Rochester, NY (August 30, 2015) – For the second straight game Saint Louis FC lost on the road, 2-0. The league leading Rochester Rhinos remained undefeated at home, with a record of 9-0-2. The home side dominated play early getting two first half goals. They then spent much of the game slowing the pace down. Saint Louis FC could not get settled all match long.
Saint Louis FC Fall In Rochester, 2-0
Rochester did not waste any time. In the 4th minute, Kentaro Takada turned the ball over in his own half. Kenardo Forbes got the ball and made a quick through pass to forward Colin Rolfe. Rolfe took a touch to control the ball, then buried it far post past Alec Kann.
After the goal, the teams traded chances. Saint Louis FC were able to get several crosses into the box but were unable to connect with teammates. Jamiel Hardware and Jordan Roberts got the ball into several decent positions, but could not do anything with it.
Rolfe and Forbes continued to the be most dangerous players on the field. In the 26th minute, Rolfe got open and found Alex Dixon who got a shot off, but Kann made an excellent save.
Two minutes later, Rolfe went down after making a run. There was no contact with another player on the field. After seeing attention from the medical staff, Rolfe was subbed off for Christian Volesky.
In the 34th minute, Rochester doubled their lead. The home side won a corner. Forbes set up a cross and found Tony Walls unmarked at the back post. Walls headed it down and into the net.
The half ended 2-0 with the Rhinos clearly in control of play. Saint Louis FC was out shot 8 (5) – 0 (0).
After the match, head coach Dale Schilly said “the first half was a struggle as we got away from our game plan. Once again we were punished on a couple of mistakes.”
The second half began with two Saint Louis FC substitutions: Oskar Gasecki and Jacob Bushue replace Takada and Chad Vandergriffe.
The game grinded to a halt as Rochester slowed the pace down. In a humid and hot afternoon match, Saint Louis FC had trouble pressing. With a make shift lineup due to injuries and suspensions, the midfield was unable to keep possession long enough to mount an attack.
“We had a good response in the second half,” said Schilly. “But their size, experience, and organization were too much.”
Schilly made late game substitutions, bringing on Charles Renken, Bryan Ciesiulka, and Aaron Horton.
Saint Louis FC’s best chance came in the 88th minute. James Musa lobbed a cross into the box. Horton chested it down to Ciesiulka. The midfielder tried a half volley, but goalkeeper Brandon Miller was able to tip it over the bar.
The match ended 2-0. With this result, Rochester improve to 15-1-8 (53 points), the best record in the USL. Saint Louis FC fall to 6-11-8 (26 points). They are back in action on Sunday, September 6. They will travel to play the Harrisburg City Islanders. Kickoff is set for 5:30 PM CST.
