SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Aug. 29) - After taking a three goal lead two minutes into the second half, the Syracuse Salty Dogs held on for a 3-2 triumph over the Rochester Raging Rhinos before a crowd of 9,354 at P&C Stadium.
Speedy forward Machel Millwood netted a pair of goals, showing why he was recently named to the A-League team of the week. The eventual game winner came in the 47th minute, just as the fans were settling in after intermission.
The play took shape began around midfield with some pretty passing as Tommy Tanner and Noah Delgado worked the ball down the right sideline with a pair of no-look touches. Mike Kirmse took the ball deep and crossed it to the box, where Millwood headed it inside the right post past Rochester keeper Billy Andracki. The goal was Millwood's sixth of the season.
Rochester got on the board just three minutes later with a penalty kick by Cuauhtemoc Suarez. The freebie was awarded after Syracuse defender Mike Kirmse pulled Jamel Mitchell down in the box.
In the 66th minute, Mitchell took a nice through ball from Ian Fuller and placed it in the upper corner to Salty Dogs' keeper Paul Nagy's left. Mitchell and Fuller both entered the match after the half, replacing Doug Miller and Gabe Valencia as part of a mass five-man substitution.
The Rhinos turned up the pressure in the latter minutes, keeping the Dogs in their own end. Nagy made a couple of nice punch saves - one in the 64th minute and another in stoppage time; he also made a point-blank stop on Kirk Wilson in the 79th.
Syracuse dominated the first stanza, outshooting a flat looking Rochester side 9-4 and keeping the ball on the Rhinos' side of midfield for much of the first 45 minutes. Millwood netted the Dogs' first tally in the 32nd minute, taking a cross from Ryan Mack on the left and blasting the ball past a diving Andracki.
In the 40th minute, Tommy "GM" Tanner tallied his second goal of the season and the first against his former mates, burying a Delgado touch from 15 yards out on the right.
Nagy had five saves for Syracuse to Andracki's four; the Dogs outshot the Rhinos 12-7. Syracuse had 17 fouls to Rochester's 16. The Rhinos were caught offside six times to the Dogs four; Rochester had three corners to Syracuse's two. Four Dogs, Tanner, Rene Rivas, Millwood and Bennito Kemble received yellow cards, while Ryan Dinunzio, Miller and Scott Schweitzer were cautioned for the Rhinos.
For their 14 home matches, the Salty Dogs drew a total of 96,285 fans, an average of 6,878 per game and representing 71.5 percent of capacity. In the 10 contests played at P&C Stadium, total attendance was 80,392, an average of 8,036 and 69.8 percent of capacity. The Salty Dogs finished third in the A-League in attendance, after division rivals Rochester and Montreal, who meet in a two-game total-goals playoff series beginning on Sept. 5. Next season, the Dogs will play all of their home matches on the artificial pitch at P&C.
Salty Sez: Prior to the match, several Dogs were honored for their outstanding play this season: Paul Nagy (top defensive player), Pablo Gentile (community service), Lars Lyssand (MVP and top offensive player), and Neto (top playmaker). … Now wearing the Rhinos' yellow and black, Gabe Valencia faced his former Salty Dog teammates for the first time. Tanner, Kirmse and Rivas, all former Rhinos suited up for the Dogs. … With the victory, Syracuse wins the regular season series from Rochester 2-1-1. The Salty Dogs end their inaugural season with an 11-12-5 record, good for 38 points and fourth place in the tough Northeast Division.
Lineups: Rochester: Andracki, Dinunzio, Demmin (Schweitzer - 45th), Lavrinenko, Mendez, Sedgewick (Hayes - 45th), Suarez, Mladenov (Wilson - 45th), Kaczanowski, Valencia (Fuller - 45th), Miller (Mitchell - 45th). Syracuse: Nagy, Kirmse (Medina - 85th), Kemble, Rivas, Hall, Tanner (Woan - 66th), Semedo (McNab - 71st), Neto, Mack (Bardales - 90th), Delgado, Millwood.
