Rochester, NY)… Rochester Rhinos owner and CEO Rob Clark announced that the club has added former head coach Pat Ercoli to the Rhinos front office on Tuesday at a press conference in downtown Rochester. Ercoli, the 1998 USL-1 Coach of the Year, will assume the role of General Manager and Director of Soccer Operations. The 51-year old Ercoli was named the club’s first head coach in 1996 and guided them until 2004. During that time he posted a 154-77-18 regular season record. His Rhinos won three division championships, made five USL-1 title game appearances, winning three of them (1998, 2000 and 2001) and two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup finals matches (1996 and 1999). “We are thrilled to reunite Pat with the Rhinos organization,” said Clark. “He will play a critical role in strengthening our ties to the community and developing our players.” Perhaps the Rhinos most impressive achievement with Ercoli at the helm came in 1999 when his team became the only USL team to win the U.S. Open Cup trophy (Dewer Cup) since the inception of Major League Soccer in 1996. Along the way the former Rochester Lancer star (1978-80), posted 192 career wins and was named to the inaugural USL Hall of Fame class in 2002. In 2009 Ercoli returned to work for the Rhinos serving as the color analyst on the team’s television and radio broadcasts. “I am happy to be back involved with the Rhinos. I am appreciative that Rob Clark and his family rose to the challenge to keep soccer alive in Rochester” said Ercoli. “The organization has a great tradition and as I watched the team play I knew I wanted to participate. "I am looking forward to helping put an exciting product on the field this season.” Ercoli began his professional soccer career with Toronto Italia (NSL) in 1976 before moving to the Toronto Castors the following season where he won a championship the following season. While playing the next three seasons with the Lancers, Ercoli began playing indoor soccer for the New York Arrows of the MISL; he also spent time playing with Buffalo, Baltimore (where he captured three MISL divisional championships and one league title), and Detroit in the MISL before ending his ten-year professional career with the Cleveland Force. Ercoli lives in Greece with his wife, Karen. Together they have four children (daughters Marybeth and Melissa, sons Ryan and Chris).