Impact Cuts Down Rhinos Late

Poor Second Half Gives Montreal Road Win At Frontier Field

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

ROCHESTER, NY, May 21, 2005 – After a horrendous trip in Puerto Rico that saw the Rhinos lose 2 close matches and drop near the bottom of the USL Division 1 table, Rochester’s return trip home didn’t look much better as the defending champions, The Montreal Impact, came to town.

Early Pressure

A trademark with most Rhinos games is early pressure to establish momentum. This pressure paid off for the Rhinos in the 26’, when Shaun Tsakiris rocketed home a rebound off the woodwork for 1-0. The Rhinos nearly doubled their tally a minute later, but Rey Martinez lost his handle on the ball when sprinting into the goal area.

A Wet Night at the Stadium

Ironically, rain began to drench the field just before the break, almost symbolically signifying the end to Rochester’s hold on the match. The second half would be completely different from the first.

Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde

In the second half, Rochester looked less confident and allowed more space to Montreal’s suddenly streaking forwards. Ali Gerba—a late first half substitute—scored twice in the second half, with his first coming against the flow of play in the 60’. 25 minutes later, with a draw looking less secure for Rochester as Montreal’s pressure mounted, Gerba caught the Rhinos’ defense napping and easily slipped Pat LeDuc’s cross past an onrushing Scott Vallow.

Plenty of Rebuilding Left To Do

This was a tale of three teams on this night: a Montreal side that went down early and never lost composure, a Rochester team that looked invincible in the first half, and a Rhinos team that looked lost and disjointed in the second. 1 win, 1 draw and 4 losses is not a good start.

Scoring Summary