ROCHESTER, NY – The Rochester Rhinos opened up their 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup campaign on Wednesday night, joining 21 other clubs from USL playing their first game of the tournament in the second round. The 1999 champions, in fact the last non-MLS club to win the event, got off to a successful start in defeating the NPSL’s Greater Binghamton FC Thunder 1-0 at Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester. The visitors’ hopes in the competition came to an end after defeating Western Mass Pioneers in a penalty shootout last week in the first round.
US Open Cup Second Round: Rochester Rhinos 1, Greater Binghamton FC 0
On an unseasonably cold spring night, even by Western New York standards, the Rhinos were in control of this one from the get go. The single goal margin of victory belied the fact the hosts dominated in possession and gave Binghamton very few opportunities to create chances in their defending third of the field. The eventual game-winner would come late in the first half and originated the way most of Rochester’s chances did on the night via crosses from the flank. Midfielder Kenardo Forbes would connect on a centering pass from left mid Marcos Ugarte that whizzed past GBFC goalkeeper Jason Stenta and found the net in the 39th minute.
Despite conceding that lone goal, Stenta performed admirably in net for the Thunder considering how much it was under siege throughout the game. The Rhinos would finish the game with 16 total shots compared to GBFC’s one. That single attempt came in second half stoppage time and did little to challenge goalkeeper Adam Grinwis, making his third appearance and second start for Rochester in all competitions.
Controversy would ensue early in the second half. The Rhinos came out of halftime with an aggressive high press looking to add an insurance goal. Center forward Stevaan dos Santos, starting for the second time this season, received a pass in transition and was one-on-one with Stenta. The native of the Cape Verde Islands looked to strut by the GBFC keeper in the hopes of putting the ball into an empty net. Stenta upended him the box rather strongly, yet nothing was called. In the end, the result held but this would’ve been a major point of contention for Rochester were they not able to come away victorious.
Next up for the only remaining unbeaten team in USL regular season play is a third round road match-up on May 27th with league counterpart Harrisburg City Islanders, who defeated Reading City AC of the Premier Development League (PDL) 3-1 Wednesday. The two Eastern Conference foes have yet to face each other this season in USL play. They played twice on successive August weekends in 2014 with the sides drawing in Rochester and the Rhinos notching a 4-1 victory in Harrisburg one week later.
Rochester is one of 47 teams remaining in the competition. The 30 non-MLS sides still alive, including the 9 American-based NASL teams who enter in the third round, face off next week. Those final 15 teams will join the 17 MLS teams based in the US in the fourth round as the field gets narrowed down to 32.
The draw for the fourth round of the tournament (June 16th/17th), where locations and pairings will be announced, will take place on Thursday. Be sure to follow @OpenCup on Twitter for information as it becomes available, and keep checking in with Last Word Soccer Club for our continuing coverage of the competition.
