Rhinos Blow Late Lead, Tie Lowly Battery

Holding Leads Suddenly a Problem for Raging Rhinos

J-P Altieri & Keith Kiedrowski,
a-league.com Match Reporters
Rochester

ROCHESTER, NY, August 8 – When it comes to holding small leads, the Rhinos are terrible. Too many times this season the Rhinos have gained a late lead only to watch it vanish quickly. Sunday evening’s match versus the Charleston Battery was no different.

Facing the same team that knocked them out of the US Open Cup last Wednesday, one would think that the Rhinos would want to exact a little revenge while trying to also secure themselves a place in the playoffs. But easy matches have been few and far apart this season, and last place Charleston—a team with nothing to lose—seems to have Rochester’s number.

After an embarrassing loss to the Battery 1-0 last Wednesday in the US Open Cup quarterfinals and an unimpressive 1-1 draw with Syracuse on Friday night at Frontier Field, the Rhinos are a team that appears to be a fallen giant. And the climb to get back up isn’t going to be an easy one.

Miscommunication and indecision by the Rhinos’ defense nearly buried them early Sunday, when defender John Wilson failed to clear a ball near the goalmouth in the 24’. ‘Keeper Soren Johnson did not charge the ball; obviously believing that Wilson was about to clear. Fortunately for the Rhinos, the shot was wild and deflected off Johnson for a Charleston corner kick that was eventually cleared from danger.

Rochester began applying pressure on a weak Charleston defense late in the half, but Battery ‘keeper Chris Doyle appeared to be up to the challenge of facing so many shots. The Rhinos out-shot the Battery 8-4 in the first half, but went to the dressing room with nothing to show for it.

The half time entertainment of “Mascot Soccer” was more entertaining than the actual match. Elmo lost his head and a large inflatable bowling pin spilled in the midfield during the “action.”

The Rhinos substituted a couple of players at the half, but neither Ryan Trout nor Carlos Semedo made much of an impact. The Rhinos nearly took the lead in the 51’, when Rhinos forward Chris Carrieri got a piece of the ball inside the Battery’s 6-yard box, but Doyle bobbled and covered the shot. At the other end, Battery forward Greg Simmonds, a former Rhinos forward, weakly shot the ball to Johnson on the counterattack.

Rochester veteran Yari Allnutt was substituted into the match in the 61’ and his impact on the game was immediate. He almost scored off his first touch a minute later, and nearly again with a header in the 66’.

The third time was the charm for Allnutt, however, when, in the 69’, Carrieri sent a short pass to the top of the penalty area to Kirk Wilson, whose low cross was headed by Allnutt off the post. Second half substitute Corey Woolfolk’s rebound put the Rhinos ahead.

Not 12 minutes later, though, a defensive error by Rochester’s Bill Sedgewick allowed Charleston forward Ted Chronopoulos a chance to rip a shot past an outstretched Soren Johnson into the left-hand corner of the Rochester goal to equalize. Sedgewick botched a clearance from the penalty area with a misdirected header that landed right in front of Chronopoulos, whose effort on goal was precision-perfect.

The remaining 9 minutes of the second half became a hectic race to score the winner, with Rochester enjoying most of the possession and the shots. After two extra periods, the game concluded as a 1-1 draw, ending an abysmal weekend for the Rhinos that sees them only get 2 out of a possible 6 available points in the Eastern Conference table.

Having out-shot the Battery 26-14 at game’s end, one has to wonder why the ball isn’t finding the back of the net for Rochester. Whatever the problem is, they better figure it quickly, or else they’ll end up watching the playoffs instead of participating in them.

Scoring Summary