July 11, 2015 USL Pro--Toronto FC II vs Rochester Rhinos (by Rocket Robin)

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Results and details of the Saturday July 11, 2015 USL Pro game between Toronto FC II and Rochester Rhinos played at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan at 3:00pm.

Toronto FC II (all red, white names and numbers)

..................25 Alex Bono (cpt)
59 Emeka Ononye...63 Liam Fraser...46 Daniel Fabrizi...44 Mark-Anthony Kaye
36 Marcus Godinho...56 Malik Johnson...42 Massimo Mirabelli...58 Anthony Osorio
.............45 Luca Uccello...35 Edwin Rivas

Subs:...60 Brogan Engbers (gk)...33 Skylar Thomas (def)...38 Clement Simonin (def)...39 Marco Nunes (fwd)...54 Gabriel Boakye (def)
...Stefan Vukovic (fwd)...64 Kevin Timachy (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Jason Bent

Rochester Rhinos (dark green socks, shorts, and backs, dark green & yellow striped chests, yellow numbers)

...................33 Brandon Miller
15 Patrick McMahon...22 Julian Ringhof...5 Vasileios Apostolopoulos...7 Onua Obasi
21 Kenardo Forbes...20 Tony Walls (cpt)...13 Mike Garzi...2 Marcos Ugarte
.............11 Jonny Mendoza...10 Steevan Fortes Dos Santos

Subs:...1 Adam Grinwis (gk)...3 Alex Dixon (fwd)...4 Sean Totsch (def)...8 Christian Volesky (fwd)...9 Colin Rolfe (fwd)
...18 Grant van de Casteele (def)...92 Timi Mulgrew (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Bob Lilley

Game officials:...referee Alex Vaughan...referee's assistants Gianni Facchini and Brian Butler...fourth official Justin Tasev
...(teal shirts, black shorts and socks)

1st Half:...game starts 3:11pm...TFC defends north end on this very hot afternoon with a bright sun in the west.
4 min...RR Mendoza rolls 15 yard shot up middle that hits outside of left post.
8 min...TFC Godinho pops up cross sent in from right at 6 yards on left post and RR Ugarte blasts 10 yard shot that Godinho blocks and deflects wide left for cornerkick.
9 min...RR Mendoza cornerkick from left has defenders clear out right side of box.
10 min...TFC Johnson is injured at TFC 50 yard line.
13 min...RR Obasi dribbles through players from 40 yards and pass to left has RR Forbes shoot 15 yarder from left well over net.
15 min...RR Forbes cross from 20 yards on left end line and RR Ugarte cross from right from 6 yards is wide right.
16 min...RR Mendoza low 6 yard shot along left end line has sliding TFC Fabrizi block. RR Garzi cross from 20 yards on left has TFC player head away at 8 yards.
23 min...RR Forbes runs down left and crosses back into box from 15 yards on end line has ball tapped for RR Walls to shoot 20 yarder down middle over net.
27 min...RR McMahon cross from 25 yards on right is caught by goalie over his head at 6 yards.
28 min...TFC Godinho chips pass forward at 30 yards and goalie beats TFC Rivas to pick up bouncer at 12 yards.
29 min...RR Ugarte 30 yard freekick from right is low and nearest defender clears.
29 min...RR Obasi pushes through on left as TFC Godinho bounces over him. RR Obasi low cross is through 6 yard box.
30 min...TFC Godinho twice clears RR crosses sent into box.
30 min...RR Obasi cross from 20 yards on left nad RR Dos Santos flicks 10 yard header over net.
31 min...RR Mendoza cornerkick from left is cleared from box.
32 min...a water break is called.
34 min...RR Mendoza cornerkick from right has TFC Mirabelli leap to head ball away out right side of box.
34 min...RR Mendoza pass to RR Ringhof and 12 yard shot deflects off TFC player at 6 yards for cornerkick on right.
34 min...RR player's cornerkick from right has goalie leap to punch ball away on cross from right and knocks down TFC Ononye who needs trainer for injury.
40 min...RR Walls 25 yard freekick is cleared from box.
42 min...RR Ugarte chips from 12 yards along left end line is caught by goalie.
44 min...TFC Uccello 35 yard freekick down middle has goalie punch ball away in crowd of players. Uccello crosses in again and TFC Godinho chips goalie at 10 yards. A retreating defender bicycle kicks off line and goalie catches the pop up. RR McMahon is injured in nose on play.
49 min...RR McMahon returns to game.
51 min...half ends 4:02pm.

