The 2017 Rochester Rhinos season was the club's 22nd overall and seventh with the United Soccer League, now known as the USL Championship. The Rhinos returned to playing in Division II of men's professional soccer, as the USL and all its teams were promoted from Division III after the 2016 season. They looked to return to the USL playoffs after losing to the New York Red Bulls II in the conference semifinals the previous year.
| 2017 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owners | David and Wendy Dworkin | |||
| Head coach | Bob Lilley | |||
| Stadium | Capelli Sport Stadium | |||
| USL | 4th, Eastern Conference | |||
| USL Playoffs | Conference semifinals | |||
| U.S. Open Cup | Fourth Round | |||
| Highest home attendance | 3,459 (4/22 vs. NYRB2) | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 963 (10/10 vs. BST) | |||
| Average home league attendance | 2,031 | |||
| Biggest win | ROC 4–0 CLT (4/29) | |||
| Biggest defeat | CHS 5–0 ROC (4/15) | |||
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| ||||
This was the Rhinos' final season in the second tier of American professional soccer. The team initially announced that it would go on hiatus for the 2018 season.[1][2] It later announced that it would not resume professional operations until 2020, at which time it will join USL League One, a third-level league operated by USL's parent company, United Soccer League (not to be confused with the Rhinos' former league), that will play its first season in 2019.[3]
Roster
editas of June 25, 2017 [4]
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Kyle Morton |  United States
|
| 2 | DF | Raymond Lee | United States
|
| 3 | DF | Ryan Felix | United States
|
| 4 | DF | Bradley Kamdem |  France
|
| 5 | MF | Jordan Dover |  Canada
|
| 6 | FW | Christiano François |  Haiti
|
| 7 | MF | Ryan James | Canada
|
| 8 | MF | Brandon Beresford |  Guyana
|
| 9 | MF | Stefan Defregger | United States
|
| 10 | MF | Sofiane Tergou | France
|
| 11 | MF | Kenardo Forbes |  Jamaica
|
| 12 | FW | Jochen Graf | United States
|
| 13 | MF | Mike Garzi | United States
|
| 15 | DF | Joe Farrell | United States
|
| 17 | DF | Wal Fall |  Germany
|
| 18 | FW | Antonio Correia |  Cape Verde
|
| 20 | DF | Todd Pratzner | United States
|
| 21 | FW | Darius Madison | United States
|
| 22 | MF | Jalen Brown | United States
|
| 23 | GK | Tomas Gomez | United States
|
| 24 | FW | Rayane Boukemia | France
|
| 25 | DF | Sergio Campbell | Jamaica
|
| 29 | MF | Samuel Edoung-Biyo |  Cameroon
|
| 33 | GK | Daniel Lynd | United States
|
Competitions
editPreseason
editRegular season
editStandings
edit- Eastern Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville City FC (C) | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 58 | 31 | +27 | 62 | Conference Playoffs |
| 2 | Charleston Battery | 32 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 54 | |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 32 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 50 | 35 | +15 | 53 | |
| 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 32 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 53 | |
| 5 | Charlotte Independence | 32 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 48 | |
| 6 | FC Cincinnati | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 46 | |
| 7 | New York Red Bulls II | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 44 | |
| 8 | Bethlehem Steel FC | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 44 | |
| 9 | Orlando City B | 32 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 42 | |
| 10 | Ottawa Fury | 32 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 38 | |
| 11 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 28 | 47 | −19 | 37 | |
| 12 | Saint Louis FC | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 36 | |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 32 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 33 | 42 | −9 | 36 | |
| 14 | Richmond Kickers | 32 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 36 | −12 | 32 | |
| 15 | Toronto FC II | 32 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 54 | −27 | 25 |
Source: 2017 USL standings
Rules for classification: 1) total wins; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champions
Rules for classification: 1) total wins; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champions
Match results
editWin Draw Loss
All times in Eastern Time.
