Rochester Rhinos News Release -- www.rhinossoccer.com
Thursday, May 17, 2012
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Rhinos host the Dayton Dutch Lions at Sahlen’s Stadium on Friday night at 7:35 p.m. in the club’s second home game of the USL PRO regular season. The Rhinos enter the match second in the table with a perfect 18 points from their first six matches. They trail Orlando City by one point, but have a game in hand on City. The Dutch Lions enter the match at the bottom of the table with two points from their first five matches.
The Rhinos have yet to concede a goal and are working on a streak of 540 consecutive scoreless minutes after keeping six straight clean sheets to start the season. Rhinos goalkeeper Kristian Nicht was named the USL PRO Player of the Week for Week Six after his performance last Saturday night in Charleston. The Battery outshot the Rhinos 20-to-2, but Nicht made 10 saves and left winger Danny Earls scored the only goal of the match to give the Rhinos their fourth consecutive 1-0 victory.
Nicht leads the league’s goalkeepers with a 6-0-0 record and six clean sheets resulting in 0.00 goals against average. Rhinos captain Troy Roberts was also named to the USL PRO Team of the Week after another one of his steady, professional performances in the Rhinos’ 1-0 victory against Charlotte this past Friday night. The Rhinos defense leads the league in goals conceded by four – Orlando City and Charleston are tied in second place.
“The team has been consistently good in front of Kristian all season, but when we needed him to step up and play his best game of the season he did.” Rhinos head coach Jesse Myers said. “In 15 years in the USL I’ve never seen a better performance from a keeper. Kristian was simply just out of this world.”
The Rhinos have already played the Dutch Lions once this season, and they defeated them 1-0 on April 28th on CareFlight Field in Dayton. Rhinos right winger JC Banks scored the only goal of the match in the 67th minute. The Dutch Lions outshot the Rhinos 15 to 11 and had 11 second half shots, but Nicht made eight saves for what was then his third clean sheet of the season. The match marked the third time the Rhinos had kept a clean sheet against the Dutch Lions in four matches. It was also the third consecutive match that Banks had scored against Dayton. He leads the Rhinos in scoring with two goals and three assists, and he has at least one point in five of the Rhinos six matches this season.
“The last time that we played Dayton, it had the potential to be a trap game for us.” Myers said. “We came into the match after getting two away wins in LA, and we had our home opener the following weekend. We found a way to score in the second half, and then made the goal stand up with a good professional effort.”
The Dayton Dutch Lions have been good defensively to start the season, but they have struggled to score goals. They are tied for the fourth best defensive record in the league with five goals conceded in five matches. Goalkeeper Matthew Williams has an 0-3-2 record, and a 1.000 goals against average. He has kept one clean sheet so far this season. The Dutch Lions attack has only scored one goal this season. Forward Gibson Bardsley scored the goal and midfielder Joel DeLass had the assist.
“They were very good defensively, and they were difficult for us to break down last time.” said Myers. “Our goal was a result of our defensive effort. They have some pace up top and had some chances to level the match in the second half. The table might have them at the bottom, but they are an up-and-coming team who should not be overlooked.”
Tickets for Friday night’s match with the Dutch Lions are on sale now by calling (585) 454-KICK, by visiting rhinossoccer.com, or by visiting any of Ticketmaster’s retail locations.