Rochester Rhinos News Release -- www.rhinossoccer.com
Thursday, June 13, 2013
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Rhinos host VSI Tampa Bay FC at Sahlen's Stadium on Friday night at 7:35 p.m., and the defending USL PRO Champion Charleston Battery on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Rhinos enter the weekend seven points behind the Charlotte Eagles for the eighth and final playoff spot in the USL PRO table.
The Rhinos bolstered their attack on Tuesday as they agreed to terms with forward Andrew Hoxie for the remainder of the 2013 USL PRO season. Hoxie played with the Rhinos from 2010 to 2012 when he scored 14 goals and added eight assists in 60 appearances. However, Hoxie never started more than ten matches or played over 1,000 minutes in a season. He was most effective for Rochester coming off the bench in the second half of a match to provide a timely goal or an assist. Hoxie's inclusion in the line-up for this weekend's matches is still contingent on contractual approval from USL PRO and the USSF.
Left back Tyler Polak and winger Gabe Latigue are expected to return to the Rhinos roster for this weekend's matches after they were recalled to Major League Soccer earlier this week. Polak and Latigue are both on season-long loans to Rochester from New England for the USL PRO season, but both players were in the Revs starting line-up and played 90 minutes in New England's 4-2 victory against the New York Red Bulls in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night. New England's next match in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will be against D.C. United in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, June 26th at the Maryland Soccer Complex in Boyds, Md.
VSI Tampa Bay FC enters Friday night's match with the Rochester Rhinos in fourth place in the USL PRO table. VSI is second in the league in goals scored (25), goals conceded (11), and goal differential (14). VSI's leading scorer is Rochester Lancers (MISL) forward Mauricio Salles, who is second in the league in goals (8) and third in the league in points (18). Five of Salles' eight goals came in VSI's 8-0 victory over Antigua Barracuda FC last Friday night. Salles is on a season long loan to VSI from the Lancers. \
The Rhinos lost 3-0 to Tampa Bay on April 13th at Plant City Stadium in the only previous meeting between the two clubs. VSI striker Karamba Janneh scored the game winning goal for the home side in first half stoppage time, and Douglas Dos Santos and Andriy Budnyy added second half strikes for VSI. Alex Horwath kept the clean sheet for VSI, and Salles had one assist in the match.
The defending USL PRO champion Charleston Battery will make their only appearance in Sahlen's Stadium this season against the Rochester Rhinos on Sunday afternoon. The Battery enter the weekend in third place in the USL PRO table. Charleston is tied for the third-best defensive record in the league. The Rhinos and Charleston Battery played to a 0-0 draw in their first meeting of the season at Blackbaud Stadium. Battery goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper made two saves to keep the clean sheet for the home side, and Rhinos goalkeeper Kristian Nicht made six saves to keep the clean sheet for the visitors. The last time the Battery traveled to Sahlen's Stadium they eliminated the Rochester Rhinos from the 2012 USL PRO Playoffs on penalties in the semifinals last August 31st.
Individual tickets are currently available for both of this weekend's contests, and they can be purchased by calling (585)454-KICK (5425), by visiting the MVP Health Care Box Office at Sahlen's Stadium, or by visiting ticketmaster.com. Individual tickets, group tickets and flex packages for the 2013 USL PRO season are also on sale now.