Pardon me if you've heard this before.
The
United Soccer League's
highest level; the A-League, had its
2001 Final this past Saturday night. A throng of 13,692 turned out.
They witnessed the home team, the Rochester RHINOS, surpass the
visiting Hershey WILDCATS by 2-0. This was the RHINOS' second straight
A-League Championship, and their third in the past four seasons.
This was the sixth largest attendance in RHINOS history.
The match occurred during a magnificant night as far as weather was concerned. The temperature on the scoreboard at Frontier Field measured 73 degrees.
Rochester RHINOS 0 2 = 2
Hershey WILDCATS 0 0 = 0
63' RHINOS Stoian Mladenov (Martin Nash)
87' RHINOS Stoian Mladenov (Jimmy Tanner)
Discipline:
38' RHINOS Martin Nash [Caution|Foul tackle]
59' RHINOS Carlos Zavala [Caution|Foul tackle]
Rochester RHINOS [Umbro: White with Black Stripes] Scott Vallow; Scott Schweitzer,
Mali Walton, Bill Sedgewick, Kalin Bankov; Nate Daligcon (Carlos Zavala 58',
Fuseini Dauda 89'), Stoian Mladenov, Martin Nash (Tommy Tanner 88'),
Lenin Steenkamp; Kirk Wilson (Jamel Mitchell 90+'), Neathan Gibson (Jimmy Tanner
71').
Hershey WILDCATS [Umbro: Dark Green] Jon Busch; Mike Henning, Drew Kopp,
Nigel Henry, Chris Marinos (Ben Ferry 70'); Chad Evans, Ze Roberto, Doug Watson
(Doug Miller 56'), Kyle Swords (Mike Williams 81'); Mike Feniger, Steve Klein.
RHINOS WILDCATS
Shots 6 + 10 = 16 2 + 4 = 6
Saves 0 + 2 = 2 1 + 1 = 2
Fouls 8 + 4 = 12 8 + 10 = 18
Offsides 0 + 0 = 0 2 + 3 = 5
Corners 0 + 3 = 4 1 + 3 = 4
Referee: Eric Simmons. Assistant Ref. 1: Chip Reed. Assistant Ref. 2: Richard Eddy.
Fourth Official: Kevin Barci.
The game began with the RHINOS having the first half-chance in the third minute. A cross from Neathan Gibson on the right wing, aimed at Martin Nash, in the WILDCATS' penalty box, just eluded him. The first ten minutes found the RHINOS making incursions upon the WILDCATS, but failing to put a shot on the net.
After the quarter-hour, the WILDCATS began having some opportunities in the RHINOS' end. The WILDCATS' Steve Klein nearly beat a RHINOS triple-team near the top of the box in the 17th minute. Fourteen minutes later from the same area,, he was able to get off a shot which missed left. The WILDCATS were clogging up the middle of their defense, and the RHINOS seemed to not utilize their wings to pull them apart. Half time came with the scoreline still unblemished.
In the dressing room at halftime, RHINOS' coach Pat Ercoli stressed to his charges that they needed to open up the field more; to make overlapping runs on the wings. This did produce more offensive forays in the WILDCATS' end, but it also laid the RHINOS open to a potentially debilitating counter-attack. In the 53rd minute, the WILDCATS' Ze Roberto got a step on his marker on the center left wing. He got off a shot which was low, and headed for the far corner. RHINOS' goalkeeper Scott Vallow managed to get his left arm down to the ground and parry the ball away.
The RHINOS brought on Carlos Zavala soon thereafter. He was barely on the pitch before he rashly tackled a WILDCATS player & received a caution. However, soon after, he was making sprints on the left wing. A RHINOS' free kick found the head of Kalin Bankov, but his header was a glancing one which went wide right.
The breakthrough occurred in the 63rd minute. A RHINOS' shot was blocked.
The ball bounded near the top of the box where M. Nash collected it and fed
it back outside the box to Stoian Mladenov. He took two steps to his left,
and fired off a shot which skipped and bounded past WILDCATS' goalkeeper
Jon Busch low to his left.
The RHINOS nearly doubled their account
off the subsequent kickoff. A switching pass was stolen by Kirk Wilson.
His swift shot from just outside the box produced a superb save from J. Busch.
The WILDCATS were rankled. They increased their efforts, but the adhesive
RHINOS' defense were thwarting their manuevers. Not even the entrances of
(former RHINO) Doug Miller, & Ben Ferry made much of an impact.
Another RHINO free kick opportunity on the right wing was played to
Lenin Steenkamp in the box, but his header missed the mark.
In the
78th minute, the RHINOS' K. Wilson beat everybody to a ball on the right
wing by-line, but he could not get his cross through.
The match was finalized in the 87th minute. Another shot by K. Wilson beat J. Busch, but struck the left post. It came back into play. Jimmy Tanner sidestepped an outcoming WILDCATS' defender and laid the ball off to S. Mladenov. With J. Busch slightly out of position, he placed his shot low and left for 2-0.
Yours truly had a ballot for the game's Most Valuable Player. There was space for four players: three offensive & one defensive. I scribed
Keenly, the RHINOS are the class of the A-League. The coach of the Milwaukee RAMPAGE, Boro Sucevic, has been quoted that Pat Ercoli has the most difficult coaching job in the U.S.A. "I believe he's the only coach in America that's under pressure to deliver a championship every year." In just about every other country on the planet, the RHINOS would be in the top division. That they outdraw some franchises in Major League Soccer despite playing in a converted baseball ground should only add to their value with that circuit. But they shall continue to be passed over. Perhaps it is just as well. The RHINOS are probably more significant, and most likely, more profitable, playing in the A-League.
Of course, the real shock occurred barely a week afterward, when the WILDCATS announced they were ceasing operations.
I thank the A-League for their cooperation, without which this article would have been impossible.
Recess to my World-Wide Web site.
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