| April 1 1 | Bethlehem Steel FC | 2–3 | Rochester Rhinos | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania |
| 4:00 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Davies  45+3' (pen.)Conneh 72' (pen.) |
Report | Madison 9' Fall 34'Graf 88' |
Stadium: Goodman Stadium Attendance: 3,102 Referee: Jorge Ramírez |
| April 7 2 | Toronto FC II | 0–0 | Rochester Rhinos | Vaughan, Ontario |
| 7:30 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Spencer  80' |
Report | Beresford 55' Fall 90+3' |
Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre Attendance: 525 Referee: David Barrie |
| April 15 3 | Charleston Battery | 5–0 | Rochester Rhinos | Charleston, South Carolina |
| 7:00 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Williams 15', 25', 26' Guerra 31'Chang 81'Thomas 82'Anunga 88'Mueller 89' |
Report | Fall 56' James 59' |
Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,421 Referee: Howard Ashe |
| April 22 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 2–2 | New York Red Bulls II | Rochester, New York |
| 6:05 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Garzi 45+1' Farrell 90+4' |
Report | Allen 50' Bezecourt 65' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 3,459 Referee: Geoff Gamble |
| April 29 5 | Rochester Rhinos | 4–0 | Charlotte Independence | Rochester, New York |
| 5:05 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Fall 27', 48' Garzi 44', 46' Madison 52' Felix 56' Forbes 85' (pen) |
Report | Davidson 25' Johnson 37' Herrera 90+2' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 1,941 Referee: Greg Dopka |
| 21 May 6 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–1 | Richmond Kickers | Rochester, New York |
| 4:05 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Beresford 16' Forbes 32'Farrell 73'Felix 85' |
Report | Gonzalez 45' Asante 81' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 2,003 Referee: Henrik Karlsson |
| 24 May 7 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–0 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Rochester, New York |
| 7:05 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Fall 24' Garzi 39' |
Report | Hristov 33' Lowe 55'Nanchoff 81' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 1,140 Referee: Matthew Franz |
| June 3 8 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–0 | FC Cincinnati | Rochester, New York |
| 6:00 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Kamdem 65' |
CIN Report ROC Report Box Score |
Walker 63' Halfhill 90' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 2,158 Referee: Jorge Ramirez Assistant referees: Gabriel Angelone Ankur Singh Fourth official: Anthony Perdue |
| June 7 9 | Orlando City B | 1–1 | Rochester Rhinos | Orlando, Florida |
| 6:30 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Hines 3' Barry 23' Laryea 64' |
Report | Correia 25' Fall 63' |
Stadium: Orlando City Stadium Attendance: 967 Referee: Jonathan Weiner |
| June 10 10 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–1 | Rochester Rhinos | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 7:30 EDT (UTC−4) | Cole 19' Collins 28'Savage 58'Nanchoff 89' |
Report | Graf 5' Fall 68'Kamdem 78' |
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 6,026 Referee: Kevin Broadley |
| June 17 11 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–0 | Ottawa Fury | Rochester, New York |
| 6:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Felix 19', 28' Farrell 78'Tergou 90+4' |
Report | Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 2,548 Referee: Lorant Varga |
| June 23 12 | Rochester Rhinos | 0–1 | Orlando City B | Rochester, New York |
| 6:00 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Defregger 29' Dover 88' |
Report | Timbó 18', 45+1' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 1,243 Referee: Charles Murphy |
| July 1 13 | Charlotte Independence | 2–1 | Rochester Rhinos | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| 6:00 P.M. EDT (UTC−4) | Estrada 12', 25' Ross 32' |
Report | Farrell 14' Fall 67' (pen) |
Stadium: Matthews Sportsplex Attendance: 1,623 Referee: Gustavo Solorio |
| July 5 14 | Saint Louis FC | 0–0 | Rochester Rhinos | Fenton, Missouri |
| 8:00 PM EDT (UTC−4) | Sheldon 66' |
Report | Lee 60' |
Stadium: World Wide Technology Soccer Park Attendance: 4,634 Referee: Dule Djurasevic |
| Note: Re-scheduled from May 6 due to flooding of World Wide Technology Soccer Park[5][6] | ||||
| July 8 15 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–0 | Harrisburg City Islanders | Rochester, New York |
| 6:05 PMEDT (UTC−4) | Madison 35' Graf 85' |
Report | Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 2,178 Referee: Ismir Pekmic |
| July 15 16 | Ottawa Fury | 1–1 | Rochester Rhinos | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 2:00 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Barden 33' Bruna 72'Hume 89' |
Report | Graf 15' Garzi 39' |
Stadium: TD Place Stadium Attendance: 5,525 Referee: Chris Grabas |
| July 22 17 | Rochester Rhinos | 0–0 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | Rochester, New York |
| 6:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Report | Adewole 33' Souto 73' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 3,269 Referee: Jaroslaw Werel |
| July 26 18 | Rochester Rhinos | 2–0 | Toronto FC II | Rochester, New York |
| 7:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Defregger 58', 59' Dunn 76' (o.g.)Correia 90+3' |
Report | Onkony  26' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 2,148 Referee: Jared Simons |
| July 29 19 | FC Cincinnati | 2–3 | Rochester Rhinos | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 7:00 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | McLaughlin 29' Djiby 27', 42' Josu 44'Berry 81'Jaye 84'König 86' (pen.)Greig 87'Walker 90+2' |
