Meaningless exhibition Anyone know of any reason why the Revs players would be interested in getting themselves up to play in this game? Other than maybe the ones that get little playing time? It'll either be a noncontact exhibition or a decidely ugly occassion.
game is on internet radio at www.wysl1140.com 1-1 late in second half. Hernandez scored on a wicked free kick in the first half.
scoring: Rhinos: 10- Stebbins (Suarez) Revs: 38- Hernandez attendance about 8,000 I heard only the second half: Kante, Heaps, Downing, Franchino, Cullen, Harris, Fuller, Asad, Sommer, Leonard, Chacon, Frias, Hernandez all played. Ralston and Llamosa stayed home. Didn't hear Twellman, Rooney, Brown, or Cloutier. Leonard received particular praise from the Rhino announcers.
Final tally: Rochester 1:1 New England An early goal from the surprisingly pacy Stebbins exposed the Revolution defense, as a beautiful ball was played through the middle by Suarez. Stebbins raced onto the pass with Kante absent in the center and slotted it home past Sommer. Simmonds was very impressive early on, showing excellent touch and exquisite control before being brought off after 30 minutes had elaspes. Rochester pretty much emptied its' bench, whereas New England never brought in the biggest name in attendence, one Taylor Twellman. Hernandez notched the lone tally for the Revs, absolutely murdering a free kick from 25 yards out left of center. He must have found a gap in the wall, because the shot rang right through where the Rhinos had lined up and plowed through the roof of the net, stranding Onstad in a poor position to save. There was only a bit of chippiness in the second period, one incident occurring after a dangerous play was correctly called on Rhino newcomer Stojanov(sic?) for attempted to play on the ground. There was a tangle of bodies, as is apt to happen, and then out of nowhere, Marshall Leonard comes through and cleans Stojanov out with a massive shove. No card. There were cards for Tanner on a hard challenge on Ian Fuller, and some others, but nothing excessive. Simmonds and Mladenov were most impressive for the Rhinos, while Griffiths showed some beautiful moves for the Revs on the left wing on the first half, as did Leonard in the second. Rochester had about 6 chances to win it late, however, hitting the bar right before the full time whistle, and coming close on several other occasions. Surprising? Even Wolde Harris managed to look good - maybe he just looks useless on TV. He rang a volley past the far post at about the 30 minute mark, a gorgeous strike. He also barely missed with an outstandingly powerful snap header midway through the second half, one that had Onstad dead to rights. All in all, an excellent, entertaining match. Attendence 8,635
The last thing we wanted was Twellman getting hurt in an A-league "friendly." Apparently Rochester's turf or "pitch" is awful, and Nicol, Twellman, and others commented on its poor shape prior to the game. Add to that the Rhinos' reputation for (if I may be so bold to say) thuggery -- witness the recent brouhaha with KC during US Open Cup play -- and one comes to the decision to leave Ralston and Llamosa at home and sit Twellman on the bench. Twellman and Brown did see one piece of action: the radio announcers said the twosome attacked and mugged the Rhinos mascot -- in fun, I suspect.
The Rhinos roster is full of well-known names from MLS days past. One of the lesser lights is Ryan DiNunzio, a product of UNH. DiNunzio is definitely out of the Rusty Pierce school, though perhaps with a bit more self-control. He's one to watch in the future.