Tag Archives: 2012 U.S. Open Cup

My Immediate Post-game Thoughts, Rhinos Lose 3-0 in Philadelphia

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I’ll post a more in-depth analysis of the game tomorrow, but right now I want to let out my initial frustrations with the team.

Going into tonight’s set of Third Round U.S. Open Cup matches, almost everyone had Rhinos-Union circled as a potential upset.  The Rhinos were a defensively solid team in second place in the USL-Pro and the Union were winless in their last five games and had recently solidified themselves as the second worst team in MLS after losing to the worst team.  Unfortunately most of the bookmakers (including myself) were wrong about the game in PPL Park.

The Rhinos were undone by a corner kick in the 5th minute.  A team that had an American soccer record 6 shutout wins to start the 2012 season looked more like a Sunday recreation team than a professional outfit.  Freddy Adu sent the ball in near the penalty spot and two Rhinos defenders perked up and started moving.  George Kyriazis was backing up preparing to make contact on the ball and Jack Traynor was stepping forward to do the same.  However both players stopped and let the ball hit the ground inside the area.  The ball bounced past a floundering Traynor and fell to Josue Martinez who made no mistake from close range.  Kristian Nicht had no chance on the shot to his right side and the Philadelphia Union took the lead early.

After the rain delay, the game was more of the same with the Union pressing hard and exploiting Jack Traynor down the right side.  In the 29th minute Josue Martinez beat Tyler Rosenlund to the goal line to chip a cross back to the penalty spot.  His ball in found Freddy Adu who had ghosted into the area undetected by a jumbled Rochester defense.  The 5’8″ attacker jumped to head down past Kristian Nicht.

Towards the end of the first half the Rhinos were stringing some positive passes together and generating a few chances of their own.  They couldn’t finish any of their rushes and Graciano Brito exited the few without contributing anything to the game.  Tyler Rosenlund didn’t make an impact either, well, not a positive one.  The Canadian routinely snuffed out Rhinos’ attacks by taking too many touches or waiting too long to pull the trigger on a pass or shot.

In addition to Traynor’s troubles all game, Quavas Kirk started to tire halfway through the second half.  This fatigue caused Kirk to get caught a step behind the Philadelphia players running at him.  In the 73rd minute Kirk got turned by Michael Farfan outside the box and while tracking the Union attacker into the box fouled him from behind.  Freddy Adu stepped up to take the penalty and converted from the spot.  Kristian Nicht dove the right way, but the shot was too high for the 6’4″ German to reach.

The positives for the Rhinos were few and far between but J.C. Banks, Danny Earls, and Tam McManus showed flashes of their skill that has led the team in the league this season.  However, a weakness in the middle of the field between Drew Cost and Tyler Rosenlund caused Earls to drop in centrally to receive the ball from Roberts and Kyriazis. This led to a lop sided and predictable attack going forward, as Earls consistently sought Banks on the opposite side.

Rochester Rhinos will look to put this poor performance behind them when they host the Richmond Kickers on Saturday, June 2.  Richmond pushed D.C. United of MLS to extra time before falling 3-2 at home tonight.

Some Notes on the Philadelphia Union

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Saturday night the Philadelphia Union solidified their position as the second worst team in their league.  They were beaten by the worst team in MLS, Toronto FC, 1-0 and failed to catch up to L.A. Galaxy and Montreal Impact who also lost.

Philadelphia were without a few players, who may also be absent from Tuesday’s Open Cup match.  This is the team’s first match in the U.S. Open Cup proper after previously being eliminated in the MLS qualification play-in round by New York Red Bulls in 2010 and then D.C. United in 2011.

In their last 5 matches of the MLS season, Philadelphia are 0-1-4 while the Rhinos are coming into the game having lost one match this season and only given up four goals in league and cup so far.  Rochester did give up goals in each of their last two games (a 1-0 loss at Harrisburg on Friday and a 2-2 tie at Dayton on Saturday), but starting goalkeeper Kristian Nicht sat out Dayton’s game in preparation for Tuesday’s match against the Philadelphia Union.

