By Paul Hendren

After a lengthy road trip that ended with two wins and two losses the Toronto Lynx returned to the confines of fabled Varsity Stadium to take on powerhouse Rochester Raging Rhinos on a cold spring evening. Rochester was completing a five game road trip that saw them undefeated in their prior three fixtures. The visiting Rhinos brought a large entourage to the game including extensive coverage from the Rochester print and electronic media.

Just four minutes into the game Jimmy Glenn, who toiled for Dallas in MLS last year , put the visiting Rhinos on the score sheet when he was left unmarked in front of the Lynx goal leaving Pat Onstad with no chance. After settling into their offensive mode that brought them success in their previous two games Toronto's relentless pressure paid off at the 20th minute when Darren Tilley headed in a brilliant cross from Lei Gong forcing the paltry, all be it loud crowd of over 1,400 to their feet. Paul Stalteri broke the dead lock in the 26th minute with an unstoppable blast from close range leaving journeyman goalkeeper Bill Andraki grasping at air. Stalteri's Canadian Under 20 teammate Dwayne DeRosario added to the Lynx lead at the 55th minute with a brilliant run that eluded several Rochester defenders.

It appears that Lynx head coach Peter Pinizzotto and Assistant General Manager David Gee have instilled the philosophy that the best defence is a relentless offence. This was most evident throughout the first half as young defender Martin Dugas consistently overlapped creating havoc for the Rochester defenders.

The play in the second half deteriorated as tempers flared and the game was on the verge of erupting forcing referee Tony Comacho to issue several yellow cards to both teams.

Toronto's shortcomings on defence were evident throughout the second half and Rochester was able to capitalise at the 60th minute when Ghanian Ezikeo Alamo dissected a porous Lynx defence to pull the visitors within one goal. The Rhinos were unable to equalize and the final score was Toronto 3 ; Rochester 2.

New signing Rick Titus did not look out of place but missed a sure goal after miskicking the ball well wide of an open goal.

After the game British forward Darren Tilley complimented his opponents of the day describing the Rhinos as being a well drilled side. Tilley expressed concern that the loss of DeRosario and Stalteri for several weeks during the summer, due to their involvement in the FIFA Under 20 World Championship, will hurt the progress the team has made over the past three games.

Toronto continues their home stand on Friday May 23 when they take on the Charleston Battery featuring former Moroccan World Cup Goalkeeper Khalil Azmi.