Rochester Rhinos News Release - www.rhinossoccer.com

Friday, April 3, 2015

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Rochester Rhinos will visit the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Rhinos and Riverhounds will both be playing their second match of the young 2015 USL season.

Rochester earned a point on the road after playing to a draw with New York Red Bulls II on Saturday, while Pittsburgh took all three points from Harrisburg City Islanders in Highmark Stadium in the first round of the Keystone Derby.

The Rhinos played to a scoreless draw with Red Bulls II at Red Bull Arena in their last outing. Rhinos head coach Bob Lilley debuted his restructured back four in the season opener with rookie Sean Totsch starting at left back, while former Colorado Rapids defender Grant Van de Casteele and Greek import Vasileios Apostolopoulos made their debuts at center back.

Lilley's 2014 Rhinos had the second best defensive record in USL last season, and this year's group picked up where last year's squad left off. Rochester limited Red Bulls II to five shots on goal in the match, and Miller made three saves to keep the first clean sheet of the season.

While the game ended tied, the visiting Rhinos showed early promise for the season in attack. Rochester took seven shots to the Red Bulls II's two in the first half, and earned six corner kicks in the first 45 minutes. Rochester looked particularly dangerous in the early going as Rhinos rookie Christian Volesky, the 2015 MLS Combine Most Valuable Player, got behind the Red Bulls II back four twice, only to be denied by Red Bull II goalkeeper Santiago Castillo. Van de Casteele showed his value as an aerial target on set pieces, and he was unlucky to have a header off of a corner kick cleared off of the line. Returning Rhinos outside midfielder Alex Dixon and Jonny Mendoza combined for three shots on goal in the first half.

“It was good to get to play the first match of the season.” Rhinos head coach Bob Lilley said. “We had some new guys on our roster, and in our starting line-up, who had the opportunity to make their debuts. We played well in stretches - we looked good in stretches - which is important the first time out. Now we need to try to get more consistent over all 90 minutes.”

The Riverhounds defeated the Harrisburg City Islanders 5-2 at Highmark Stadium in their season-opener. Riverhounds midfielder Kevin Kerr led the scoring for the home side with a hat trick, while Rob Vincent scored twice and added two assists. Pittsburgh took 14 shots to visiting Harrisburg's six, and led from the fifth minute.

After missing the USL Playoffs last year, first-year Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens' club declared their intentions to return to the postseason with the biggest win of the weekend.

“After the result they put up against Harrisburg on Saturday night it looks like Pittsburgh could provide us with a big test this week," Lilley said. "Pittsburgh came out and put Harrisburg under a lot of pressure throughout the match. That pressure resulted in some quality chances that they were able to finish. It looks like Mark [Steffens] is using the dimensions of the field at Highmark to his advantage, and it is going to make them tough to deal with.”

The Rhinos match with the Riverhounds on Saturday night can be seen live in its entirety on theRiverhounds YouTube channel.

Rochester will host its home opener on Sunday, April 25, at 2:05 p.m. at Sahlen's Stadium against New York Red Bulls II. Rhinos season tickets, flex packages, and group sales tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased by calling (585)454-KICK (5425) or by visiting the MVP Health Care Box Office at Sahlen's Stadium.