USL Feature
Thursday, April 5, 2012
After scoring eight goals in his rookie season with the Rochester Rhinos in 2010, last year could certainly have been a frustrating one for Isaac Kissi. Hampered by injuries, Kissi scored just three goals in 10 games in the regular season, and while he scored in each of the Rhinos’ playoff games it wasn’t enough to help them advance to the USL PRO Championship Game.
Now, after offseason knee surgery, Kissi is hoping to avoid the injury bug and help the Rhinos win their first championship in more than 10 years.
“I want to move up and help the team get a championship,” Kissi said. “We’ve been close to it, but we always fall short, so a championship would be a great achievement for me and for the team.”
New Rhinos coach Jesse Myers is certainly hoping the 24-year-old can play a major role for the team as it pursues the title, and Kissi is enjoying his first preseason under Myers’ tutelage. While still grateful to former Rhinos coach Bob Lilley for offering him a way into professional soccer after he didn’t catch on with CD Chivas USA, which selected him in the 2010 SuperDraft, Kissi says that while Myers has a different approach, he’s enjoying the change of pace.
“Sure, he’s got his own way of approaching the game, but he’s fun to be around, he gets along with everybody and he knows the game,” Kissi said of Myers. “I’m excited to learn from Coach Myers; he’s trying to put some responsibilities on the older guys, so we need to step up this year and really take that responsibility and improve our game and help the team with the championship.”
Myers is also hoping that Kissi can learn from one of the Rhinos’ new acquisitions, Scottish striker Tam McManus. A veteran of the game, having made more than 100 appearances for Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League and playing a season with the Colorado Rapids, McManus should add to the Rhinos’ cutting edge this season.
“I think he’ll be a great asset for the team,” Kissi said. “I’m learning a lot from him, how he plays, how he acts off the field, it’s a great opportunity to get to play with a professional like him, because he’s been at this soccer thing for a while now. I’m looking forward to the season to start and see him play more and see how things go with him. It’s really nice being around him so far.”
If things come together for Kissi, though, he could be the difference-maker the Rhinos need in attack. But the question of whether he can find his full fitness and remain injury free this season remains.
“His out-and-out pace is frightening,” Myers said. “He’s very hard to defend on your own, he’s always around the box. He’s just got to be healthy and prove he can score on a consistent basis. He’s always going to be a threat, you’ve always got to be careful of him getting in behind, and that’s what works in our league.”
Kissi, of course, is eager to shake off the injury bug and show some of the form he did in his rookie season. While he believes that whatever he does has to come as part of the team’s overall concept, the Ghanaian is confident that if things go well, he could finish with double-digit goals this season. But the main thing now is to go through a season without spending much time on the sideline.
“One main thing I’m trying to do this year is stay healthy throughout the year, do the right things on and off the field, and try to avoid those injuries,” Kissi said. “I know that even if I’m not 100 percent, but if I’m right there and I can play every game, I can always get better and pitch in my individual effort as the team progresses. As a front-runner I want to try to score every chance I get, and also help create chances for other guys. If the team plays well, we all play well, and we all go home as winners.”