Rochester Rhinos Feature -- www.rhinossoccer.com
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- On October 25, 2011 the Rochester Rhinos announced that team captain and starting center back Troy Roberts would be returning for his third season with the club. Roberts started and played every minute of every match for Rochester in 2010. The Rhinos finished the 2010 season with the third best defensive record in the USSF Division Two Professional League, and Roberts was named to the Best XI team in recognition of his efforts.
Last season Roberts appeared in 24 of the Rhinos 28 matches in all competitions and was named to the All-USL PRO Second Team after the season. Roberts returned to Rochester from his off-season home in California for the 2012 season two weeks ago, but his preparations for this year’s campaign began months ago.
“At the beginning of the off-season, it's always important for me to take some time to rest not only my body but my mind as well.” Roberts said. “Whether it's taking a vacation or just spending time with my family, I usually take that time to get away from soccer, especially after a long season where we didn't finish like we had hoped to. After that it is all about maintaining a workout routine, through weight lifting and cardio,that gradually increases the intensity as training camp approaches. I practice with my old college team at Cal (UC Berkeley) whenever I can, or I find pickup games with men's league teams.”
Troy Roberts began his professional career with the Los Angeles Galaxy after he was selected by the team in the first round (eighth overall) of the MLS Superdraft. He went on to appear in 61 matches with the Galaxy from 2005-2008 – more than any other player had played in MLS before joining the Rhinos. In 2005 Roberts won the MLS Cup and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and his time in Los Angeles also gave him the opportunity to call United States Men’s National Team superstar Landon Donovan and international icon David Beckham teammates.
“My experiences playing with Donovan and Beckham taught me what it means to be a true professional on the field and off the field.” Roberts said. “One of the most important things I learned from them was to always hold myself to a high standard, whether it’s in practice or in a game. This comes from having a strong work ethic and a competitive spirit.”
Last season the Rochester Rhinos had one of the best defensive records in USL PRO. Rochester finished third in USL PRO in goals conceded and tied for first in the league in goals conceded at home. One of the priorities for new Rhinos head coach Jesse Myers when he took over the club was to retain the nucleus of talent that former Rhinos coach Bob Lilley had put together when he began to rebuild the Rhinos before the start of the 2010 season. Myers re-signed 10 players from the Rhinos’ 2011 roster including Roberts, goalkeeper Neal Kitson, centre back Tyler Bellamy, and right back Quavas Kirk. Kitson left the Rhinos to sign with English League Two club Northampton Town as the January transfer window closed, but Bellamy and Kirk will both be reporting to training camp this week giving the back four a sense of continuity that has been missing in recent years.
“There's no question that having continuity in the back will be an advantage for us this upcoming season. Both Quavas and Bells were important pieces in our defensive success last season, and I look forward to building off of that for this upcoming season.” Roberts said.
Coach Myers has also been aggressive in adding veteran talent in the transfer market. The Rhinos have announced the signing of front runner Tam McManus and goalkeeper Krisitan Nicht in recent weeks. McManus, 31, played over 100 matches for Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League and played 20 matches in his only season with the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer.
Nicht, 29, has experience playing in the Norwegian First Division and the German Bundesliga 2 as well as 18 Bundesliga matches with Alemannia Aachen. Roberts expects that the veterans’ experience will be a huge benefit to the young nucleus that has been so successful for the Rhinos over the past two regular seasons.
“Adding players with experience at the professional level is always a plus for any team." said Roberts. “The addition of experienced players like Kristian and Tam, will help us become stronger as a team on the field and in the locker room. In this league experience is very important to success, especially in the postseason, and these guys will help bring that leadership quality that our younger players can learn from. “
Roberts has won two regular season championships in his first two seasons with the Rhinos – the 2010 USSF Division Two Regular Season Championship and the 2011 USL PRO National Division Championship. Thus far the Rhinos regular season success has not transferred to the postseason where the Rhinos have been eliminated in the playoffs each of the past two seasons. In 2010 the No.1 seeded Rhinos lost their quarterfinal match-up against Puerto Rico 3-2 on aggregate, and in 2011 they were eliminated in the USL PRO National Division Final by the Harrisburg City Islanders. This year Roberts and the Rhinos are looking to carry their regular season success into the playoffs.
“I think having a strong regular season is always a plus as you look to the postseason, because it shows consistency,” Roberts said. “Most importantly, we want to be healthy and playing at our best towards the end of the season as we enter the postseason. A strong finish to the regular season will gives us momentum and allows us to ride out a hot streak into the playoffs.”