Meanwhile, the Rochester Raging Rhinos wrapped up the
2006 season in the United Soccer Leagues’ First Division on Saturday, and they
certainly didn’t get the ending they wanted on a cold, wet, dreary night.
In the USL First Division
championship game, the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps thoroughly outplayed a
Rhinos team that was looking to secure its first title since 2001. In the end,
the Whitecaps came away with a 3-0 win.
The game hinged on two key
plays. In the ninth minute, an apparent goal by Rochester defender Kenney Bertz
was waved off by an offsides call. Then, in the
waning seconds of the first half, Vancouver
broke a scoreless tie when Rochester
inadvertently put the ball in its own goal, giving a point to the Whitecaps.
The Rhinos never recovered from those two bad breaks and collapsed in the
second half.
“Tonight we weren’t the
best team on the field,” said Rochester
goalkeeper and captain Scott Vallow,
his playoff scruff still on his face. “I don’t think we deserved to win.
Tonight we just didn’t have it.”
But the crushing
title-game loss couldn’t dampen a season in which coach
Laurie Calloway molded a group of relative youngsters into one of the best
teams in the league. “We’re all disappointed,” Calloway said, “but we can all
reflect on the positives.”
This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2006.