Halftime entertaiment: none.

2nd Half:...starts 4:20pm.
halftime sub:...TFC Vukovic replaces Johnson.
45 min...RR Mendoza can't draw Penalty kick on rush for ball in TFC box.
46 min...RR Dos Santos cross from 15 yards on left has goalie fly forward to 6 yards to make catch.
47 min...RR Forbes cross from 25 yards on left is through box unplayed.
50 min...RR Obasi cross from 20 yards on right is over defender and RR Ugarte shot is blocked and Ugarte is injured in box but can't draw Penalty kick.
52 min...RR Forbes cross from left has TFC Mirabelli in box block ball before RR Ugarte can get to it for 10 yard shot.
53 min...TFC Mirabelli gets by fallen defender and shoots 20 yarder down middle that goalie catches.
54 min...RR Obasi low 15 yard shot from left is into short side webbing outside of net.
55 min...Rhinos Steevan Fortes Dos Santos GOAL...Dos Santos receives a short pass from Rhinos Onua Obasi on the left and his shot down the middle from 10 yards is into and out of the net so quick that few fans realized it was a goal.
57 min...Rhinos Jonny Mendoza GOAL...Rhinos Onua Obasi rolls a pass from 20 yards and Mendoza rolls 12 yarder up middle under sliding goalie Alex Bono.
60 min...RR Obasi can't get away shot from 15 yards on left.
60 min...RR Obasi low cross from left is cleared from box.
61 min...RR Obasi rolls pass that TFC Fabrizi clears at 5 yard line.
65 min...TFC sub...Timachy replaces Rivas.
.........TFC sub...Nunes replaces Osorio.
66 min...RR Ugarte tips pass from 30 yards to RR Dos Santos at 15 yards and he redirects ball wide left???????
67 min...RR sub...Totsch replaces Walls.
.........TFC sub...Simonin replaces Fabrizi.
69 min...RR sub...Mulgrew replaces Forbes.
.........RR sub...Dixon replaces Ugarte.
70 min...TFC Uccello 35 yard freekick down middle has RR Ringhof head away on edge of box.
70 min...TFC Nunes kicks back pass over goalie and wide left from 30 yards.
71 min...RR Mulgrew cornerkick from left is caught by goalie.
71 min...RR goalie runs out of box to clear ball at 25 yards.
71 min...RR Mendoza steals ball from TFC Simonin and rushes in on right and 12 yard shot has sliding goalie tip ball wide right.
72 min...RR Mendoza cornerkick from right has defender head ball out left side of box.
74 min...TFC YELLOW card...Fraser earns it for pulling on RR Dos Santos at TFC 50 yard line.
75 min...a water break is called.
77 min...TFC Nunes blasts 28 yard shot from left well wide and high of net.
78 min...TFC defenders are able to clear cross rolled into center of box.
80 min...TFC Nunes gets ball in open on pass from TFC Vukovic and takes shot from 12 yards that ogalie blocks point blank and Nunes then shoots 12 yarder wide left.
80 min...RR sub...Rolfe replaces Dos Santos.
81 min...RR Mulgrew rolls cross from left on 2 on 0 break and goalie dives to stop pass across to RR Dixon waiting to tap the ball in.
82 min...TFC Uccello cornerkick from left has defender clear ball from box.
83 min...RR YELLOW card...Dixon earns it for kicking away ball after a TFC freekick was called.
83 min...TFC Uccello 33 yard freekick is rolled to TFC Kaye who can't control ball at 22 yards.
84 min...TFC Nunes chips 40 yard shot down middle over players that bounces to goalie.
85 min...RR Mulgrew 28 yard freekick from sharp left has RR Dixon flick 15 yard header from left wide right of net.
87 min...TFC Simonin gets foot in to break up cross from left and tips ball back to own diving goalie.
88 min...RR Mulgrew is held off good shot from left by TFC Simonin and shoots ball wide left near left end line.
88 min...RR sub...Volesky replaces Mendoza.
91 min...RR goalie catches 40 yard chip from left by charging to 15 yard line.
92 min...RR YELLOW card...Volesky earns it for trip on TFC Godinho.
93 min...game ends 5:08pm.

Final Score:.....Toronto FC II......0......Rochester Rhinos........2......

Attendance was announced as 538 on this hot and humid afternoon. The referee called a water break in each half—at 32 and 75 minutes—and added the two minutes to the end of each half.