Report | Graf 12' Kamdem 54'Fall 78' (pen.) 78', 82' (pen.) |
Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 23,548 Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr. |
| August 5 20 | New York Red Bulls II | 2–1 | Rochester Rhinos | Montclair, New Jersey |
| 4:00 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Basuljevic 5' Bonomo 55' |
Report | Fall 70' (pen.) |
Stadium: MSU Soccer Park Attendance: 582 Referee: Charles Murphy |
| August 8 21 | Harrisburg City Islanders | 0–1 | Rochester Rhinos | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| 7:30 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Grosh 20' Brent 59'Mensah 83' |
Report | Madison 25' Garzi 44' |
Stadium: FNB Field Attendance: 2,078 Referee: Amber O'Connor |
| August 19 22 | Rochester Rhinos | 0–1 | Charleston Battery | Rochester, New York |
| 18:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Madison 45+1' |
Report | Hackshaw 21' Williams 25' Portillo 83' Cooper 90+2' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 2,319 Referee: Bardhyl Pashaj |
| August 26 23 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–2 | Saint Louis FC | Rochester, New York |
| 6:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Fall 7' (pen) Graf 55' |
Report | Howe 3', 74' Rudolph 6' Alihodžić 26' Ledbetter 90+1' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 1,607 Referee: Lucasz Szpala |
| September 2 24 | Toronto FC II | 0–1 | Rochester Rhinos | Vaughan, Ontario |
| 7:30 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Report | Brown 10' Fall 90+2' |
Stadium: Ontario Soccer Centre Attendance: 143 Referee: Alexis Vaughan |
| September 9 25 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–1 | Ottawa Fury | Rochester, New York |
| 6:00 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | François 19' |
Report | McEleney 37' Bruna 63'  88'Dos Santos 71' (pen.) |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 2,345 Referee: Calin Radosav |
| September 16 26 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 1–1 | Rochester Rhinos | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 7:00 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Kerr 71' |
Report | Tergou 73' Farrell 90' |
Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 2,341 Referee: Greg Dopka |
| September 20 27 | Louisville City FC | 2–1 | Rochester Rhinos | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 7:30 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Davis IV 23' Spencer 90+5' (pen) |
Report | Graf 43', 73' Lee 45' James 61' Gomez 88' Felix 90+4' |
Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 6,698 Referee: Jon Freemon |
| September 23 28 | Richmond Kickers | 1–0 | Rochester Rhinos | Richmond, Virginia |
| 7:00 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Minutillo 80' |
Report | Kamdem 79' |
Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 5,969 Referee: Jorge Ramirez |
| September 30 29 | Rochester Rhinos | 0–0 | Louisville City FC | Rochester, New York |
| 6:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Forbes 71' Felix 85' |
Report | Ownby 67' Morad 90+3' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 1,775 Referee: Eric Tattersall |
| October 7 30 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 0–2 | Rochester Rhinos | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 7:00 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Chevy 57' |
Report | Graf 1' Fall 14', 70' |
Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 2,400 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic |
| October 10 31 | Rochester Rhinos | 1–0 | Bethlehem Steel FC | Rochester, New York |
| 7:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Graf 38' |
Report | Conneh 86' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 963 Referee: Thomas Snyder |
| October 14 32 | Rochester Rhinos | 2–1 | New York Red Bulls II | Rochester, New York |
| 6:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Graf 35' Forbes 68' |
Report | Valot 37' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 1,402 Referee: Ismir Pekmic |
Playoffs
edit| October 21 Conference Quarterfinals | Rochester Rhinos | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Charlotte Independence | Rochester, New York |
| 6:05 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Dover 11' Graf 53' François 61' Farrell 83' Defregger 113' |
Report | A. Martínez 53', 120' E. Martínez 69' Davidson 85' |
Stadium: Capelli Sport Stadium Attendance: 1,647 Referee: Bardhyl Pashaj |
| October 28 Conference Semi-finals | Louisville City FC | 1–0 | Rochester Rhinos | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 7:30 PM EDT (UTC-04:00) | Jimenez 52' Ownby 77'Ranjitsingh 90+1' |
Report | Felix 55' |
Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 7,117 Referee: Victor Rivas |
References
edit- ^ DiVeronica, Jeff (November 30, 2017). "Rhinos to take one-year hiatus, host 'several' USL matches". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ Tsujimoto, Ben (November 30, 2017). "Rochester Rhinos to take hiatus from United Soccer League". The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ "Rochester Approved for USL Division III" (Press release). Rochester Rhinos. August 22, 2018.
- ^ "2017 Roster". Rochester Rhinos. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "USL Announces May 6 Game Postponed". saintlouisfc.com. May 3, 2016. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ^ "Saint Louis FC vs. Rochester Rhinos Rescheduled to July 5th". saintlouisfc.com. May 12, 2016. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2018.