Courtesy of: Jeannette Quiñones / Islandersfc.net
By: PasionNaranja
Tomorrow night at 8:oopm, the Islanders will have their second match of the season when they receive the Rochester Rhinos at the Juan Ramon Loubriel stadium.
The Rhinos are coming from a 1-0 loss to the Carolina RailHawks on the road. On the other hand, the Islanders won 2-1 last week against the 2008 USL-1 Champions, the Vancouver Whitecaps. The last time these two teams met was in the 2008 post-season when the Islanders beat the Rhinos 3-2 on aggregate to pass to the USL Final.
While the Rochester team has a long history in the USL, there are many questions surrounding this team as it starts the 2009 season. The Rhinos are going through some financial trouble and this in our opinion will affect them on and off the pitch. Recently, the Rhinos dropped the PAETEC name off their stadium as the company decided not to renew their naming rights for PAETEC Park (now simply named Rochester Rhinos Stadium); and also as a cost saving measure, the team roster only includes 20 players – the lowest in team history.
More than just having been reduced, the Rochester roster does not seem to have been improved on during the off-season. While they lost star defender Scott Palguta, the team did not seem to pick up any player of note. The only new Rochester player of note, is the ex-Islanders striker Taiwo Atieno. While Atieno certainly had his moments, and has proved to be able to produce the goals here and there, he is certainly not a player we foresee making a significant impact on the team.
Also, it must be noted that at last week’s match vs the RailHawks, Rochester received two red cards so they will be missing two players this week: Danny Earls and John Ball. This is yet another factor weighing against the Rhinos.
On the Islanders side, last season’s MVP continues to be nursing an injury. Star goal keeper is also a bit questionable as he seems to have been lightly injured after he Cruz Azul game in Mexico City and did not look 100% at last week’s match. Not having Gaudette in front of the net certainly makes a difference, if that were to happen this week, but it would also be a good idea to give new backup goalkeeper Chris McClellan some minutes and see what he’s made of.
Looking at all these factors, we think the Islanders will make themselves felt at home. We expect a 3-1 (or 3-0) win tomorrow night.
For another commentary (in Spanish) on the Rochester Rhinos, please visit:
And from the same website, you will find a match preview here:
