a must-win situation.

In the 89’, Montreal had every player near or around the Rochester goal box, when an errant Impact pass became paydirt for the Rhinos. Defender Scott Schweitzer delivered a perfectly placed long ball to Miller up the right flank. Miller ran onto the pass, streaked into the right-hand side of the Montreal goal box and connected, just clipping Sutton’s outstretched hand, dropping the ball into the left (far) corner for the security goal, his 10^th of the season.

The victory gave the match a playoff-type of flavor, and poised Rochester to knock Montreal out of first place in the Northeast Division in upcoming weeks. Currently, Montreal leads by one point (27) over Rochester (26).

 

Goal Summary