May 14, 2006 USL Toronto Lynx vs Rochester Raging Rhinos (from Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
Rhinos go to 3-0, defeating Toronto
Staff report
(May 14, 2006) — Laurie Calloway admitted he's not superstitious.
"Not really, I guess," the second-year Rhinos coach said after Saturday's 2-0 win in Toronto.
The convincing victory pushed his young Rochester team to a 3-0 record. It's only the third time the Rhinos have opened with three straight wins, and the last time it happened was 1998, when each win also was on the road.
That turned into Rochester's first of three league championship seasons.
Calloway knows there's a long way to go toward making it a fourth, but his team continued its strong start vs. winless Toronto (0-3).
"I'm frustrated we didn't do better in front of goal again, but in any sport they say good teams win ugly, so we're pleased," he said.
The Rhinos have never opened the season with three straight shutout wins. In fact, fifth-year goalie Scott Vallow — one of the few veterans on this retooled roster — has posted three straight shutouts just once before (2000 season).
The Rhinos came out fast and converted in the 15th minute on former Rochester goalie Theo Zagar when defender Frankie Sanfilippo sent in a cross from the right and Matthew Delicate scored his first goal as a Rhino on a 6-yard header.
"We didn't score any headers like that last year. It was beautiful," Calloway said.
Delicate, 24, is one of the team's newcomers at forward. He had eight goals last year for Richmond and three more in a playoff series against Rochester.
The Rhinos lost central defender Kenney Bertz in the 35th minute. The rookie who played for NCAA champion Maryland felt dizzy and asked to come out. Calloway said Bertz had been ill a few days this week. Second-year man Jason Perry replaced Bertz and was solid.
Toronto played a man short in the second half after Matt Paleschi was ejected for a hard tackle on midfielder Juninho DaSilva. Rochester backup goalie Patrick Hannigan also was ejected after involving himself in the altercation, which happened near the Rhinos' bench.
Rochester picked up an insurance goal in the 66th minute when John Menyongar fed John Ball for the veteran midfielder's third goal, tying him for the league lead.
Rochester is the only club in the 12-team USL First Division to win its first three matches and has moved into first place with nine points. But the caliber of competition will stiffen in an upcoming three-matches-in-six-days West Coast road trip. It starts Wednesday at defending champion Seattle, continues Friday at Portland and concludes May 22 at Vancouver (2-0-1).
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