The main question for Tuesday, as it was last year when the Rhinos hosted Chicago Fire of MLS at Sahlen’s Stadium, is how many starters will Philadelphia play.  The honest truth is that as long as America’s soccer system is closed, the leagues below MLS will face no chance against a full strength MLS team; even if that team is the second worst in the league. Continue reading →

In-Depth Match Report of the Rhinos U.S. Open Cup Victory

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Since their first round U.S. Open Cup victory away to Portland Phoenix, Brooklyn Italians managed to earn another three points in the league.  Their win against New York Athletic Club moved the Italians to 12 points from four games in the National Premier Soccer League Northeast Atlantic Conference (but some might lead you to believe that the Italians somehow managed a 10-1-1 record out of four games; who knew that was possible).  In their weekend action, the Rhinos drew Dayton Dutch Lions at home 1-1.  A late header from Quavas Kirk salvaged a point from their match on Friday after giving up their first goal in league play this season.

After a flurry of chances for the Rhinos in the first few minutes of the game, the pace of the match slowed down.  It appeared that Rochester was lured down to the Italians level of physical long ball play trying to find their target forward.  There wasn’t much possession or creativity out of the midfield from other side for twenty minutes.

The Rhinos lined up in a 4-4-1-1 in front of Kristian Nicht. Jack Traynor and Troy Roberts (captain) partnered in the center of defense, Mike Zaher played left back and Quavas Kirk played on the right.  In the midfield, Conor Chinn started wide left which pushed Danny Earls into the middle with Tyler Rosenlund.  J.C. Banks played his normal right wing and Tam McManus once again excelled at his role playing behind a target forward, this time Andrew Hoxie.

Because of McManus’ position between the midfield and lone forward, Rochester’s wingers had the freedom to push forward.  That meant that if Hoxie pulled over to one side of the field to combine with a wide player, McManus occupied the center of the box while the far side winger could make a run to far post or to the space at the near post that Hoxie and McManus opened up for him.  This consistently happened allowing Conor Chinn several clear chances at goal throughout the game. Continue reading →

Preview of the Rhinos Second Round Open Cup Match

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Tuesday night the Rochester Rhinos found out that Brooklyn Italians of the National Premier Soccer League would be the team to travel to town for their Second Round U.S. Open Cup match.  On Wednesday they found out what is on stake during that game; a trip to PPL Park in Chester, PA, to face off against the Philadelphia Union of MLS

The Italians made the journey up to Portland, Maine, to play  GDS Portland Phoenix of the Premier Development League.  I wrote a bit of a history of the two teams in this post a couple weeks back.  Portland Phoenix defeated Vermont Voltage at home 2-1 last Saturday May 12 in their only league match so far this PDL season.  Brooklyn Italians came into the cup match-off riding a three game win streak in NPSL action which saw them claim victories over FC New York at home, Mass United away and Rhode Island Reds away.  In those three matches the Italians outscored their opponents 7-2 and forward Jakeem Johnson found the net in each game.

I have a report of Brooklyn Italians’ victory on thecup.us that you can read here.  Their lineup was, starting at goalkeeper: Nathan Stockie, Kirk-Dean Scarlett, Andrew
Cormack, Patrick Ouckama, Ben Graver, Arthur Kulkov, Christian
Camacho, Nathaniel Simons (out in 76 for Elliot Kane), Christian
Turizo, Oscar Castillo (out in 62 for Moriken Sangary), Jameel Johnson
(out in 62 for Jumol Harewood).

I also interviewed Brooklyn Italian’s head coach Lucio Russo on Wednesday.  He told me he lined up his team in a 4-2-3-1 and that he had done his homework on his opponent.  ” I knew who was coaching Portland and I knew what type of game we were in for. Portland is physical, and were more worried about knocking us around instead of playing. They spread us out and constantly dumped the ball in the box. Our defense matched their physicality and we were able to take advantage of our set pieces.”

When asked if perhaps his opponents had taken a win at home for granted or if he was worried about the 6 hour travel, Russo responded, “Our opponents did not underestimate us, they pressed us from the very beginning.  Portland was not napping, its just being at the right place at the right time… We traveled by bus, but we came up a day before. I’m accustomed to long trips and I know how to prepare. “

Even though Brooklyn Italians have earned the right to be confident winning on the road and amassing a 3-0 record in NPSL action, Russo told me they were still very much the underdogs going into next Tuesday’s game at Sahlen’s Stadium.

