Rhinos Shutout Salty Dogs
Late Goal By Miller Advances Rochester Into US Open Cup
J-P Altieri & Keith
Kiedrowski,
a-league.com Match Reporters
Rochester
ROCHESTER, NY, May 22, 2004 – If one was to look at one of
the statistics of Saturday’s match between the Rochester Raging Rhinos and the
Syracuse Salty Dogs—11 to 8 shots on goal— it would be easy to think that
Syracuse won big. Quite the contrary happened, as a late goal by Rochester fan
favorite Doug Miller secured the Rhinos a spot in the US Open Cup.
The Rhinos, who were held to 2 shots on goal in the first half,
almost struck immediately, when Doug Miller got a breakaway in the 3’, only to
put it widely past Dogs ‘keeper Byron Foss and the far the post. Three minutes
later, a chip from Rhinos midfielder Ian Fuller found forward Chris Carrieri in
the Syracuse goal box, but his pass to midfielder Noah Delgado resulted in
Delgado clanking his shot off the far post.
Syracuse’s big forward, Machel Millwood got a decent look at the
Rochester goal in the 13’. Yet since he was carrying the ball and essentially
three Rhinos defenders, Rhinos’ keeper Theo Zagar easily stopped his soft shot.
The second half began with a Syracuse ejection in the 47’, when
Dogs defender Christian Neagu took down a streaking Carrieri outside the goal
box. Neagu was the last man standing between Carrieri and Foss. Four minutes
later, Rhinos substitute Neto threaded a perfect through ball to Miller, but
Miller lost the handle on the ball and Foss easily cut out the play.
The Rhinos and Dogs both created chances at both ends, yet the
‘keepers played sharp and the match looked as if it was heading to overtime. A
1-1 draw in the first leg meant that this match was a must-win, although
neither team seemed to be able to break the deadlock.
That all changed in the 77’, when, after much jockeying in the
goal box, Rhinos midfielder Kirk Wilson notched a short pass to an onrushing
Miller, who netted the only goal of the match.
The Rhinos found themselves in control, and managed to continue
pouring on the pressure. Near the 85’, the referee dismissed a trip in the
Syracuse goal box by Foss on Kirk Wilson, who was one-on-one with him. Foss
slid in an attempt to cut off Wilson’s angle on a breakaway, but missed. He
opted to grab Wilson’s leg instead, but the game continued, even though Wilson
clearly was tripped in the goal box.
In a night that was rain-drenched, this soggy match of boring
long ball soccer will definitely not live long in the memories of the 10,080 in
attendance.
Scoring Summary
|
Time
|
Goal Scorer & Assist
|
Score
|
|
77’
|
Miller (Kirk Wilson)
|
ROC 1 – SYR 0
|
Starting Lineups
Y = Yellow Card
R = Red Card
Rochester Raging Rhinos
Formation: 4-4-2
22 GK – Theo Zagar
3 D – Craig Demmin (Y)
11 D – Bill Sedgewick
17 D – David Wright
25 D – John Wilson
10 M – Ryan Trout (Woolfolk, 72‘)
13 M – Noah Delgado (Neto, 45’)
21 M – Kirk Wilson
24 M – Ian Fuller (Y)
15 F – Chris Carrieri (Allnutt, 90’)
19 F – Doug Miller (Steenkamp, 84’)
Syracuse Salty Dogs
Formation: 4-4-2
28 GK – Byron Foss (Y)
25 D – Bennito Kemble
17 D – Christian Neagu (R)
7 D – Lars Lyssand
2 M – Tim O’Neill (Maher, 83’)
26 M – Rene Rivas
18 M – Ian Woan
19 M – Chris Dore
14 M – Temoc Suarez (Mack, 58‘)
10 F – Csaba Kerekes (Sanfillipo, 49’)
23 F – Machel Millwood (Y)
How They Fared
Here’s how we feel the Rhinos fared against Syracuse:
8 = Highest, 0 = Lowest
|
Player
|
J-P’s Rating
|
Keith’s Rating
|
Comments
|
|
22 GK – Theo
Zagar
|
7.0
|
7
|
Tested more than
normal, played well.
|
|
3 D – Craig
Demmin
|
7.0
|
6
|
Yellow card
tarnished an otherwise solid performance.
|
|
11 D – Bill
Sedgewick
|
7.0
|
6
|
Played better
tonight. Looked more aware and quicker.
|
|
17 D – David
Wright
|
7.0
|
7
|
Solid at the
back; business as usual.
|
|
25 D – John
Wilson
|
7.0
|
7
|
Strong, fast, and
never quits on the ball. Defensive player of the match.
|
|
13 M – Noah
Delgado
|
6.5
|
6
|
His best chance
hit the woodwork. Only 45 minutes tonight.
|
|
10 M – Ryan Trout
|
6.0
|
6
|
Seemed to
disappear during the match at times. Had a few miscues tonight.
|
|
21 M – Kirk
Wilson
|
6.5
|
6
|
Had the assist
and possibly a goal of his own. Still holds the ball too long, and only looks
for Miller when passing ahead.
|
|
24 M – Ian Fuller
|
6.0
|
6
|
He’s just kind of
there. Not really any impact.
|
|
19 F – Doug
Miller
|
7.0
|
6
|
Scored the game
winner, but his rating is not an 8, since he wasted many chances and was
adjudged to be offside too many times.
|
|
15 F – Chris
Carrieri
|
7.0
|
7
|
Fast, solid
player who was hacked relentlessly tonight.
|
|
Coaches
|
5.0
|
5
|
Long ball passing
has crept back into the game plan since the insertion of Miller into the
starting lineup. Ugly. Boring. At least the defense is strong.
|
Statistics
SHOTS:
ROC: 8
SYR: 11
SAVES:
ROC: 2
SYR: 2
FOULS:
ROC: 16
SYR: 19
CAUTIONS/EJECTIONS:
ROC: 2/0
SYR: 2/1
OFFSIDES:
ROC: 7
SYR: 3
ATTENDANCE: 10,080
