Rochester Rhinos News Release -- www.rhinossoccer.com
Friday, July 5, 2013
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Rhinos will host the Charlotte Eagles in a USL PRO regular season match on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. at Sahlen's Stadium. The Rhinos ended the month of June with a five-match unbeaten streak, but could not extended it into July as they lost to the Dayton Dutch Lions 3-1 on Thursday afternoon at Beavercreek Stadium.
The Rochester Rhinos leading scorer Blake Brettschneider (four goals, three assists) opened the scoring for the visitors in the 38th minute, but Eli Garner scored the equalizer for the Dutch Lions in the 44th minute. Tjeerd Westdijk scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal off an assist from Garner in the 65th minute, and Gibson Bardsley finished off the scoring in the 80th minute.
The Rhinos are unbeaten in their last six matches at Sahlen's Stadium, and they have picked up 10 of a possible 18 points during their unbeaten run. Rochester has outscored its opponents 9-5 during the unbeaten streak, and Rhinos goalkeeper Kristian Nicht has kept two clean sheets. Ten of the Rhinos' 15 points this season have come from results at Sahlen's Stadium, and Rochester's home form has kept the club in touch with the race for the 2013 USL PRO playoffs. The Rhinos enter Saturday night's match with Charlotte eight points behind the eighth-placed Los Angeles Blues with nine matches left to play. Rochester has never missed the playoffs in the club's 18-year history.
Rochester has been led by a quartet of stars during their six-match home unbeaten run. Veteran Scottish striker Tam McManus has scored three goals and added one assist. Brettschneider has two goals and three assists. 2011 Rhinos MVP Tyler Rosenlund has two goals and one assist, while Nicht has posted a 2-0-4 record with two clean sheets, and he has made 30 saves on 45 shots faced.
The Charlotte Eagles enter the match in fourth place in the USL PRO table with 28 points from their 7-2-7 record. Forward Christian Ramirez leads the club in scoring with five goals and one assist. Midfielder Jorge Herrera is second on the team in scoring with four goals and one assist. Defender Shaun Francis is a threat on set pieces with three goals and two assists. The Rhinos played to a 0-0 draw with the Eagles when they visited Queens Sports Complex on April 19th. Nicht made seven saves to keep his first clean sheet of the season.
Individual tickets for Saturday night's contest are currently available, 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.