“Rochester is a Pro team, it does not matter if you go there a day before or the same day. We are going to play professionals, their work is our hobby. Confidence is irrelevant when you play a professional team… If Rochester has not conceded a goal against any of their Pro opponents, what chances would you give an Amateur club? I don’t plan on playing an open game, but who knows. It would be interesting if we did score against the Rhinos, six consecutive shut outs is pretty impressive. We have a deep roster, I will bring a squad that can hopefully put on a good show. ”

This rational view of their chances doesn’t prevent a bit of dreaming on the part of the Brooklyn Italians’ organization, who won the U.S. Open Cup twice and made it to two other finals in the amateur era.  ”For the Brooklyn Italian members the Lamar Hunt Cup is the most prestigious tournament in the US.  The club is already appreciative of participating in such a tournament, but recognizes that to win it all would be almost impossible. But one can always dream.”

The extra week will give many of the Italians’ college players time to blend into the squad, as Russo said that “most of the college kids were not available [to practice] until May 1.”  Brooklyn Italians’ goalkeeper Nathan Stockie made four saves last night and has earned rave reviews for his solid play in the league; it may take something special to light him up.  Though he didn’t score against Portland, Jakeem Johnson is the team’s leading scorer and will look to get in behind Rochester’s defense.  If the Rhinos try to take the foot off the pedal against Brooklyn Italians, they may find themselves red-faced in Sahlen’s Stadium in front of the Rochester faithful.  However, a match against a lesser opponent (and I’m not talking about Dayton, lol) may be just what the Rhinos’ forwards need to strike a run of form and score multiple goals for only the second time this season.

Whatever happens on Tuesday, Rochester has the privilege of hosting one of the most storied amateur clubs in American soccer history.  The players that experienced coach Lucio Russo brings with him will know what is on the table and how to play against a team like the Rhinos.  It should be a memorable match and one to add to the club’s U.S. Open Cup history.

The Rhinos’ Potential U.S. Open Cup Opponents

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The 2012 U.S. Open Cup draw was conducted yesterday (Monday) and today the match-ups for Round One were released today.  In addition, Round Two was mapped out with each USL-Pro and NASL team now knowing the two amateur teams vying for a chance to face them.  This means that the Rhinos now know they will host either the Brooklyn Italians or GPS Portland Phoenix.


Brooklyn Italians (NPSL)
at
GPS Portland Phoenix (PDL)

Memorial Field
Deering High School;
Portland, Maine
Tuesday May 15, 8:00 p.m. ET

The Rhinos also found out that they will host whichever team wins the game on the 15th.  May 22 at 7:35 PM, Rochester’s Rhinos will begin their cup run against either the Brooklyn Italians or GPS Portland Phoenix at Sahlen’s Stadium.

Here is a brief run down of each of the two clubs the Rhinos could face.

GPS Portland Phoenix is a USL Premier Development League team founded in 2009.  In 2010 the team finished second in the Northeast Division, bested by their first place showing in 2011.  While the team has shown dominance in its league, they have failed to get past the first round of the PDL postseason in both of its campaigns.  2012 is the first cup appearance for Portland Phoenix and they may very well be the first team from Maine to ever participate in the U.S. Open Cup.

Their opponents, Brooklyn Italians are long-time cup veterans.  The New York City-based team now playing in the National Premier Soccer League, have lifted the trophy twice in 1979 and 1991.  The team, founded in 1949, have also appeared in two other cup finals in 1981 and 1990.  All of their cup success has occurred in the amateur era, before the creation of MLS, however.  In the first round last year, Brooklyn Italians were eliminated by another New York City amateur team and in 2010 they were defeated by the Harrisburg City Islanders.

The early rounds of the cup are set up to pair geographic close teams against each other to reduce travel costs.  Even so, Portland Phoenix faces an 8 to 9 hour drive while the Brooklyn Italians are looking at a six and half hour drive up to Rochester.  Neither of these teams should be taken lightly as last year’s opponents Phoenix SC from Feasterville, Pennsylvania, showed they could keep the ball well and hang with the Rhinos for most of the game.

USL didn’t do their teams any favors with scheduling, even though they knew far ahead of time that every American-based team (all except Antigua) would have a cup match on May 22.  The Rhinos host Dayton the Friday before (18) and go to Harrisburg the following Friday (25) and Dayton the next day (26).  This creates a situation in which the Rhinos will play 4 games in 8 days, and if they win the cup match they will face their fifth game in 11 days on Tuesday May 29.  It is not as though the U.S. Open Cup is a surprise to USL, but every year they fail to make room in their schedule for teams who are even remotely successful in their cup campaigns.

