Stagione Finita- Season over

By: alessio | September 27th, 2009

Islanders 4-1 Rhinos (5-3 on aggregate)

And that’s how the season ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.

It was always going to be difficult- Even with our leading scorer, we had extreme difficulties scoring, though 3 goals in an aggregate game is not bad, that was when the defense let up. The defense had been great, keeping plenty of clean sheets all season but the Islanders were just a class above. Grabbing that goal at Rochester Rhinos stadium in the first leg was a major boost for them, a 2-1 score at home is not especially positive to take on the road, much less against an organized team like the Islanders.

[From RhinosSoccer.com...]- For the second year in a row the Rochester Rhinos entered the second leg of a playoff series carrying a lead into their two-game aggregate goals series against the Puerto Rico Islanders.

Rochester took the 2-1 lead with a home win on Thursday night at Marina Auto Stadium. The Islanders began the match shorthanded after losing their best player, defender Cristian Arietta for the game courtesy of a red card ejection on Thursday night.

The Rhinos, on their heels from the start fell behind early as Fabrice Noel gave the Islanders an early one goal lead, tying the aggregate goals series at two goals each. Rochester suffered a huge set back in the 29th minute when Brent Sancho was the recipient of his second yellow card, putting the Rhinos down a man for the remainder of the match. The Islanders nearly made the score 2-1 (3-2) when Petter Villegas drilled the goalpost to the right of goalkeeper Scott Vallow. Puerto Rico did add another goal just a short time later when Nicholas Adderly converted a cross from former Rhino Jonny Steele to give the Islanders a one goal lead on aggregate.

With ten minutes remaining in the match Noel tallied his second goal of the match taking the ball past two defenders and punching it past Vallow to give the Islanders a 4-2 series lead. The Rhinos fought back as defender Kenney Bertz registered his second playoff goal to bring Rochester back to within a goal in the closing minutes.

As time began to wind down and the Rhinos pressing Adderly converted a counter attack opportunity giving Puerto Rico an insurmountable 5-3 aggregate lead in the 90th minute.

For the second year in a row the Rhinos are eliminated from the postseason after taking a lead in aggregate play to Puerto Rico. Rochester finished the season 12-11-10. The club will return home on Monday night.

Sometimes playoff games are aggravating because of poor luck, or poor performance. But this is one of those series where we just have to admit we were not up to the task. Our run-in to the playoffs was underwhelming, the team was having difficulties scoring at home. Darren Tilley has done a decent job with the team, but that’s it, just decent. This team is championship caliber- Scotty Vallow in goal, with two excellent center-backs in Kenny Bertz and Brett Sancho, our fullbacks are quality in Danny Earls and John Ball who had a record year, and Tiger Fitzpatrick is a good midfielder. Our forwards were underwhelming for yet another season, except for team MVP Johnny Menyongar.

For someone who grew up in the Rhinos glory years of 96-2001, the last 5-6 years have been fairly disappointing. The team has remained fairly competitive, but not competitive enough to win titles, and that’s why we play. But that’s football for you, sticking with the team in the good days and the bad, and especially the mediocre.

Upcoming is the offseason- Cold for 6 months, rain and sleet which gives way to snow and ice storms. The Rhinos players will scatter around, some off to the indoor leagues of the MISL, some off to foreign countries to play in leagues there. And we will wait…through all the cold and snow, anticipating that first Spring day where it is sunny yet brisk, when we can return to Rochester Rhinos stadium and watch our beloved team play.