TFC II at least didn't turn and pass the ball back to their defenders or goalie as often as their opener against Pittsburgh. One of the problems is they had very little possession of the ball as the Rhinos held it for long periods of time. They continue to miss six players who could easily start by having them at the PanAm games. The remaining players are just not good enough to score goals although they can defend well.

TFC brought in defender Clement Simonin at 67 minutes who is recovering from injury that has kept him out of their MLS lineup. Injury rehab is one of the reasons MLS clubs have set up USL teams.

Referee Alexis Vaughan gave out three Yellow cards (two to Rhinos) in a game that never got rough.

Best non-scoring chances were at 4 minutes when Jonny Mendoza rolled a 15 yard shot up the middle that hit the outside of the left post. TFC Marcus Godinho then saved a goal at 8 minutes when he popped a cross sent in from the right at 6 yards on the left post then had RR Marcos Ugarte blast a 10 yard shot off him that deflected wide left. 30 minutes had RR Onua Obasi cross from 20 yards on the left and RR Steevan Fortes Dos Santos flicked a 10 yard header just over the bar. 34 minutes had an RR cornerkick sent into the box and goalie Alex Bono leapt to punch away the ball from an RR players then connect either with his fist or body with his own defender Emeka Ononye who needed treatment from the trainer. 45 minutes had TFC Godinho chip the goalie at 10 yards but a retreating defender bicycle kicked a save off the line and the goalie caught the pop up. 53 minutes had TFC Massimo Mirabelli get by a fallen defender to shoot a 20 yarder down the middle that the goalie caught. 71 minutes had RR Mendoza steal the ball from TFC Clement Simonin and rush in from 45 yards on the right and take a low 12 yard shot the sliding goalie tipped wide right. 80 minutes had TFC Marcos Nunes receive a pass from TFC Stefan Vukovic in the open and took a shot from 12 yards that the goalie blocked point blank and Nunes got the rebound and shot wide left. One minute later RR Timi Mulgrew got away on a run down the left that turned into a 2 on 0 break but when he rolled a cross to RR Alex Dixon waiting at 12 yards, the goalie dived out to smother the ball.

Rhinos Brandon Miller earned the shutout with a few key saves. I had to wait until 44 minutes before writing down him jumping to punch away a freekick into a crowd of players as TFC's first good chance.

The Rhinos are the best team in the USL with a record now of 11 wins, 0 losses, 6 ties. TFC II had played them tough in their other two meetings—losing 1-0 away then playing 0-0 in a game held at BMO Field after an MLS game back on May 23rd. Rhinos have allowed only 6 goals in 17 games! They have now scored 22 so I wasn't expecting a goal-fest by either team. Some of their players are 'Jozy Altidore size' goliaths like Dos Santos who could just have defenders bounce off him. Onua Obasi was a tall and thin player and he would wheel in up the sidelines from his defending position and cross or shoot into the box. Rhinos have an affiliation with New England Revolution.

TFC II 's record falls to 3 wins, 7 losses, 3 ties for tenth place in the twelve team Eastern Conference.

Some of the supporter groups from TFC were at this afternoon's game as well as the opener. One of their guys tried to get the family side of fans to cheer before the first half ended. They kept their chants very PG so they didn't offend anybody.
==I received an e-mail to confirm which group was there: Hi Robin, The only supporter group at the two TFC 2 home games at the Ontario Soccer Centre were Inebriatti. No Red Patch Boys or U-Sector. A few members of Kings In The North were at the first TFC 2 game.

The attendance of 538 was actually lower than the season opener on Wednesday night of 867. I expected more as it was a weekend game with more potential fans available. Quickly erected 'Molson Indy' style aluminum benches with wooden floors stands, lines of port-a-potties, and catering food trucks outside the gates are going to be the extent of the facilities this season.

Their next home game is next Saturday night at 8:00pm against Saint Louis and it wouldn't surprise me if there are even less fans. Toronto FC plays a home game at BMO Field in downtown Toronto at 4:00pm. Even if that game ends at 6:00pm I've been waiting on average 35 minutes just to get on a streetcar to take me off the grounds. If I drove downtown, the cost to park my car on the grounds is more that the price of TFC II tickets. I don't know if the TFC supporter groups are going to show up for that game.

Oh yeah, the price of season tickets are gradually being reduced in proportion to the games that are left. $96 for 12 games last week were today announced as $80 for 10 home games.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca

Toronto FC II starters