Will the Rhinos Host Matches in the 2012 U.S. Open Cup?

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The 2012 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup features changes to the host bidding process.  Cup guru Josh Hakala of thecup.us discusses these new changes with regard to the fees paid to the U.S.S.F.

In 2012, a new system has been put in place where, in the first two rounds, if both teams meet the minimum venue standards, then a blind draw will determine who will host the match. The only consistency throughout the competition is the host team must pay the federation 15% of the gross gate receipts above $100,000. In Round 3, when Major League Soccer teams join the tournament, the same procedure will be followed, except that the host will also pay a flat hosting fee of $12,000 in advance of the match in addition to the potential 15% if they reach the $100k mark.

In Round 4, the hosting fee increases to $18,000 and then to $25,000 for the Quarterfinals.

The Semifinals and the Final will continue to utilize the sealed bid process from previous years.

The 15% of gross gate receipts more than $100,000 doesn’t seem like a problem for the Rhinos in Round 2.  The second round, held on May 22, is when USL and NASL clubs enter the competition and the Rhinos are likely to play against an amateur team (PDL, NPSL, or USASA).  This match will be held on a Tuesday night, and while attendance statistics are sparse for the cup, the Rhinos aren’t likely to draw much more than 3,000.  I feel pretty comfortable saying that the Rhinos won’t collect close to $100,000 from the gate (3,000 * $15 tickets = $45,000).

There is however a slight chance that the Rhinos wouldn’t host their Round 2 match.  If a team from NPSL (National Premier Soccer League) or PDL (Premier Development League) can meet the U.S.S.F.’s venue standards, then the Rhinos and the other team each have a 50% probability of winning the second round hosting rights.

A different arises if the Rhinos try to host a match in Round 3.  The U.S.S.F. will require a flat hosting fee of $12,000 in addition to the 15% of gate receipts over $100,000.  Last year the team drew 5,558 fans for the Tuesday night game against the Chicago Fire.  With baseline general admission tickets at $10 and some premium seats set at $15 and $20, let’s say for the sake of mathematics that the average price of tickets is $15.  If Rochester can drum up support for a weeknight game against an MLS team, say 6,500 spectators, that would create a gross gate receipt of $97,500.  Granted this number is highly inflated because a lot more people buy $10 tickets than $20 ones and also 6,500 is a very hopeful predicted turnout, but even so this figure does not reach the point where the Rhinos would have to fork over a percentage of receipts to the U.S.S.F.

Another thing to take into account is that while the “gross gate receipts” figure does not mean profits (gross, not net), it also does not mean concessions.  When I go to a Rhinos’ game I like to enjoy a few beverages, maybe a hot dog, and some nachos with friends.  Two $4 drinks, a $6 hot dog and $5 nachos is $19.  Not every spectator at the game will buy food or as much food as I do (I love greasy stadium food and carnival food), but there is probably one person like me for every 3 or 4 conservative soccer moms who make their kids eat before the game.  Let’s just say, for the sake of my argument, that every 5 spectators spend $20 on food or drinks or other vendors’ items during the game.  Even If we use the attendance figure from last year (5,558), we’re still looking at a gross of $22,000 on concessions for a Tuesday night game, which the U.S.S.F. does not have access to.

Between $20,000 gross from concessions and $80,000 (5,558 * $15) from gate receipts, the Rhinos organization is looking to rake in upwards of $100,000 gross from hosting a Round 3 U.S. Open Cup match against an MLS team.  This seems to me to be worth the flat $12,000 hosting fee since gate receipts alone aren’t likely to trigger the extra payment to the U.S.S.F.  That leaves the only hurdle to hosting actually winning the bid.  Unless the MLS team is unwilling to submit a bid or unable to provide a stadium on a Tuesday night, the Rhinos will go in 50-50 with their opponent.  If our organization does win the right to host an MLS team, the Rhinos will not only have a chance to knock-off a quality opponent in front of home fans but also the opportunity to make a boatload of money.

Join the Stampede!
Let’s bring the cup back home to Rochester!