Rhinos Play Islanders to Scoreless Draw

(Rochester, NY)…..The Rhinos hosted their league rival Puerto Rico Islanders Friday night at Marina Auto Stadium and ended the night with a 0-0 tie. Both teams pushed for the difference but were unable to crack the balance in a highly contested and heated contest.

The Rhinos first chance came in the 20th minute when forward Tai Atieno stole the ball from Puerto Rico’s last defender giving him a free chance on goal. Islander goalkeeper Bill Gaudette denied Atieno the goal-scoring opportunity by saving his shot on the break-away. Rhinos goalkeeper Tim Melia had to be sharp to close the first half, coming out on a couple crosses and making the stops on a few Puerto Rico shots.

With chances few and far between and the two teams unable to muster any clear chances, the half-time score was 0-0.

In the 51st minute defender Brent Sancho was issued a red card for a hard tackle on a Puerto Rico player resulting in Rochester playing with 10 men for the rest of the game. In the ensuing couple of minutes Rhinos Coach Darren Tilley was also ejected from the game after receiving a red card. Nine minutes later Melia came up with a huge save on an Islander opportunity directly after Puerto Rico hit the cross-bar on a shot attempt.

As the game wore on, the Rhinos pushed for chances but were unable to find an opening into the Islander defense. They would hold on though to escape the dramatics with a point.

The tie improves the Rhinos to 7-5-3 (24 points), while Puerto Rico improves to 8-4-6 (30 points). Rochester will return home to Marina Auto Stadium to face the Montreal Impact Wednesday night in a 7 p.m. kickoff.